Cats of the Wild

Beijing, China - the world's largest capital city was once the traditional habitat of the magnificent North Chinese leopard.

Pushed out from Beijing, these leopards today live in the Taihung mountains in the south west of the capital, however an ambitious project from the China Felid Conservation Alliance seeks to bring these leopards back home to Beijing.

Across successive generations, these leopards are gradually migrating north towards Beijing. But if they succeed in reaching the city, is it prepared to welcome its new wild neighbours?

Guest

Huang Qiaowen, China Felid Conservation Alliance

Dive into the heart of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula where ancient traditions meet modern challenges. 🐝🌳 In our latest episode, we explore the tropical dry forests of Calakmul, a place where Mayan beekeepers have been harvesting honey in harmony with nature for centuries.

But now, climate change is bringing an unexpected twist to the tale. With water becoming a precious commodity, a conflict brews between the local beekeepers and the majestic wildcats of the region. 🐆💧

Join us as we follow Mariam, Thelma, and Carlos from the Ocelot Working Group who are on the frontlines, fighting to resolve these conflicts. Their mission? To protect the wildcats and preserve the precious beekeeping practices that support over 25,000 families. 🌍🤝

Tune in to hear their story and discover the innovative solutions they're crafting to ensure that people and nature can thrive together for generations to come. 🌱🐾

Guests

Mariam Weston & Thelma Arenas, Ocelot Working Group

When we think about the illegal wildlife trade, we think of the fur of tigers, the ivory of elephant tusks and the scales of pangolins - but even small wild cats are traded illegally in many countries around the world.

In the porous border region between Myanmar and the Indian state of Mizoram, wildlife biologist Amit Kumar Bal stumbled upon a trade of small wild cats from the Murlen National Park in India, across the border to Myanmar - a global hub for the illegal wildlife trade.

After three years of living in one of the small villages bordering the park, Amit has completely eliminated the hunting of small wild cats - but that's just one village - and now Amit is trying to replicate this success in every village all throughout Mizoram.

Guests: Amit Kumar Bal

In 1965, Yukio Togawa, a Japanese novelist found himself drawn to the whispers of a wild cat unknown to science. He set sail for the untamed wilderness of Iriomote Island and brought this wild cat - the Iriomote Cat to the world's attention.

Togawa inadvertently sparked a conversation about the future of Iriomote Island - a delicate balance between the unspoiled wilderness that needed protection and the essential infrastructure that the island's communities required.

Now, his legacy lives on through his daughter, Kumi. Inspired by her father's passion and dedication, she continues his work, striving to conserve the Iriomote Cat and its habitat. This is their story, told by his daughter, a tale of conservation conflict and the enduring bond between a father, a daughter, and the wild cat that brought them together.

Guest

Kumi Togawa, Japan Tiger & Elephant Fund

Links

Wildfires have always been a natural hazard ingrained in the history of the forests across Washington state in the US Pacific Northwest, but in recent years their impact has grown more severe, with longer-lasting and more intense blazes pushing this region's fragile ecosystems right to the very brink.

Amongst the wildlife that call these forests home, is a subpopulation of the Canada lynx, a medium-sized species of lynx that ranges across Alaska, Canada and some northern areas of the US.

With each devastating wildfire, the Canada Lynx's future here grows more uncertain - their once familiar territory now fragmented, altered and their survival now in a race against time.

Guest

Carmen Vanbianchi - Home Range Wildlife Research

“Hey all you cool cats and kittens!”

Do you recognise this catch phrase at all? Of course you do, it's Carole Baskin - co-founder of the non-profit sanctuary Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Florida.

Whilst many people may have only recently heard about Big Cat Rescue through Netflix's 'Tiger King', the organisation has been caring and protecting wild cats for over thirty years. Carole, and her husband Howard have also been tireless advocates for ending private ownership of big cats in the US, resulting in the Big Cat Public Safety Act signed into US law in December 2022.

In March 2023, Big Cat Rescue made a huge announcement - announcing that all the remaining cats at the centre would be relocated to Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas and that they would sell the land where Big Cat Rescue is located.

This is far from the end for Big Cat Rescue - it's the start of a new adventure in investing the expected millions from the property sale into conservation projects for cats in the wild.

Guests:

Howard Baskin - Big Cat Rescue

Links

Big Cat Rescue

The Carpathian lynx - a subspecies of the Eurasian lynx. These majestic cats are a symbol of the wild and rugged landscapes of east and central Europe, where from country to country, they roam the mountains and forests. silently hunting for their prey.

Over in France, the fate of these cats is hanging by just a thread. In fact if we do nothing, it's likely they will become locally extinct in just thirty years. Recent research from Nathan Huvier at Centre Athénas, a wildlife conservation organisation in the Jura mountains, has found that these beautiful cats are facing a rapid loss of genetic diversity with just under 150 adult lynxes remaining in the wild in France.

So let's explore the history of the Carpathian lynx in France, dive into the very latest research on their genetic diversity, and discuss how we can all work together to save these cats from disappearing from the French wilderness forever.

Guest

Nathan Huvier - Centre Athénas

Links

Humans may be the world's top predator - but what happens when the tables are turned and we become the hunted.

For many people around the world, the feeling of being watched stalked or even eaten by a predator such as a big cat is a terrifying reality.

We're working to protect what wild cats we have left and even increase their numbers. But how do we balance this against the complexities of a world where increasingly people and predators live side by side.

In this episode, we'll hear from Professor Adam Hart, author of “The Deadly Balance: People & Predators in a Crowded World”, and explore the spine chilling topic of human predation by big cats and what the future holds as we continue to push into wildlife habitats.

Links

Maybe you're driving on a road right now - even if you're not you're probably not that far from a road - because, roads are everywhere. It's hard to imagine a modern world without roads - and whilst they allow people like us to go almost anywhere in the world - they're also the great enabler for the many threats facing wild cats today such as deforestation, poaching and of course road-kill

What we don't talk about though - is how the roads themselves divide our precious planet into millions of tiny pieces - irreversibly splitting-up populations of wildlife. So in this episode, we'll hear about the impact of roads on wild cats and some of the innovative solutions - such as wildlife bridges, tunnels & AI smart cameras to make roads - a whole lot more cat-friendly.

Guests

Links

Singapore is one of the smallest countries on the planet, and its rapid rise from a small trading settlement to a bustling modern metropolis has destroyed 95% of its historical forests, driving the extinction of many species of animals. The islands were once home to the Malayan Tiger and the Indo-Chinese leopard and today, there is just one species of wild cat left in Singapore - the leopard cat - with around 50 individuals estimated to be in the wild.

Whilst the leopard cat may be relatively common in some other countries, for Singaporeans, protecting this cat - their last wild cat - is incredibly important. So in this episode, we're going to meet Vilma D'Rozario and Marcus Chua from the community-run Singapore Wild Cat Action Group to learn more about the leopard cat and how they engage Singaporeans to help protect and save their last wild cat.

Guests

Links

Singapore Wild Cat Action Group

Cover Image Credit: Marcus Chua