Owl News

Owls have always been of particular interest for bird lovers; be it because of their exciting larger size or their simple majestic nature. Owls also occur in numerous children's books, movies, and cartoons. We can't seem to get enough of these beautiful creatures. Scientists are the same way; they strive to gain information regarding their "behavior, biology and sensory prowess" that seem to set them apart from all other avian species (Angier, New York Times).

Recently, researchers discovered that young barn owls can be impressively generous toward one another, regularly donating portions of their food to smaller, hungrier siblings — a display of altruism that is thought to be rare among nonhuman animals (Angier, New York Times).

Click here to read the full article.

Click here to see the accompanying video.

Also, if owls are what interest you, check out The Global Owl Project which is "a long-term, worldwide project to advance foundational aspects of science and conservation for the world’s owls."

Happy International Tiger Day! 9.27.11

In celebration of International Tiger Day, I just want to remind everyone how important it is that tigers live on to future generations. Tigers deserve a place of honor in the wilderness they've called home for generations, not destined to be remembered only in movies like the Jungle Book.

Presently, Tigers’ futures lay in the balance, but with the help of the Save the Tiger Fund and Panthera, their futures are getting brighter. We need to remember that diversity of prey and safe habitat, while extremely important, are not the only factors affecting tigers today. Trophy hunting took a large portion out of tiger populations as well as the illegal wildlife trade. Hunting tigers for sport turns the death of a majestic creature into a prize to be won.

We need people who care about tigers to fight for what’s right. Anyone can become an animal ambassador; all it takes is the desire to see change and to educate those around you any chance you get.

We cannot let this gorgeous big cat disappear; demand results.

To learn more about the Save the Tiger Fund, visit here.

To learn more about Panthera, visit here.

To see a 2005-2015 recovery plan for the world’s wild tigers, visit here.

Make today the day you celebrate the natural beauty of wild tigers!

Meet the Sand Cat

The Sand Cat is one of the lesser known and smaller wild cats, resembling the domestic cat in size; the Sand Cat’s coloring helps it blend with those of its desert habitat. Over time, it also developed large eyes placed forward on its broad head and low, tapered ears to provide keen hearing in a habitat where prey is scarce. Another adaptation developed specifically for its desert habitat is the presence of long, dense hairs covering the soles of the feet to provide insulation from the hot sands and to create quiet footsteps over the loose sands.

Sand Cats differ greatly from their fellow African cats such as leopards because instead of jumping and climbing, digging is their forte. A Sand Cat uses digging to construct burrows and dig rodents out of the sand. Also opposed to the more familiar African cats, a Sand Cat’s claws are not very sharp as there is usually little chance to sharpen them among the desert sands.  

A Sand Cat’s diet consists of gerbils, jerboas, sand voles, hares, birds, reptiles, large spiders, and insects. They also have a reputation for hunting horned snakes and sand vipers by stunning them with rapid blows to the head before finishing them with a bite to the neck—the go to kill technique of most wild cats. Furthermore, Sand Cats cover larger kills with sand and return later to finish the meal. Their natural enemies include poisonous snakes, jackals, and large owls.

Like lions, Sand Cats are nocturnal hunters; however, they are solitary animals and their numbers in the wild are unknown.

Most threatened or endangered species today suffer from habitat destruction, the Sand Cat does not since its habitat is located in the vast deserts of northern Africa and southwest Asia. Sand Cats have little interaction with humans because they are usually sleeping when people are active in and around the deserts. On the other hand, this small cat does experience threats from hunters while sunbathing and the illegal pet trade.

One advantage the Sand Cat has over other wild animals living close to humans and their farms is usually there is no retaliation if a Sand Cat happens to steal a chicken or two because of religious tradition. Apparently, Sand Cats are believed to be the companions of the Prophet Mohammed and his daughter. That’s certainly an advantage that cannot be replaced.

An SSP (Species Survival Program) was established for Sand Cats by the Living Desert Museum in California in 1990. This is one of few studbooks for small wild cats. One zoo in the United States participating in the SSP is the Cincinnati Zoo. The Cincinnati Zoo currently works in collaboration with the Living Desert Zoo in California, other U.S. zoos, and the Al Ain Zoo in the United Arab Emirates to produce new founders for the SSP population. With so much devotion and the continued effort of the SSP, the Sand Cat’s future looks bright.

