4 Dec 2013

Give Generously to the Tiny Wild Cats

by Wanda Angermeyer | posted in: Cats in the wild, Cats of Africa, Endangered Cats, wild cat conservation | 0

ISEC Canada has sponsored studies on small wild cats around the world. Where are the cats located? What kind of habitat do they use? What do they eat? How large is the population? These and many other questions must be answered before any conservation plans can be put in place.

100% of donations are sent directly to small wild cat conservation programs around the world.

One of the projects that we have supported annually since 1993 is the Black-footed Cat Project. ISEC Canada has been recognized as the longest running supporter of this project. This long-running field study is learning what these tiny cats need to survive in the deserts of South Africa, and we are proud to support this vital work. Please help us continue our support.

The Black-footed Cat Felis nigripes is Africa’s smallest felid, and among the smallest wild cat species in the world. As special adaptations to their desert habitat, these cats have a broad skull with large, rounded ears, which provide enhanced hearing in an area with scarce prey. Low-set ears are often completely flattened in an ‘aggressive’ posture, an adaptation to hunting in areas with little cover. They are protected from the hot sand by hair on the black soles of the feet. Learn more

Thank you for your support!

1 Dec 2013

Fund the Future of Small Cats

by Wanda Angermeyer | posted in: Cats in the wild, Cats of Africa, Endangered Cats, wild cat conservation | 0

Wild cats don’t have nine lives – their conservation begins with you!

100% of donations are sent directly to small wild cat conservation programs around the world.

Wildlife habitat is rapidly disappearing all over the world. Persecution, the bush meat trade, poisoning and the Asian medicine trade are also taking their toll on small wild cats. Field researchers are learning what these little cats need to survive, but equipment is costly, and they need your help. The African Golden Cat is one of the small cat species in need of your help.

The African Golden Cat Profelis aurata remains an enigma in the cat world. About twice the size of a domestic cat, they are very sturdy, powerful animals, with stout, relatively short legs and large paws. There are two colour phases: chestnut-red/fawn and silvery/dark slate-grey, of which the grey phase is often called the silver cat. Both red and grey phases occur in the same areas, and a few melanistic specimens have been recorded. Learn more

Thank you for your support!

22 Nov 2013

Contribute Now to Save Small Cats

by Wanda Angermeyer | posted in: Cats in the wild, Cats of Asia, Endangered Cats, wild cat conservation | 0

Wild cats like the Flat-headed Cat are in danger of disappearing all over the world. Habitat loss, persecution, poaching, illegal fur, food and pet trades, increased roads and other human interference in their habitats are taking their toll. So how do scientists and conservationists save wild cats?

The first step is to learn about their lives in the native habitat. Where are the cats located? What kind of habitat do they need? What do they eat? How large is the population? These and many other questions must be answered before suitable areas can be set aside and conservation plans put in motion.

100% of donations received go directly to wild cats

Your donations help field researchers purchase radio collars, cameras and other equipment to study the small wild cats. Join our growing list of small wild cat heroes. Please donate today.

Flat-headed Cats Prionailurus planiceps are the most unusual members of the cat family, with their long, narrow head and flattened forehead. In appearance, they bear a strong resemblance to the civets, which are not cats, but members of the Viverridae family. Learn more

Thank you for your support!

14 Nov 2013

Donate Today to Wild Cat Conservation

by Wanda Angermeyer | posted in: Cats in the wild, Cats of Europe, Endangered Cats, wild cat conservation | 0

Wild cats are in danger of disappearing all over the world. ISEC Canada was created as a conservation body totally dedicated to saving the 28 small wild cat species from extinction. One example of a wild cat species in need of your help is the Eurasian Lynx.

The Eurasian Lynx Lynx lynx is the largest lynx species, and has one of the widest ranges of any wild cat. Their fur has a usual ground colour of a yellowish-grey to greyish-brown, with white underparts. The soft, thick pelage is thickest on the back, and can be variably marked with more or less distinct dark spots, and sometimes small stripes. Learn more

100% of donations received go directly to wild cats

The increasing urbanization of western Europe, and the resulting loss of habitat and diminished prey base, have led to a severe reduction of the Eurasian Lynx population there. The first step is to learn about their lives in the native habitat. Where are the cats located? What kind of habitat do they need? What do they eat? How large is the population? These and many other questions must be answered before suitable areas can be set aside and conservation plans put in motion.

Your donations help field researchers purchase radio collars, cameras and other equipment to study the small wild cats.

Thank you for your support!

6 Nov 2013

Buy More Time for Small Wild Cats

by Wanda Angermeyer | posted in: Cats in the wild, Cats of South America, Endangered Cats, wild cat conservation | 0

Wild cats are in danger of disappearing all over the world. Habitat loss, persecution, poaching, illegal fur, food and pet trades, increased roads and other human interference in their habitats are taking their toll. So how do scientists and conservationists save wild cats?

Your donations help field researchers purchase radio collars, cameras and other equipment to study the small wild cats. Join our growing list of small wild cat heroes. Please donate today.

100% of donations received go directly to wild cats

One species that has been helped through research made possible by your support is the Andean Cat.

