Panthera’s Small Cats Program creates targeted conservation strategies for the world’s most threatened small cat species by understanding their unique ecological needs and threats.
Small Cats Program
There are 40 recognized species of wild cats in the world. Most people are familiar with the big and medium-sized species, but few can name the 33 smaller cats. Panthera’s Small Cats Program is expanding our focus in wild cat conservation to bring the increasingly threatened small cat species to the world’s attention and enact science-based conservation action on their behalf.
Only a handful of studies have investigated the ecology of small cats, and subsequently, there are huge knowledge gaps about species population sizes, threats, and more. This lack of data can significantly hamper conservation action and make many highly-threatened small cat species appear as low priorities on the conservation agenda. Moreover, while some species may be considered common, little is known about how changes in land use and other threats impact them.
Small cat species inhabit 5 of the world's 7 continents.
The strategy of Panthera's growing Small Cats Program is to operate at key sites on every continent where small cat species occur.
A Visionary for Small Cats
In March of 2021, small cats received a big conservation boost from philanthropist Jon Ayers, who pledged to invest at least $20 million over ten years for wild cat conservation with a particular focus on small cats.
As the latest member of Panthera's Global Alliance for Wild Cats, Ayers' commitment will shine a much-needed international spotlight on the 33 species of small cats and support critical conservation and ecological initiatives (some of the first-ever) on the species' behalf.
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The State of Small Cats
Ranging in size from the diminutive rusty-spotted cat, weighing around 5 pounds when fully grown, to the 50-pound Eurasian lynx, small cat species inhabit five of the world’s seven continents (excluding Australia and Antarctica) and are superbly adapted to an array of natural and increasingly unnatural environments, from deserts to rainforests to city parks.
Compared to big cats and other carnivores, very little is known about the world's small cats. Supremely elusive, some are nocturnal, others are arboreal, and all are rare and secretive, making them especially difficult to study. Many small cats are in danger of extinction, and some are so cryptic that scientists haven't even been able to study them in the wild, and can only describe their appearance and approximate geographic range.
While 12 of the world’s 18 most threatened wild felids are small cat species, they still receive a fraction—some estimates say less than one percent—of all the funding committed to wild cat conservation. Today, conservation strategies don’t even exist for the majority of small wild cat species, though they most certainly face serious risks from habitat loss, poaching, land conversion, and conflict with humans.
The 33 small cat species’ listings range from “Least Concerned” to “Endangered” on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Small cats face big threats, so it’s critical we conduct the fundamental science to accurately inform conservation action. The Small Cats Program will provide the conservation attention they desperately need, so that no wild cat, big or small, will be left behind in the race against extinction.
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Check here to see if your company participates in a matching gift program. You may be able to double, or even triple, the impact of your gift! Contributions of any amount help you take action to ensure a future for wild cats and the landscapes they protect.
How Do Scientists Study Small Cats in a Big World?
Each of the 33 species of small cat has its own unique conservation challenges. Our latest Field Notes blog features the amazing scientists dedicated to protecting these wild cats across the globe.
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Scientific Publications
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Scientific Publications
2019-07-15 14:17:24
A Mitochondrial Phylogeny of the Sand Cat (Felis margarita Loche, 1858)
Source: Journal of Mammalian Evolution
Grégory Breton MSc
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Scientific Publications
2018-11-01 10:27:11
Non-invasive genetic identification of two sympatric sister-species: ocelot ( Leopardus pardalis) and margay (L. wiedii ) in different biomes
Conserving predators across agricultural landscapes in Colombia: habitat use and space partitioning by jaguars, pumas, ocelots and jaguarundis
Source: Oryx | Photo: Valeria Boron
Valeria Boron Ph.D.
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Scientific Publications
2018-08-27 10:08:12
Multi-scale habitat selection modeling identifies threats and conservation opportunities for the Sunda clouded leopard
Source: Science Direct | Photo: Wai-Ming Wong
Luke Hunter Ph.D.
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Scientific Publications
2017-09-27 17:28:34
Responses of Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi population density to anthropogenic disturbance: refining estimates of its conservation status in Sabah
Source: Oryx | Photo: Alexander Sliwa
Luke Hunter Ph.D.
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Scientific Publications
2017-07-05 17:28:34
Contrasting bobcat values
Source: Biodiversity and Conservation | Photo: Nick Garbutt
Mark Elbroch Ph.D.
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Scientific Publications
2016-12-07 11:21:04
Ocelot Latrines: Communication Centers for Neotropical Mammals
Source: Oxford University Press | Photo: Patrick Meier
Howard Quigley Ph.D., Roberto Salom-Pérez MS, Daniel Thornton Ph.D.