Surprise Sighting of a Desert Pampas Cat Family
by Gabriel Llerena Reategui, Peru
Pampas Cat Working Group
In late July, my teammates and I were quietly walking, stopping to check our trail cameras. Pictures and videos on the cameras surprised us. We had recorded Andean cat (Leopardus jacobita) and Desert Pampas cat (L. garleppi). But the last video made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. We were thrilled to see that an Andean cat had been recorded only an hour before our arrival. Could the cat still be nearby? Unfortunately, darkness, and the biting cold wind of the Andes forced us to terminate checking our cameras.
As we retreated to our humble shelter, we saw the green eye-shine from two pairs of eyes. With certainty these were two small cats, but our weak flashlights and limited range of our night binoculars did not allow us to determine which species those eyes belonged to. To avoid scaring off the cats, we decided to withdraw and return the next morning to find out which species of small cat was staring at us.
The next morning, we were greatly surprised to discover that the eyes we had seen the previous night belonged to two Desert Pampas cat kittens exploring the area. But where was their mother? She must be nearby. We slowly, deliberately began a search. At first, we observed what looked like a peculiarly shaped rock on a boulder. Then the rock moved! When we focused the camera, we were thrilled to see one of the Desert Pampas cat kittens. We watched the kitten disappear beneath the rock that was the den. This was the exact same area where we had seen them the night before. Surely mom must be nearby. With the rising sun warming our backs, we waited. Our patience and persistence, two of Jim's 4Ps he wrote about last month, paid off.
Our excitement grew when the kittens emerged. Then the adult female stepped out in full view. We observed and photographed the family! The mother noticed our presence, but fortunately she determined we did not pose a threat to her and her Kittens. However, she kept a close watch on us, seemingly wondering who we were, what we were doing there, and why we didn't leave. Meanwhile, the kittens, indifferent to any threats, played, pestered their mother for grooming, and returned to their den only to make curtain calls a few moments later.
Our excitement continued as we watched the kittens, under the watchful eyes of mom, feeding on a mountain viscacha and playing with each other's tails. We still had to check our cameras so we slowly retreated. The trail cameras contained more surprises. One camera had repeatedly recorded video of an adult Andean cat female accompanied by an energetic kitten. The videos were stunning.
Clouded Leopard Family in the Wild
by Ganga Regmi, Nepal
Clouded Leopard Working Group
On 17 May, I was sitting with my 12 year old son in my cozy house in Kathmandu. I had just returned from the remote mid-hills of Nepal after checking my trail cameras. My survey was unsuccessful because my cameras failed to record a Clouded leopard. But why? Was my camera placement wrong or were Clouded leopards absent from the area? Clouded leopards are certainly rare but my cameras were active for many months. I had some thinking to do. But first I had to help my son with his school homework assignment.
Later while scrolling my Instagram account on my mobile, an interesting video caught my eye. It was Endangered Species Day and Orangutan Foundation posted the video. I was surprised, excited, and encouraged by the video. I hadn't seen yet such extremely rare footage of a Sunda Clouded leopard family: two cubs following their mother in the pristine forests of Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo. This Instagram video went viral on social media, watched by hundreds of thousands and reposted around the world.
My mission became clear. I was determined to record interesting video of a Clouded leopard in its natural habitat. I informed my teammates Mitra Pandey and Guajo Lama Bhote (shown above setting a camera) to prepare for a field trip. Overhearing my conversation, my son's face saddened. Who would help with his homework?
By the end of May, we had 50 trail cameras running in remote rural community forests of mid-hills of eastern Nepal. We returned to the cameras in late July. Our hard work was rewarded with stunning photographs and videos of a Clouded leopard family. Though these forests are shrouded in fog, we recorded an innocent cub following its mother during the day. Another camera we had set in the mid-canopy of a huge tree, an adult female Clouded leopard was recorded on video teaching her cub how to ascend and descend a tree. Watch the video to see how the rear paws turn backward allowing the Clouded leopard to descend head-first. The adult's legs are short and strong, showing exceptional compression or squeezing strength.
I want to especially thank our generous financial partners whose donations made possible our trail cameras, our journey, and our threat mitigation actions to prevent retaliatory killing of Clouded leopards for taking an occasion goat. Community forests in this part of Nepal are an important refuge for Clouded leopards, Asiatic golden cats, Marbled cats and their prey, especially since these small cats occur only in the eastern-most third of Nepal. Though these forests lack federal protection they are instead protected by local communities for the ecosystem services the forest provides. Our community-based conservation efforts focus on helping people who in turn help us protect wildlife, especially small wild cats.
Please visit our one minute video of the Clouded leopard female and her cub climbing.
Saving Oyir and Ambaka, the African Golden Cat,
in Budongo Forest Reserve
by Vera Nshemeire, Embaka, Uganda
During my recent visit to the Budongo Forest Reserve, I had the pleasure of interacting with six distinct communities around the reserve. My stay at the Budongo Forest Reserve Research Station was unforgettable, as I was surrounded by a captivating symphony of sounds at night. The purpose of my visit was to engage the local communities to help me better understand threats to the African golden cat (AGC).
I visited six vibrant communities around Budongo where Alur and Lugbara are predominantly spoken languages, with Swahili serving as a common tongue. These primarily low-income households rely heavily on farming, with some individuals running small shops and others employed by nearby sugar plantations and factories. However, due to a lack of disposable income, many resort to poaching, charcoal making, and timber cutting to make ends meet.
In my discussions with the communities, I learned that they all recognized the AGC but couldn't agree on its name. Some thought it was a fox, a young lioness, or a wild cat. Eventually, we reached a consensus. In Alur, AGC is "Oyir," and in Lugbara, "Ambaka." The main reasons for poaching were the inability to afford meat from butchers and the need to raise money for school tuition and medical and household expenses. Some community members also mentioned that the AGC was often caught in their traps set for other wild animals or was attacked when it posed a threat to their livestock.
As I listened to their stories and observed their lives, I realized that hunting was one of the only ways for the people to survive. To address this, we brainstormed alternatives to bushmeat, including raising livestock and setting up village saving banks to increase their incomes.
Thanks to my colleagues' work, I know how to solve these problems. With the support of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and Big Cat Rescue, I can now act to end bushmeat hunting. First, I will support community livestock seed banks. Under this project, former poachers will be given reproductive goats, and when the goat gives birth, one offspring will be given to the next neighbor irrespective of whether they are poachers or not. This initiative has a multiplier effect in the community and supports sustainable alternatives to poaching. Additionally, I will create a community-led saving and loan program to make small loads available so people can borrow and save to improve their livelihoods.
As my colleagues always say, wildlife conservation is a social science. We implement practical, pragmatic treat reduction projects to save wild cats and to make people's lives easier. The result is people and wild cats living together and prospering.
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