Panthera

Big cats, just like their distant cousin, the domestic house cat, are characteristically curious, particularly when it comes to Panthera’s camera traps. Wild cats and other wildlife are naturally intrigued when they pass through camera traps’ infrared sensors and trigger flashes of light and clicking noises. Most of the time, they react by taking a closer look at the cameras, often sniffing, pawing or warily ‘eyeing’ Panthera’s camera traps. Other times, cats and other wildlife will be so bold as to chew on the camera traps, spray them with urine and even trample and steal the camera traps, as recently demonstrated by a stealthy snow leopard cub in Tajikistan (video below)!

In tribute to curious cats like this one, Panthera has assembled a webpage of entertaining photos and videos of big cats and other wildlife inspecting, playing with and assailing Panthera's camera traps around the world. Regardless of the damage incurred, Panthera’s wild cat scientists are thrilled to use camera traps as a tool to gather critical data on the size, distribution and conservation statuses of wild cat populations, the presence of their prey, and sometimes even help in the identification and apprehension of poachers.

In early 2012, Panthera held a Curious Pets Photo Contest on Facebook. Check back with us to learn about the contest winning photo!