This very interesting article was recently released by the Press Association and just shows how important captive breeding programmes could be to the long term population recovery of some of the worlds most endangered big cats....

Endangered Amur leopards from UK zoos could soon be heading to Russia as part of a captive breeding and release programme to save the big cat.

There are estimated to be just 25 to 35 Amur leopards left in the wild in the Russian Far East, with numbers driven down by poaching of both the cat and its prey and damage to its habitat from activities such as logging and forest fires.

But experts are hoping to reverse the fortunes of the rarest big cat in the world with a reintroduction programme using animals bred from captive Amur leopards.

A multi-national scheme to reintroduce the species, which would run alongside efforts to protect the existing wild population, has so far failed to secure the necessary funding, but the Russian government has backed a Moscow-based programme.

So experts from organisations including the UK's Wildlife Vets International are working with the Russian scheme, which has established a captive breeding centre on the edge of the territory where it is planned leopards will be released.

Under the scheme, leopards will be mated and rear cubs at the centre, with the young fed live prey to allow them to learn how to hunt before they are released into the wild at around 12 to 18 months old - the time they would normally leave their mothers.

Dr John Lewis, veterinary director of Wildlife Vets International and veterinary adviser to the Amur leopard European captive breeding programme, said that the centre could start receiving leopards in a few months' time.

Dr Lewis said UK wildlife parks and zoos could contribute animals to the scheme, once the European breeding programme was confident that the centre in Russia was suitable for the project. Some improvements, such as better security, were needed first, he said.

The plan is to rotate different animals through the Russian breeding programme so that the released young will be genetically diverse. To begin with, the reintroduced population will be separate from the existing wild population to avoid conflict between cats and the risk of spreading disease.

It may be many years before the scheme can be judged to have been successful, but Dr Lewis believes the programme could help with conservation management of other cat species.

Copyright © 2012 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Some very good news has just filtered through from China. An image of an Amur leopard has been captured on a camera trap in China - the first official sighting of one of these cats since 1949. The Amur Leopard is the rarest big cat in the world with maybe as few as 35 remaining in the far east of Russia.

What makes this particular event important is that the leopard was found scores of kilometres away from the China-Russia border – far further than the believed maximum home range covered by an Amur leopard. This could be exciting news for the long term future of this critically endangered species.

Ares (male) and Athena (female) are two Jaguars that have recently arrived at WHF. He is a magnificent cat with a wonderful coat full of rosettes and she is a gorgeous black Jaguar. Jaguars, in my opinion, are the scariest of all the big cats. They are immensely powerful and very intelligent and you can’t help but to be in awe of them when you see them at close quarters. I thought that I would take this opportunity to share a little more information for anyone who may be interested.
The third largest of all the cats the Jaguar is an incredible animal. The most active and vigorous of the big cats, it is designed for tremendous strength and agility. It is considered to be the most 'complete' predator in the cat family.

All of the big cats have inspired their share of myths and legends but on the Jaguar has dominated the religion and culture of a Continent. From the beginning of recorded time in Central and Southern America the image of the Jaguar has loomed larger than life throughout art, religion and myth.

Despite the outside resemblance with the leopard, the Jaguar is more muscular and compact - with weight ranging from 130-220 lbs for the males, the females being roughly 15% lighter. Significant size variations are however observed in the species depending on the habitat of the animal but it is generally believed that the largest Jaguars live in the Pantanal region of Brazil.

In terms of colour the Jaguar is similar to the leopard. The coat is covered by rosettes having a pattern unique to each individual. Stark colour variations do exist, with some Jaguars being totally black. The former are often incorrectly referred to as 'black panthers'. Appearance varies also on the habitat of the animal. Usually denizens of the dense forests have darker coats to aid them in conditions of low lighting, whereas Jaguars of relatively open plains have a lighter coloration to assist in their camouflage. These animals are also considerably bigger than their jungle counterparts since they have to tackle larger prey animals.

With powerful limbs, rounded skull and a robust physique, the Jaguar is a study in strength. Pound for pound it is considered to be one of the strongest land mammals. Its jaw strength goes unrivaled amongst all big cats. The great strength in canines and jaw bones has in fact enabled the Jaguar to practice a mode of killing most frightful among all predators of land - whilst capable of the usual neck bite and strangulation technique of big cats - the Jaguar prefers to kill its prey by a bite through its skull! The devastating bite is delivered between the ears of the prey as its teeth pierce the skull to enter the brain. The caiman is hunted in this manner as is the tortoise whose shell is cracked with ease by the great cat.

