Community-based conservation to conserve small wild cats in Meghalaya, NE India

by Giri Malla, India, Eastern Himalaya Marbled Cat Project 

(part of the Clouded Leopard Working Group) 

Our team in Meghalaya, Joanica, Garcia, Bigel, Triple and Sibinus, has been actively working with local communities in the West Khasi Hills to promote human-wildlife coexistence, particularly in areas where small wild cats are frequently observed.  As part of our conflict mitigation efforts, we distributed five chicken coops to families in villages located near community forests.  These coops safeguard poultry from predation by small wild cats and thus prevent retaliatory killing of Asiatic golden cat, Leopard cat, and Marbled cat.  To monitor the presence and behavior of these elusive small cats, we also deployed trail cameras across several community-managed forest areas. The results have been encouraging.  Our cameras have captured numerous images of Asiatic golden cat and other small wild cats indicating a healthy and diverse population in local forests.

Beyond conflict mitigation, we are enhancing community livelihoods through conservation-linked enterprises.  One such effort involves helping families grow native fruit-bearing trees in their backyards.  The fruits harvested from these trees are sold to a local wine company in Meghalaya that has committed to sourcing directly from these villages.  This partnership not only provides a sustainable income source for the community but also encourages the planting and protection of native tree species. Recently, as part of this collaboration, the wine company conducted a hands-on workshop in one of the villages, Pyndengmawlieh, demonstrating the wine-making process and discussing marketing opportunities.

This exchange has further strengthened community engagement and ownership of conservation-linked livelihoods.  Encouraged by the success of the initial distribution, and with the generous support of our financial partners, we plan to expand this initiative to additional villages in the region.

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The Seed of Trust - Saving Guinas in Chile

by Carlos Castro, Chile, Colocolo Conservation Project

Mrs. Clara (who quite literally lives at the top of the hill) is one of the many people who live in the community of Candelaria.  Tucked away among the hills, this community has always lived far from the hustle and bustle of the modern world.  Nature is just outside their doors.  From afar, life here might seem simple.  It isn't.

People of Candelaria face constant challenges with local wildlife.  Harris's hawk, fox, and Güiña form what locals describe as a "triumvirate" that threatens their food supply.  The triumvirate is often blamed for stealing chickens.  Even though killing them is illegal in Chile, tensions between the community and the wildlife have persisted.

That's why, when the locals heard that we work with these very species, people were wary.  Based on their past experience, people assumed we were academics and wanted to study these species.  No one wanted to open their doors to us.  No one except Mrs. Clara.

She told us that scientists had come before—they conducted surveys to which the the community kindly responded, but then never returned.  "No one helps.  No one returns.  No one gives back," she said.  Even so, we asked her for a chance.  She let us into her chicken coop, and we set up a trail camera trap.  Sure enough, we recorded a fox coming back every day for a chicken.  And that's when we decided to help her.

We provided building materials, and within a month, the new chicken coop was finished (a family effort).  To thank her for her trust and commitment, we gave her the hens we had promised and presented her with a sign that now hangs proudly: "Here we save wild cats."  A simple phrase, but deeply meaningful.

Since then, something has shifted in Candelaria.  They no longer have to fight the wildlife. If their food is safe, wildlife is safe, too.  Mrs. Clara's joyful smile says it all.  She is the seed we planted in this community.  That little seed has already sprouted.  Even before we finished writing this report, two neighbors, who once refused to speak with us, called to share their concerns about Güiñas.

Conservation takes root through trust and shared commitment.  Communities begin to open their doors.  This time we didn't record the Güiña but it does not matter.  Our actions protect all local avian and terrestrial wildlife.   But we got something more important—a community that has problems with small wild cats opens the door for us.  Now, it's our turn to show the community that the Colocolo Conservation Project takes actions that help them.  They in turn help us.

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Historic step for conservation of the Pampa cat in northern Uruguay

by Santiago Turcatti, Uruguay, Rock and Pampa

Wild cat conservation in Uruguay made two huge leaps forward.  First, the Uruguay small wild cat program, Rock and Pampa, succeeded in documenting Munoai's Pampas cat, what we refer to as the Pampa cat, in Uruguay for the first time after more than ten years without a live record of this unique small cat in the country.  This milestone is especially meaningful because the Pampa cat is finally gaining visibility.  Even more importantly, our work is benefiting not only the other small wild cats in the region, but Uruguay's native fauna as well.

Second, Juan Aguirre, a private land owner, Rio Negro Institute Foundation (INDRA), and Rock and Pampa worked together to create the first private native pampa grassland reserve.  The new biodiversity sanctuary covers 350 hectares and is located in the Valle del Lunarejo within Biome Pampa Reserve where our trail cameras recorded the Pampa cat.  This milestone would not have been possible without the genuine commitment to nature by the owner of the reserve, Juan Aguirre, who deserves special recognition for joining the project.  Juan is a key collaborator and steward of this unique part of the grassland ecosystem.  Juan's vision and sensitivity to the local environment show that rural agricultural production and biodiversity conservation can coexist.

The Pampa cat is an endemic species in the rapidly disappearing Pampa grasslands found at the intersection of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil's southern-most state of Rio Grande do Sul.  We believe the Pampa cat is Critically Endangered largely because of extensive habitat conversion to production landscapes.  Thus, the above achievements are important steps in our tri-national efforts to save the Pampa cat from extinction.

The creation of this reserve has a clear objective: To preserve the Pampa grassland habitat and all the species that occur there, especially the Pampa cat.  Giant armadillo and Maned wolf have already been extirpated.  Moreover, the Pampa grassland in Brazil is the only biome lacking a federally protected area.  In fact, most of the Pampa in Brazil has already been replaced by agriculture and livestock production.  The situation is no better regionally where little is left of native Pampa grasslands.  To the west, the Pampa cat was recorded in Argentina's Iberá National Park ten years ago and not since.  Our Geoffroy's Cat Working Group colleagues have recorded the Pampa cat in Brazil's southern-most state, Rio Grande do Sul, near the Uruguay border.

Our initiative is not only a great step forward for our small cat conservation program, but also a model for conservation on private land that can be replicated regionally.   The importance of our project should not be underestimated.  In Uruguay, private lands are about all that exist that might be home to the Pampa cat.  The same is true of SW Rio Grande do Sul and adjacent lands in Argentina.  We must work with private land owners to save what is left of the Pampa grasslands and its flagship species, the Pampa cat.

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