Cameras for Cats

Cameras for Cats

An important part of our work at Panthera is to use the best possible methods to identify where endangered cats live, to determine what is happening to their populations, and to mitigate threats to their survival.

Camera traps and GPS collars are both vital tools for our conservation efforts and the grid on the left shows recent images of three gorgeous snow leopard cubs that were taken by a camera trap at our study site in Mongolia.

Donate today to support Panthera's conservation efforts like these, that are making a difference in saving the worlds endangered wild cats.

A Message from Dr. Tom McCarthy,
Panthera's Snow Leopard Program Director

Dear Panthera Friends,

Throughout Asia, the world’s remaining 3,500 to 7,000 wild snow leopards are facing a frightening combination of threats: habitat loss, conflict with humans, and poaching - due to an increasing demand for snow leopard parts for the illegal wildlife market. Because these secretive cats live at high elevations across harsh terrain, very little has been known about snow leopards and how to protect them…until recently.

Panthera’s Snow Leopard Program is expanding scientific knowledge of this magnificent cat, and using this information to work with local communities and national governments to enact effective conservation actions. Using state-of the art GPS collars and camera traps, we are gathering information about where these cats go, what they need to survive, if they are breeding and what happens to their cubs. These tools serve as a window for us to look into their secret world, where we continue to find the answers to better protect them.

In our latest video of three snow leopard cubs, one of them, almost eerily, stares back into the camera for some time, as if saying to us “here we are.” Please help Panthera make sure that these cubs, and wild snow leopards everywhere, have the best possible chance to survive now, and long into the future.

Your generous donation will support Panthera’s Snow Leopard Program including:

  • $50 supplies food for two months to a member of an anti-poaching unit
  • $250 deploys one camera trap (approximately 50 traps are needed per study site)
  • $500 supports GPS-radio collaring (each collar costs $4,000)
  • $1000 sponsors one camera trap for one year, and gives you a “first-look” at new images from your camera trap, and detailed program updates for your project.

I have been working to understand and conserve snow leopards for almost 20 years, and the achievements we have made in just the past few years alone have been ground breaking. 

Please donate now to help us carry out our critical work in saving one of the most enigmatic and mystical creatures to grace the planet. Every dollar counts and 100% of all donations goes directly to the field, where it matters most.

Sincerely,

Dr. Tom McCarthy

Panthera’s Snow Leopard Program Director