Wildlife and conservation new, wild travel information and links for booking
The sloth bear is restricted to India, with about 20000 remaining. Unfortunately their population is falling, as a result of habitat loss.
Â
 These bears live alongside tigers and many other species though they are not particularly easy to find.
Over time we hope to list many places where you can visit bears and see them in their wild home, these will appear here, and a list of posts we have published on bears will appear below these links
Given where they choose to live, they are currently listed as least concern, however, the population is declining, as a result of a mixture of hunting for the bushmeat trade, and habitat loss. While it is also hunted by raptors, snakes and bonobos, this hunting relies on the availability of the monkey, which means that as populations decrease there is less hunting, unfortunately we humans have overcome this natural method to stop extinction.
Below is a list of articles on this site which have been published on this site, and below this is a camera trap video of this monkey in the wild. Below both of these, we will add any links to places where this species can be seen in the wild, which will help the survival of this species.
This wolf was formerly called the Eastern Timber wolf, and was considered a subspecies of the grey wolf. There are only around 500 of this species that live in the wild. They are classified as vulnerable, presumably as there was never a large population of these wolves in the wild. They are thought to have split from grey wolves 67,000 years ago (for reference, this is more than twice the minimum distance back to when red and grey wolves split).
Found in the area of the great lakes and eastern Canada.
At the point at which it was decided that this wolf is a separate species, it already has a relatively low population, though it is considered to be mid-way between secure and extinct.
Any articles that we write in the future will appear below. We hope in the future to link to people who can help you see them in the wild, this will lie below the news. Do get in touch if you live or work in the area, we are really keen to connect you with those people visiting the area, so that they can see this newly split species and to bring you income from this species on your doorstep.
Both of the below videos are from Algonquin park, the first is a natural howl of a wolf in the stillness of the morning, while the second, is a howl prompted by a human howling into the wilderness – while this should not be done too often, as it can make the wolves nervous (they howl to spread themselves out, so hearing howls can make them think that they have to fight – though howling in North America is far more common, likely as a result of centuries of persecution in Europe.
As we make links in the field to see this species, they will appear below the videos and the list of articles.
Domestic cats are thought to have been first tamed back around 10,000 somwhere in the middle east. Unfortunately, as this is the cat that makes up the worldwide domestic cat population (almost exclusively) in many regions like Scotland, while reduction in numbers made specific subspecies of wildcat endangered, it has often been hybridisation that has pushed them over the edge.
There is little point in showing a map of the world, as they are found in almost every human population. It is thought that there are at least 200 million across the globe
Domestic cats are thought to have been tamed in Israel, which has unfortunately meant that this species of wild cat is now spread across the globe – many local species of wildcat have become extinct through hybridisation, the British wildcat is just one such example. There are now only pure British wildcats in captivity, and while there are still quite a few living wild in Scotland they have Asiatic wildcat features. This has happened in many places and solutions are not yet forthcoming.
While unfortunate, there is still work being done. In the UK there are plans to clear a peninsular of domestic cats, and re-establish a wildcat population. Only in situations like Scotland is hybridization likely, the most common reaction to a wildcat meeting a domestic cat is for the wildcat to kill the domestic cat. I hope to live to see the wildcat roaming Scotland once more, but we will se what happens.
They are not hard to see if you are in the right place. I have seen them in Africa, take a night drive in almost any nature reserve. Links will be added below.
The Canada lynx is one of 2 new world species, and is found through much of Canada and Alaska, throughout the Boreal forests of spruce and fir. They are hunted but the harvest is worked out on the basis of the population, so it rises and falls quite a lot. Climate change is effecting its northern range, and unfortunately is bringing this cat and the bobcat into more common contact, leading to an increasing number of hybrids along the area that they meet. There are thought to be 10-12 thousands of the Canada lynx across its range.
Iberian Lynx: Once found throughout the Iberian Peninsular as well as much of France: The Iberian lynx population fell to just 94 cats in two populations (23 years ago). Through intensive work the population has returned to 1668 as of May in 2023. This is currently restricted to just the south and west of the Iberian peninsular, but is likely to slowly expand its range North and East.
It is fantastic to see the Iberian Lynx returning to places that it was found in the past, however, what is clear is that as the human race, our current understanding of science allows a great deal of power, and it is scary to think that the introduction of an illness to kill rabbits could come so close to exterminating all Iberian Lynx.
Â
Back in 2002 there were only 94 Iberian lynx left in the wild. This wild cat had declined for a number of reasons, unfortunately all down to humans.
Snow leopards are not actually closely related to leopards. In fact they split from tigers more recently. Their worldwide wild population is thought to fall between 4000 and 6500, though as they are incredibly hard to see it is hard to count these cats accurately. Currently found only in a small part of its original range (as you can see from below).
This map shows the former and current snow leopard range. Unfortunately the red is the former rangeThey are found throughout the Himalayas, including Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. However, remember that generally the snow leopards are free to cross borders, so their range is likely to be spotty.
It is hard to get accurate figures or indeed locations of where snow leopards are found, should you be looking at going on a snow leopard tour, they will know where snow leopards are currently found. As we link with people we will add these below. our news section – please get in touch we are keen to help people find you. These will be listed below the new section which is found directly beneath this article.
Â
For most classifications, the cougar misses out on being a big cat, as it does not have the vocal structure to roar, as the others do.
It is largely solitary, and is generally a nocturnal or crepuscular cat (that is active at night or in the early morning and late evening). They have been persecuted since the colonization of north America by the Europeans, which has lead to patchy coverage. The Eastern Cougar is extinct, except for a sub-population called the Florida Panther which is isolated from any other Cougars. It is in better state in the west of the USA. In Southern and central America, it is still found in every country. In fact, it holds a classification of being the most widespread mammal to be found in the Western hemisphere.
It is a close relative of the Cheetah, which is believed to have initially evolved in the USA before migrating into Asia and Africa. The only animal which shares the same clade is the jaguarundi is the cougar, though the larger family called a Lineage and does include the cheetah
This is a relatively small wild cat that is found in central and Southern America, living in primary evergreen and deciduous forests. Until the 1990s they were illegally hunted for the wildlife trade, causing a significant decrease in the wild population. Sine 2008 they have been listed as near concern due to declining population, thought to be caused by habitat loss. It is classed as near threatened -one up from least concerned, but one down from Vulnerable.
There are currently 3 recognized subspecies, these are in turn found South of the Amazon, North of the Amazon and in Central America.
Â
This small wildcat species are found across an isolated series of mountain regions in the Andean mountains.
This cat is considered endangered in its native habitat. It is found in the high andes but there are only about 1400 that remain in the wild and declining. One big threat is the fact that the mountain Chinchilla has been hunted to the brink of extinction – given their habitats coincided, the loss of this food source is likely to be a big threat to the survival of the Andean mountain cat, as at high altitudes, there is less food, so the loss of one of their major food sources might well cause the population to crash.
There is precedent for a crash like this- the Iberian rabbit population was hit with a series of illnesses both caused by human carelessness or intentionally introduced. This caused the rabbit population to crash and as a result most Iberian lynx to die. It is likely that a captive breeding project for the mountain Chinchilla and rerelease into its former range could quickly change this situation – a single female can have 12 young at a maximum, and are ready to breed at 2 years old – that means that within 5 years, a group of 20 of these animals could have become thousands – whether we can afford to wait that long is another issue.
Below this, we will include a video shot by a conservationist, of this cat in the wild. Below that, is a list of any articles which we have written on this species in the past, and below this we will include any links as to where you can see this species in the wild.