At stalking, Jaguar has no peer. Designed for stealth and a powerful pounce, the Jaguar is considered as the best ambush hunter in all of animal kingdom. Its remarkably silent approach towards prey is simply incredible to watch. The other outstanding feature is its terrific hunting prowess in water. With a prey base from baby alligators to fish, Jaguar's aquatic hunting abilities are the best among land predators. Yet another remarkable weapon in the Jaguar's arsenal is the superb climbing ability of the heavily muscled cat - that enables it to prey on surprised monkeys and birds and carry prey as big as cattle to tree tops to avoid rising flood levels, using its great strength.

The range of the Jaguar in the wild is declining owing to deforestation. Numbers are also decreasing due to escalating conflicts with poachers and ranchers.

All big cats are special but I think that the Snow Leopard is perhaps the most incredible of them all.

Maybe its their magnificent dense coat or maybe it’s the fact that they are so enigmatic and elusive. Whatever the reason - these cats are special, so I thought that I would share some information about this amazing animal.

Snow leopards are sparsely distributed in the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia. Their range extends through twelve countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Until the last 10 years very little was known about these elusive cats but in recent times, from motion-sensitive camera traps in Afghanistan, scientists have amassed a wealth of snow leopard images, allowing them to estimate population numbers, identify individuals and track migrations. Number ranges are still large but it is believed that between 4,000 - 7,500 cats remain and that populations are stable. They are incredible shy cats that are camouflaged wonderfully with the rocky steppes of their environment - the belief is that if a snow leopard sits quietly and doesn't want to be seen, you won't see it!

Snow leopards retain the majesty and fluid, predatory elegance of the other big cats while incorporating touches of panda-esque cuteness, the incidental result of adaptations to the cold. They have wide, furry paws to help them move easily and silently over the snow. They have adapted and evolved to the cold surrounding incredibly. Snow leopards sometimes wrap their tail around their body and face for warmth. Their noses have the only exposed skin on their body so by using their tail they protect it from the extreme temperatures. Snow leopards have powerful lungs and large chest capacity to help them get enough oxygen from the thin mountain air, while their enlarged nasal cavity helps them warm the cold air they breathe before it gets to the delicate tissues inside the lungs.

Snow leopards neither roar nor purr, and their vocalisations can sound remarkably similar to the yowl of a Siamese cat. As a rule, snow leopards are calm and low-key and records suggest that they don’t attack or kill humans.

There threats in the wild are mainly human. They have no known natural predator.
Poaching is the major threat. Snow leopards are hunted illegally for their pelts, which are sought after especially in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Russia for coats and other garments. Snow leopard bones and other body parts are also in demand for use in traditional Chinese medicine.

Finally, live cats are sometimes captured from the wild for private animal collections in Central Asia.

Many of the poachers are local people from snow leopard areas, who often live on just a few dollars a day. For them, poaching may be a lucrative source of extra income to help them feed their families.

Retribution killings and conflict with herders are another issue. Snow leopards sometimes prey on domestic livestock. Herders in snow leopard areas lead precarious economic lives, and their wealth is almost entirely tied up in their herds.

The loss of even a single sheep or goat represents a real economic hardship. Herders often retaliate for these losses by trapping, poisoning, or shooting snow leopards.

Finally, habitat and prey loss. As humans push ever further into mountainous areas with their livestock, the snow leopard's habitat is degraded and fragmented.

Overgrazing damages the fragile mountain grasslands, leaving less food for the wild sheep and goats that are the snow leopard's main prey.

Fishing Cats are a medium sized wild cat from the wetlands of south and south east Asia. The Fishing Cat is another unique example of the great abilities and diversities of the cat family. Found in a range extending from Indochina, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Java it inhabits mainly water bound areas including rivers, mangrove swamps, creeks and thickets up to a height of five thousand feet.

Somewhat similar to other wild cats of this size, the Fishing Cat has a broad head, short tail and sturdy built. Its coat is marked by dark spots that may form stripes over spine. Their ears are short and round while the nose is of a flattened appearance. Feet are somewhat webbed that enables the Fishing Cat to maintain a degree of traction on slippery muds. The Indian Fishing Cat is bigger with length around four feet and weight approximately twenty five pounds, whereas the Indonesian cats are smaller with an average length of three feet and weight nearing twelve pounds.