*All facts and information regarding the Sand Cat from the International Society for Endangered Cats and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

*All photos from ARKive

Panthera Foundation: Jaguar Corridor Initiative

About Panthera from Panthera Cats on Vimeo.

“The jaguar is the largest and most iconic cat in the Western Hemisphere. Human societies and cultures across the region have evolved for centuries with the jaguar, a charismatic species that has inspired rich myths and legends, and today serves as a national symbol for several Latin American countries.”-Panthera

I first became aware of this amazing foundation while conducting research for one of my rhetoric classes. I came across an article published in National Geographic magazine in the March 2009 issue entitled “Path of the Jaguar” about the Panthera Foundation’s current project: the Jaguar Corridor Initiative. Mel White writes about Rabinowitz’s journey to create a safe passage for the jaguar through its homeland, “stretching from Mexico (and formerly the United States) to Argentina” (White); yet, this is not a new idea. The Wildlife Conservation Society paved the way for Rabinowitz in 1990 when it “launched a project called the Paseo Pantera (Spanish for ‘path of the panther’), a network of protected areas and wildlife corridors that became known as the Mesoamerica Biological Corridor (CBM) in 1997” (WCS). Many conservationists, however, were concerned with “its slow implementation and highly ambitious agenda” (WCS). Nowadays, Rabinowitz is having more success than the Wildlife Conservation Society did back in 1990. Rabinowitz and the Panthera Foundation have successfully protected the Mesoamerica component of the Jaguar Corridor, but will have to work even harder when it comes to South America “where landscapes and political situations are more diverse and challenging” (White).

Today, Panthera is still hard at work trying to make Alan Rabinowitz’s dream come true. In 2011, the goal is still the same; however, the problems are also still the same. As Panthera points out, “Jaguars, like many large, free-ranging wildlife species, are not constrained by political boundaries, nor are they as challenged or constrained by physical ones. Jaguars use and require protected areas, where their core populations can thrive” (Jaguar Corridor Initiative). Having safe passage from point A to point B sounds simple, but when these big cats move “through landscapes, across rivers, over hills and mountain passes and even through areas with human development” (JCI) things can get much more complex. Amongst the landscapes and rivers there may also be the occasional cattle ranch, citrus plantation, or someone’s backyard- anywhere jaguars can pass through safely and unharmed double as a jaguar corridor (JCI).

The three main problems that brought about a need for the Jaguar Corridor Initiative are:

1.      Dramatic habitat loss and fragmentation from wild lands being converted into agriculture

a.       With isolated patches of land, jaguars run the risk of being confined and are at greater risk for extinction.

2.      Direct hunting by people

a.       Ranchers especially because they see jaguars as a threat to their livelihood

3.      Lack of natural prey, like deer and wild pigs, due to overhunting by humans and habitat loss

a.       This fuels conflict between humans and jaguars because it forces the big cats to prey on domestic animals

The solution will not be easy to come by but with Panthera working in conjunction with “local communities, governments, and other conservation organizations every step of the way, to secure the long-term presence of jaguar populations and to ensure their safe passage from Mexico to Argentina” (JCI) it will come in time. 


In order to successfully preserve the Path of the Jaguar, the Jaguar Corridor Initiative is “built on a multi-dimensional process:”

1.      Map-based model of the jaguar’s ecological needs throughout its range.

2.      “Ground-truthing” corridors to verify where the jaguars are and where they are moving through

3.      Managing and conserving jaguar prey species

4.      Helping ranchers with livestock husbandry improvements

5.      Working with local communities to alleviate conflict between humans and jaguars

6.      Assisting governments with protected area management

As of now, jaguars exist in a total of 18 countries in Latin America and Panthera currently works in 13 of those countries, with plans to move into an additional two countries in the coming year (Panther’s Jaguar Footprint).  The 13 countries are: Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, and Paraguay. To see what Panthera is doing to expand the Jaguar Corridor Initiative in these 13 countries, please visit Panthera’s Jaguar Footprint.