Big Cats – TINA CHIARELLI, PHD, FRGS

A New Year of Hope for Wildlife Conservation

January 1st, 2016tinalc0 Comments

Another year has come and gone. Like those years preceding, 2015 has witnessed both heartbreak and achievements in conservation. As we reflect back, it is important to find the positive in the saddest of situations, learn from them, and apply the knowledge gained to help in the new year. The death of the King of Hwange, Cecil, brought trophy hunter to center stage. Through his tragic end, Cecil became a voice for Lions. Not only did the world listen they too spoke out asking how and why this could have happened. Demanding justice. In response, the United States listed one …

What an Endangered Species listing in the US means for African Lions

December 22nd, 2015tinalc0 Comments

2015 has seen a media frenzy centered on the African lion, mostly for the wrong reasons. Headlines condemning the illegal killing of a research lion, Cecil, started a global conversation on the lion hunting industry. A recent documentary, Blood Lions, solidified the fact that this type of exploitation is a contributing factor to the demise of this magnificent species. For years wildlife conservation groups have called for the increase in protection for the African lion to no avail.According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are only ~23,000 lions representing five subspecies still found in Africa. That …

The State of Africa’s Big Cats: a 30-year Conservation Report Card

January 21st, 2015tinalc0 Comments

Despite staunch conservation efforts, global big cat populations continue to decline. In just the last 30 years, data collected by conservation groups in Africa show that some big cat populations fell by at least 50% (table 1). Loss of habitat, human-wildlife conflicts, hunting, and poaching continue to threaten the long –term survival of these iconic creatures. Population 1985 2015 Cheetah (Africa and Iran) ~21,000 <10,000 (CCF) Lion (African and Asia) 100,000 ~23,000 Africa; <400 Asia (IUCN) Tiger (6 subspecies) 5,000-7,000 <3,500 (Global Tiger Initiative) Leopard (9 subspecies) no reliable data 100,000 Africa; 8,000 India (Nat Geo) …

Make 2015 the Year of Conservation Achievements

January 5th, 2015tinalc0 Comments

As 2014 came to a close, I felt inundated with reports of record numbers of animals killed to fuel the illegal wildlife trade. In 2014, almost 1,200 rhino were killed for their horns. Numbers of elephants slaughtered for ivory were in the tens of thousands. It appears that life in the sea is just as dangerous on land as over 100 million sharks were killed for their fins. Gorillas, tigers, okapis, hippos, lions, and cheetah are not only losing their lives, but also their homes. Sadly, they are not the only ones. This cannot continue. As we begin 2015, …

Can CITES Regulations Help Protect Wildlife?

March 13th, 2013tinalc0 Comments

From 3-14 March, the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is holding their Conference of Parties 16 (CoP16) in Bangkok, Thailand. While some species will get the protection they so desperately need to survive in the wild, others seem to fall by the wayside. What constitutes a species being placed on the coveted Appendix I list? Is a down listing to Appendix II or III, or a delisting a death sentence for species? Do CITES regulations really help protect endangered species or simply pay lip service to the angry mob? A great deal of confusion surrounds what CITES …

Exotic Animal Ownership

October 30th, 2011tinalc0 Comments

Since the exotic animal incident in Zanesville, Ohio a few weeks ago, I have received a lot of questions regarding the laws governing exotic animal ownership in the United States. Ownership of exotic or non-native species in the US is a much debated subject. In actuality, regulation is done on a state, not national, basis; which allows for a lot of inconsistencies and what appears to be very little regulation. On one side of the argument are those individuals who own exotic species and want to continue to do so. On the other side are people who want to regulate …