The Fishing Cat is a hunter mostly of aquatic animals, specialising in fish, frogs, molluscs and snakes. It is a good swimmer and will even dive underwater to hunt. At the same time it does not spare terrestrial prey including rodents, deer, goats, dogs and even small wild boars! The opportunistic cat has also been known to go after birds and kills of other predators.

Just another news story that should sicken everyone. A modern-day Egyptian gladiator has reportedly announced plans to fight an African lion.



The man claims to have Government blessing to fight the animal in front of the Giza pyramids, all in an exceedingly misguided effort to revive the country’s tourism industry. Apparently the stunt man purchased the 250kg animal (illegally) for approximately $4,200 and will fight it with a dagger and shield. This madness is supposed to happen on 25 June, 2011. And we call ourselves civilised?

Two Rusty Spotted Cats sisters Chan and Nuwara have recently arrived at WHF so I thought I would share with you a little information of these great little cats.

The smallest wild cat in the world, the Rusty Spotted Cat is also one of the most playful. A resident of Indian Subcontinent, it is believed to be a miniature version of the Leopard Cat. Weighing between two to three pounds, it is around two feet in length including tail. Females of the species are particularly small. To put it into some sort of context they are about one third the size of a domestic cat!!



The Rusty Spotted Cat has a warm red/greyish coat with rusty red coloured spots all over its body. Its fur is soft and short and under the surface is white and often spotted as well. One of the most distinctive features are their large round eyes.

An arboreal and nocturnal feline, the Rusty Spotted Cat is known to prey upon small animals including rodents, frogs, reptiles, insects and small birds. The reclusive cat spends most of the day resting in dense cover and comes out at night to hunt. An opportunistic predator, it is known to take domestic poultry, bringing itself in conflict with the locals at times. The cat is very friendly and fun loving though, often being adopted as a pet by some.

A resident of India and Sri Lanka, the Rusty Spotted Cat is divided into two subspecies on the basis of this geographical distribution. The Sri Lankan subspecies is brighter in colouration and lives at high altitudes in comparison to the Indian variant that prefers to stay in plains.

They are very cute, playful and inquisitive – I am sure that when they are out of quarantine they will be a popular addition to the cats at WHF.

WWF camera traps have captured a record number of images of critically endangered Sumatran tigers recently - 12 different tigers in just two months in central Sumatra.

Please have a look at the great footage (which includes two mothers with cubs and three young tiger siblings playfully chasing a leaf).

WWF Sumatran Tiger Video

However please remember that this forest in Bukit Tigapuluh is under imminent threat of being cleared by the pulp and paper industry, despite its importance for tigers. To put the scale of the deforestation into perspective between 2004 and 2010, Bukit Tigapuluh lost over 200,000 hectares of forest to the pulp and paper and palm oil industries.
It is not known for sure yet whether so many tigers have been found because of better knowledge of where to position the camera traps or because the tigers’ habitat is shrinking so rapidly they’re being forced to share smaller and smaller bits of forests.

The gorgeous Narnia has recently arrived at WHF after a falling out with her long term companion Rocky at Paradise Wildlife Park. She is a hybrid white tiger so I thought it would be a good opportunity to try and clear up some of the myths about white tigers. Narnia was born in France to a dealer who sold her to a circus at a young age. Luckily Peter Sampson (owner of Paradise Wildlife Park) rescued her from the circus and brought her to the UK.

White tigers are Bengal (Indian) tigers whose fur is white or almost white. These species are neither albino nor a separate subspecies of the tiger. Rather, they are just Bengal tigers which have inherited two copies of recessive gene controlling skin pigmentation.

The white gene is a double-recessive one and in natural mating, there is only a one in 10,000 chance that a tiger will be white, which is why white tigers really only exist in captivity.

Even though it does happen naturally in the wild that tigers can be born white, there are many reports of wild tiger mothers attempting to smother their white cubs to death, because the colouration also makes the tigers more visible to prey. In a natural setting, white tigers would normally starve to death, or die of other complications. This maternal behaviour is noted even today in zoos, and often, white tigers must be taken from their mothers immediately after birth and be hand reared.

White tigers make extremely popular zoo exhibits. They are beautiful and unusual but often suffer with genetic disorders caused by inbreeding. Common birth defects include immune deficiency, eye problems, cleft palate, abnormal kidneys, and scoliosis of the spine. Unscrupulous private owners and dealers will inbreed two white tigers to get more white cubs – to sell on. These are highly interbred cats with a low life expectancy and often suffer greatly.
However, in respected zoo establishments the white tigers are not part of any breeding programmes and can live out their lives happily.
What you have to remember is, whatever your beliefs, its not the cats fault. They can still be tiger conservation advocates, as any hybrid tiger can be, in helping raise awareness of the plight of tigers in the wild.