Andean Cats Leopardus jacobita are one of the most beautiful of all wild cats. The fur is mainly ash grey with brown-yellowish blotches that are distributed as vertical lines at both sides of the body, giving the appearance of continuous stripes. Extremely thick, plush fur of silvery grey is very fine and soft, up to 5 cm long on the back, and the underside is pale with dark spots. Prominent dark grey bars also run across the chest and forelegs. The backs of the large, rounded ears are dark grey, and the nose is black. Learn more

23 Sep 2013

First Sunda Clouded Leopard Collared

by Pat Bumstead | posted in: Cats of Asia, Endangered Cats | 0

A wild Sunda clouded leopard was recently trapped and fitted with a satellite collar for the first time ever, as part of a collaborative project between the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD), WildCRU and the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

On Sunday 15 September, early morning, a male Sunda clouded leopard weighing 25 kgs, was caught in one of our traps set up along the Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Malaysia in the vicinity of DGFC. Rarely seen, Sunda clouded leopards are amongst some of the most elusive and secretive of the world’s wild cats, and as such, remain one of the least understood. The leopard was fitted with a satellite collar to provide us with crucial information on its movements in the Kinabatangan landscape. It should send a location every 20 minutes for about 4 to 6 months, enabling us to determine its home range and how it is able to move through the fragmented landscape. Incredibly, a few days later, we caught another individual, an old female, weighing only 9 kgs. She was too small and too old to collar, but we have been documenting her in the Kinabatangan since 2010, using camera traps.

SWD, DGFC and WildCRU wish to thank Sime Darby Foundation for their support and for providing a grant of MYR 1.46 Million towards our project on the conservation of the Sunda clouded leopard and sympatric carnivores in Sabah. Additional funding and support are provided by Atlanta Zoo, Houston Zoo, Recanati-kaplan Foundation, Robertson Foundation, Point Defiance Zoo and Rufford Foundation.

Sept 21, 2013 News release from Danau Girang Field Centre

23 Jul 2013

Endangered Animal Products To Be Banned From Etsy

by Pat Bumstead | posted in: Endangered Cats | 0

Following a petition launched by the Snow Leopard Trust and signed by more than 33,000 people, the trend-setting online marketplace Etsy.com steps up for wildlife and explicitly bans listings containing parts of endangered animals from their site.

This 1950's Ocelot coat is one of many small wild cat items currently listed on Etsy. — This 1950’s Ocelot coat is one of many wild cat items currently listed on Etsy.

The Snow Leopard Trust is happy that the trend-setting marketplace for handmade and vintage goods Etsy.com has adopted new policies designed to stop the trade in products made with parts of endangered animals in their marketplace. These new policies, announced today on the Etsy News Blog, meet the demands of more than 33,000 wildlife supporters who had signed an online petition launched by the Snow Leopard Trust. “We’re very glad that Etsy is stepping up for wildlife”, says Brad Rutherford, the Snow Leopard Trust’s Executive Director. “It’s great to see the company live up to their billing as a mindful and humane business.”

Illegal Trade at an All-Time High

According to a report published in 2011 by Washington-based lobby group Global Financial Integrity, illegal wildlife trade has reached an all-time high of up to $10 billion total annual revenue; threatening to overturn decades of conservation gains. For endangered species to survive, this trade has to be stopped.

As they are vast and difficult to monitor, online marketplaces have long been abused as venues for endangered animal products to be sold. Conservation activists have successfully convinced leading platforms like eBay and Amazon to protect themselves and their communities from this illicit trade by explicitly banning any product made with parts of endangered animals – including “vintage items” – from their sites.

Source: www.snowleopard.org

3 Jun 2013

Sun Worshiping Ocelot

by Pat Bumstead | posted in: Cats of South America, Endangered Cats | 0

It has been misting, raining, pouring and soggy here for a week or so. The perfect time to showcase a beautiful Ocelot Leopardus pardalis basking in the sun in a UK zoo. Photo taken by by ISEC member Ben Williams.

22 May 2013

Happy Birthday Amy!

by Pat Bumstead | posted in: Cats in the wild, Cats of Asia, Endangered Cats | 0

ISEC Canada has the most wonderful members! So many of them are always going out of their way to do something special for the small cats.

Last Friday was Endangered Species Day, and we received a phone call from member David Cohn. Already a generous supporter of the small cats, he wanted to make an additional donation on behalf of his wife Amy’s birthday.

We’ve been saving this beautiful photo for the right occasion. As David and Amy are fans of the Pallas’ Cat, we felt this was the perfect choice to wish Amy Cohn a Happy Birthday from ISEC Canada and the small wild cats! Thank you David and Amy for your concern about the future of the small felids.

15 May 2013

Celebrating Asian Golden Cat Births After Artificial Insemination

by Wanda Angermeyer | posted in: Cats of Asia, Endangered Cats, Zoo cats | 1

Allwetter Zoo in Germany celebrated the birth of twin Asian Golden Cats on April 7, 2013. At last report, one was being nursed by the mother and the other was being cared for by keepers.

This was a very significant event as the cubs were conceived via artificial insemination (AI). Allwetter Zoo is calling this a world’s first for the species. AI has proven to be especially challenging in most wild cat breeds so every successful birth as a result of AI is a major achievement. AI has also been successful in other small wild cat species. The Cincinnati Zoo recently celebrated the birth of an Ocelot as a result of AI. Other assisted reproduction procedures such as embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization are also being researched and developed for use in endangered cat species.

Asian Golden Cats (Pardofelis temminchkii) are listed as “near threatened” on the IUCN Red List and as Appendix 1 of CITES (as Catopuma temminchkii). There are very few Asian Golden Cats in captivity and most are housed in zoos in Europe and the UK. The EAZA 2007/2008 EEP report on this species listed only 20 cats being housed in 8 European institutions on Dec 31, 2008. Some of these animals were thought to belong to the subspecies “tristis” and thus not as genetically valuable. The report also stated that there was a need for more successful breeding pairs to at least keep the captive population stable.