Big Cats Over the World

All over the world populations of big cats have been in decline. This is due to a combination of factors such as: Habitat loss, poaching, and human-animal conflicts. In all of this however, India stands out as an astonishing success story for conservation. Despite a rapidly growing economy, high population density, and high risk of big cats and other predators coming into conflict with rural farmers, India has managed to boost numbers of many famous species. In around a decade India has nearly doubled the population of Bengal Tigers leading to the the country having 75% of the world's tiger population. The Indian One-Horned Rhinoceros had a population of just 200 at the beginning of the 20th Century. This was driven by poaching for the Rhino's horns, which today are worth more than their weight in gold. By 2020 their numbers had risen to 2900. Leopards, especially the elusive Snow Leopards have also seen their populations rebounding. While none of these figures are anywhere close to historic numbers they show the dedication the Indian Government and Indian Conservationists have towards protecting wildlife. The success of the program also sets an example for other nations and shows how it is possible to balance rapid economic growth and development with conservation efforts.

A Leopard in the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve in India

A Leopard Crossing a Dirt Road in the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve

While the US does not have any native big cats (Despite their size Cougars are not considered big cats), the Turpentine Wildlife preserve has been doing excellent work in tackling the inhumane treatments of big cats and other wild animals. They are the sanctuary behind the famous 'Tiger King' rescue and they provide care to all the animals from the 'Tiger King' park.

They support efforts to combat the practice of cross-breeding of different species which can cause serious defects and pain for the Animals. For example, ligers, a cross between a male lion and a female tiger, often face severe neurological problems and increased risk of cancer and organ failure. This stems from male lions having a gene that promotes rapid growth. In nature a lioness will have a gene that limits this growth resulting in a normally sized cub. Female tigers do not have this gene which is why ligers grow to be incredibly massive. This size puts a lot of strain on their internal body functions leading to the animal suffering.

Cub-petting is another issue they rally against. Cub petting is the inhumane practice of having tourists pet and feed cubs of big cats. Many locations that offer cub petting will separate the cubs from their mother at an early age to get the mother ready to breed again. This can compromise the health of the mother. The cubs are then fed with bottles and passed between different groups of people which creates serious psychological damage.

The Turpentine Creek Sanctuary works on rehabilitating wild animals that have gone through these kinds of abuse. They take great care to ensure each animal has it's proper space, enrichment, and dietary needs met. There website can be found here: https://www.turpentinecreek.org/ Please consider supporting their rehabilitation efforts as well as the efforts of other wildlife refuges.