The mysterious Saharan Cheetah is an ultra-secretive elusive creature. A sub-species of cheetah, it is also known as the Northwest African cheetah. It was only back in 2009 that scientists from the Zoological Society of London were able to photograph one for the first time using a night time camera trap in the Algerian deserts.
In December 2010 scientists from the Saharan Conservation Fund (SCF) photographed the wild cat in the deserts of the Niger. As these cats are very rare, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified them as critically endangered species and naturally the image captured by the scientists from SCF has created a great enthusiasm among the conservationists as many believe that fewer than 10 of such cats survive in the harsh deserts of Termit, Niger. Experts also believe that the total number of Saharan Cheetah is somewhere around 250.
Now, what is so special about this particular creature? The truth is almost nothing is known about the Saharan cheetah until now. This Northwest African cheetah is found in the Sahara desert and savannahs of North and West Africa including Algeria, Niger, Mali, Benin, Burkina Faso and Togo. But it is not yet known if Saharan cheetahs are more closely related to other cheetahs in Africa, or those living in Iran, which make up the last remaining wild population of Asiatic cheetahs. It has been found that the Saharan cheetahs are quite different in physical appearance form other common cheetahs with their distinct nearly white colour with spot patterns that fade from black over the spine to light brown on the legs. Very little is known about their behaviour patterns as they have never been studied in the wild.
Experts believe that this wild cat endures extremely high temperatures (113 degrees Fahrenheit or 45 degrees Celsius) of the desert and appears to survive without any permanent source of water which is quite extraordinary. Scientists believe that these creatures probably satisfy their water requirements through the moisture in their prey along with having extremely effective physiological and behavioural adaptive capabilities.

Thriving black markets along the borders between Myanmar (Burma), Thailand and China are boosting the illegal trade in tigers and other endangered species. That’s the stark observation from a new report from WWF and TRAFFIC.
Unbelievably people can casually go shopping for tiger parts at open road-side markets. But that’s the reality of the illegal tiger trade in parts of south-east Asia. Provincial markets and retail outlets at the Myanmar towns of Mong La, near the China border and Tachilek, on the Thai border, have been heavily involved in large-scale distribution of big cat parts including whole skins, bones, paws, penises and teeth. This is despite the fact that wildlife laws in Myanmar and Thailand clearly prohibit trafficking in tigers and other big cats.
Most of the trade happens in non-government controlled areas – which makes it even harder to coordinate effective law enforcement. The products are transported by road and sea into China and Thailand or sold to Chinese nationals who cross the Myanmar border to gamble and consume exotic wildlife.
If you want to see the very harrowing video that accompanied the report then please use the link below. It shows interviews with poachers and alarming footage of butchered tigers. The traders interviewed admit they’re attracted by the high profit margins, and say that corrupt authorities and little fear of recrimination allows them to sell prohibited wildlife openly.

Closing a deadly gateway youtube video

Tigers are seen as easy money for everyone from mafia types to anti-government opposition groups. Local communities might sometimes be involved, but they’re rarely major drivers of the illegal activities.

Live big cats, including endangered tigers and a rare Asiatic lion, were also seen being sold. During nearly a decade of investigations in Myanmar and Thailand, hundreds of tiger and leopard parts – from over 400 animals in all – have been observed.

Those people who think that the tiger is now protected need to think again. Every week of the year a tiger is poached, killed and put onto the black market. With only 3,200 tigers remaining worldwide in the wild something needs to be done very quickly before it’s too late.

