Dr. Howard Quigley, Panthera’s Jaguar Program Director and Teton Cougar Project Director, focuses on the conservation of jaguars range-wide and the conservation of cougars in California and Wyoming. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley, his Master’s degree from the University of Tennessee, and his Doctorate from the University of Idaho. Before serving as President of the University of Idaho’s Hornocker Wildlife Institute, Dr. Quigley worked as an Assistant Professor for Frostburg State University within the University System of Maryland. After the Hornocker Wildlife Institute merged with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Dr. Quigley directed the WCS’s Global Carnivore Program. In 2002, he took on the role of Executive Director of Craighead Beringia South, a wildlife research and conservation organization based in Wyoming. Later, in 2009, Dr. Quigley joined Panthera in his current position.
Dr. Quigley’s work with carnivores has included field studies of giant pandas in China, Siberian tigers in the Russian Far East, cougars in central Idaho, and jaguars in the Brazilian Pantanal. Currently, Dr. Quigley heads the Teton Cougar Project in the southern Yellowstone ecosystem, a program that focuses on predator-prey interactions, cougar population dynamics, and cougar interactions with other large carnivores. In the latter aspect of his work, he coordinates with other scientists to examine the interactions of wolves, grizzly bears, cougars, and black bears. These data will be used to improve our understanding of carnivore “guilds” and to inform and develop long-term conservation and management plans for large carnivores. Dr. Quigley is also conducting a review and evaluation of cougar science and conservation efforts in the state of California.
In the 1970’s, Dr. Quigley and Dr. George Schaller, Panthera’s Vice President, began the world’s first comprehensive and ecological study of wild jaguars in the Brazilian Pantanal. Today, working from the bottom up with local communities and top down with political leaders and heads of national environmental agencies, Dr. Quigley now manages the world’s largest team of jaguar experts, with conservation projects in 13 of the 18 jaguar range states.
Dr. Quigley is a member of the I.U.C.N. Cat Specialist Group and consults on a variety of carnivore issues, including jaguar recovery in the U.S., cougar-human interactions, and jaguar-rancher conflicts in Latin America. Through his involvement with graduate committees at five universities, Dr. Quigley has helped graduate more than twenty graduate level students. In addition, Dr. Quigley is the author of more than thirty scientific publications and popular articles.
Selected Videos and Podcasts Featuring Dr. Quigley
| Cougars Compete to Survive | Wild About Pets Interview with Dr. Howard Quigley | ||
| NatGeo WILD - Jaguar Tracks | CBS "60 Minutes" In Search of the Jaguar |
Selected Blog post by Dr. Quigley
- Quigley, H. (2009, May 7). New Insight Into Cougar Behavior. Huffington Post: Panthera's Cat Tales.
Selected Popular Articles Featuring Dr. Quigley
- Hatch, C. (2012, April 11). Study reveals cougars sharing kills in Gros Ventre. Jackson Hole News&Guide
- Schontzler, G. (2011, December 8). Bozeman scientist’s work with cougars, jaguars featured by National Geographic. Bozeman Daily Chronicle
- Hatch, C. (2011, July 27). Famous grizzly mother and daughter swap a cub. Jackson Hole News&Guide
- Erickson-Davis, M. (2011, January 17). American cougars on the decline: 'We’re running against the clock,' says big cat expert. MongaBay
Selected Scientific Publications by Dr. Quigley
- Newby, J., Mills, L., Ruth, T., Pletscher, D., Mitchell, M., Quigley, H. et al. (2013) Human-caused mortality influences spatial population dynamics: Pumas in landscapes with varying mortality risks. Biological Conservation 159: 230–239.
- Elbroch, M. and Quigley, H. (2012) Observations of Wild Cougar (Puma concolor) Kittens with Live Prey: Implications for Learning and Survival. The Canadian Field-Naturalist Vol 126, No 4.
- Ruth, T., Haroldson, M., Murphy, K., Buotte, P., Hornocker, M., and Quigley, H. (2011) Cougar Survival and Source-Sink Structure on Greater Yellowstone’s Northern Range. The Journal of Wildlife Management 75(6):1381–1398.
- Goodrich, J., Miquelle, D., Smirnov, E., Kerley, L., Quigley, H., and Hornocker, M. (2010) Spatial structure of Amur (Siberian) tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) on Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Zapovednik, Russia. Journal of Mammalogy 91(3):737–748.
- Salom-Perez, R., J. Polisar, H. Quigley, K. Zeller. (2010) Jaguar Corridor Initiative: A Biological Corridor and a Long-term Commitment to Conservation (In Spanish). Mesoamericana 14:25-34.
- Ruth, T., Buotte, P., and Quigley, H. (2009) Comparing ground telemetry and global positioning system methods to determine cougar kill rates. The Journal of Wildlife Management 74(5):1122–1133.
- Costello, C., Creel, S., Kalinowski, S., Vu, N., and Quigley, H. (2008) Determinants of male reproductive success in American black bears. Behav Ecol Sociobiol.
Click here to find more Scientific Publications by Dr. Quigley
Panthera Press Releases Featuring Dr. Quigley
- First Photos Ever Of Jaguars In Colombian Oil Palm Plantation Taken With Panthera's Camera Traps
- Honduran Government Makes Historic Commitment to Protect Jaguars
- Panthera's Howard Quigley at Community Screening of "American Cougar" - Part of Nat Geo Wild's Big Cat Week
- Belize Officials and Panthera Scientists Score Another Huge Victory for Wild Cats; Secure Protected Jaguar Corridor