The Sundarbans tigers may be the smallest tigers in the world, suggests a new study.
The study was carried out by the Sundarbans Tiger Project, a joint initiative between the Bangladesh Forest Department, Wildlife Trust of Bangladesh (WTB), Zoological Society of London and the University of Minnesota.
There is only one species of tiger but scientists have currently split this into nine subspecies based on differences in their physical appearance and genetics.
Tigers from the mangrove forest of the Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India are currently classified under the Bengal tiger sub species along with tigers across India, Nepal and Bhutan.
However, the tigers in the Sundarbans have been found to weigh just 76.7 kg, nearly half of the weight of other wild Bengal tigers, which average at 138.2 kg. This is also less than the average weight of tigers from any of the other 8 sub-species, making the Sundarbans tigers probably the smallest in the world.
Previously, it was believed that the Sumatran tiger was the smallest with an average weight of 86.7 kg.
The reasons for the small size of Sundarbans are not known but the authors of the study suggest this could be related to the small size of deer available to tigers in the Sundarbans, compared to the larger deer and other prey available to tigers in other parts of the world.
Sundarbans tigers were always thought to be small based on their track size, but until not enough information was known to fully understand just how small they really were. After all these years of people studying tigers it is exciting to dig up new information about this elusive and highly endangered animal.
The Sundarbans is the world's largest mangrove forest, with 6,000 sq km falling in Bangladesh, and 4,000 sq km over the border in India. With approximately 250-400 tigers in the Bangladesh side of the Sundarbans alone, this area may also represent one of the best chances for saving the species, which probably numbers less than 3,200 individuals in the world.

These days most people believe that killing Big Cats legally is a thing of the past. Unfortunately it is NOT.

In certain African countries Lions and Leopards are still legally killed as "trophies" by hunters. Lions are even bred in parts of Africa specifically for Trophy hunting.

Despite all big cats suffering dwindling numbers throughout their range due to habitat destruction, the Chinese Medicine trade and human encroachment incredibly it is still legal to hunt Lions and Leopards in countries like Tanzania.



From 2002 to 2008, almost 3900 lion trophies (these are reported numbers let alone the illegal ones) were exported from all African countries while there were clear warnings of a severely declining population. The USA imported about 70% of them, but European Union countries were also complicit.

Around 500 lions and 400 leopards a year are LEGALLY killed in Tanzania by trophy hunters paying up to £25,000. On top of this you have 1000 lions killed a year in South Africa by trophy hunters - many of these lions are bred in captivity specifically for this purpose.

The implications if the dominant male lion of a pride is killed are scary. It can set off a chain of events that leads to each subsequent dominant male killing all young lions in a pride, so each lion killed can lead to many more indirect deaths.

Even these majestic big cats who were not considered endangered a few years ago, may very shortly be critically endangered in the wild if we continue to tolerate them being hunted.

The (once) little Pallas Cat kittens now have proper names! They are now 5 months old and so very nearly as big as Mum Tula. All of their names are related to the area of Asia that the species originates from.



The 2 males are called Aduva and Caspian with the 2 females being named Uhlan Bator and Pamir.

It won't matter much to me as I can't tell them apart anyway!!

I am always talking about how illegal forest destruction endangers tigers – and now you can see it happening for yourselves. Newly released video footage from a ‘camera trap’ in a protected forest in Sumatra makes the tigers’ plight alarmingly clear.



A video camera trap has captured footage that graphically shows the clash between illegal forest developments and wild tigers on the Indonesia island of Sumatra.

Real habitat destruction footage

The three short clips compiled here were filmed earlier this year in Indonesia’s Riau Province. The first clip shows a male Sumatran tiger sniffing at the automated camera. This is a protected area, where it’s illegal to clear trees or excavate land.

The second clip, filmed just a week later in the exact same location, shows a bulldozer clearing trees – most likely for an illegal palm oil plantation, a serious problem in Sumatra. The third clip, the following day, records a tiger walking through the now-devastated landscape.

This shows exactly the kind of illegal destruction that reduces vital habitat and pushes tigers into conflict with local people – with disastrous consequences all round.

Land-clearing for palm oil plantations have been going on for some time in this area. Workers have said they frequently find tiger tracks in palm oil plantations. The Indonesian Ministry of Forestry is investigating the evidence caught on this video and will take strong action to enforce the law. But is that really enough? Less than 200 metres from this spot a Mum and 2 cubs were caught on camera a couple of months ago - what hope do they have?

Everyone will be so sorry when its too late.

Thanks to the WWF for the information and video.

Last week Bawa, one of the two Sumatran tiger brothers, moved on to pastures new. He is 2 years old now and as part of the European Breeding Programme (EEP) the time was right for him to move to a new zoo and join up with a female for breeding in the future.



It is always hard when a cat moves on but it was especially hard with Bawa as I had known him since he was born. Him and his brother Asu were the first cubs born at the WHF so will always hold a special place in peoples hearts there.

I am sure that he will have a great time at his new home but I have no doubt at all that he will be missed.

I am delighted to report some positive news about wild tiger preservation for a change.


On August 29 2010, the Chinese and Russian governments announced a collaboration on the first trans-boundary Amur tiger protected area between Jilin province in China and neighbouring Primorsky province in Russia.
The agreement, facilitated by WWF, will help wildlife authorities establish a trans-boundary protected area, which is a cooperative conservation network that crosses international borders, and partner to restore the endangered species. It marks another important milestone during the Year of the Tiger in 2010.
Destruction and fragmentation of habitat, poaching and lack of prey have reduced the number of wild Amur tigers. It is the largest of all the tiger subspecies with an estimated total population of about 450. Of these, 20 tigers have been periodically spotted within the borders of China’s Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces.

For the full story please visit this link

WWF Website

With perhaps fewer than 3,200 wild tigers remaining when there were 100,000 less than a Century ago I thought that I would share a few scary facts with you........



Painful Tiger Facts

FACT – There are more Tigers privately owned in the USA than remain in the wild…………..and only 6% of the USA’s tiger population resides in zoo’s or recognised establishments.

FACT – The wildlife trade is the 3rd largest illegal trade in the world behind drugs and arms

FACT – Indonesia, home to the Sumatran tiger, had the fastest rate of deforestation in the world between the years 2000-2005 with an area of forest equivalent to 300 football pitches destroyed every HOUR

FACT - Guilin, one of China's main tourist cities, is home to the world's biggest single collection of tigers. But it is never included on foreigners' tour itineraries because here 1,500 captive tigers - around half as many as there are thought to be remaining in the wild - live out miserable lives in squalid conditions in a Tiger farm.

There are 2 Asian Black Leopards now at the WHF. Both Khan and Misty are around 13 years old and have been lifelong partners. Previously they were at Santago rare leopard project before its sad closure. Because the black leopard is regularly misunderstood I thought that I would write a short piece to try and help people have a better insight into these majestic animals.


You may want to call these cats black panthers, but there's really no such animal. "Panther" is a generic work used to describe many large cats, especially black ones, but also Florida panthers which are just a subspecies of Cougar/Puma. Leopards and Jaguars are the most common “black cats”, they are often born in the same litter as the normal coloured cats, because the black colour, called melanism, is due to a recessive gene. So black cubs can be born to two spotted parents. The cats are actually dark brown, with the same pattern of black spots as any other leopard. There are no solid black big cats. Black leopards tend to be found more in rain forests and mountainous areas where their dark coat acts as better camouflage. They are particularly common in Asia on the Malayan Peninsula where a very large percentage of the known leopards are black.
In Africa, black leopards are much less common as melanism is not an adaptive advantage on the Savanna: dark colouration provides poor camouflage and makes hunting difficult. In the dense forests of the Ethiopian Highlands, however, the black leopard is much more common than in Africa generally and it is believed that as many as one in five leopards may be black.

There are believed to be fewer than 300 tigers remaining on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. Deforestation is the major cause of the habitat destruction facing not only the tiger but also orangutans and other wildlife. The single reason for the deforestation is the palm oil trade.

Palm oil is used in so many products, from cosmetics to cream cheese and from chocolate to bio-diesel. Nearly everyone will encounter products containing Palm Oil every day of their lives.

To put the level of deforestation into perspective Indonesia had the fastest rate of deforestation in the world between 2000-2005 with equivalent to a forest the size of 300 football pitches being destroyed every hour.

Greenpeace have been leading the way in taking a stand against companies that are using non-sustainable Palm Oil sources. The link below gives much more detail - please take a few minutes to read it. Awareness is the thing that will save these amazing animals so please spread the word.

Greenpeace Website

The WHF has recently launched its own youtube channel. There are some excellent videos of many of the cats - including the new Pallas Cat Kittens - that are both informative and very entertaining.

Most of them were taken by the talented Jackie Thomas who is a staunch supporter of the WHF and Amur Leopards especially.

I am sure that you will really enjoy the videos so if you get a spare few minutes have a look - they will make you smile I guarantee!

WHF Youtube site

This section will be dedicated to news from the WHF and the Big Cat world in general. Hopefully people will find it interesting and informative and a little bit different!

The first little bit of news is that Tula (a female Pallas Cat) has recently had 4 new little kittens. They are 7 weeks old now and just about to start venturing out and about. I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview of them recently and thought that I would share it with you!

They are just adorable and just like little bundles of fluff...........with teeth!!

Hope that you like the sneak preview..........hopefully more to follow soon.