WILDCaT NEws
Conservation groups petition DOI to list the African lion as endangered
A coalition of conservation groups filed a petition in March 2011, to list the African lion, panthera leo, as a protected species under the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA). "The king of the jungle is heading toward extinction, and yet Americans continue to kill lions for sport," said Jeff Flocken, office director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, in a prepared statement. "Our nation is responsible for importing over half of all lions brought home by trophy hunters each year. The African lion is in real trouble, and its is time for this senseless killing and unsustainable practice to stop." Lion populations are estimated to have dropped 50 percent over the last three decades, due to hunting, habitat loss, disease, bushmeat trade, medicine, and retaliatory killings for predation. The current population is estimated between 23,000 to 40,000, down from 75,800 in 1980. According to the petition, at least 5,663 wild lions were traded internationally for recreational trophy hunting between 1998 and 2008, with 64 percent of those trophies being imported into the U.S. The Secretary of the Department of the Interior has 90 days to assess whether listing the African lion under the ESA is warranted, 12 months to decide whether to impose the listing, and another 12 months to make a final decision. The Asiatic lion, in India's Gir forest, is protected under the ESA. Their total population hovers around 400.
Petition to list the African lion under the ESA
Animal Legal Defense Fund successful in its lawsuit to free Tony the Truck Stop Tiger!
On May 6, 2011, a Baton Rouge judge barred the Louisana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries from issuing any new permits to an Iberville Parish truck stop to keep Tony, a 550 pound Siberian-Bengal tiger, at the location.
The owner, Michael Sandlin was issued an annual permit in December 2010. Tony can, however, remain at the facility until December, barring any appeals or new legal action. Sandlin did not attend the court
proceeding and vowed in a telephone interview to sue the state and give animal rights activisits a run for their money. ALDF executive director, Stephen Wells, called the judge's decision an incredible victory for Tony and
the thousands of people around the world who have supported the effort to free the tiger. "We eagerly look forward to the day that he leaves behind the noise and fumes of the Tiger Truck Stop for a new life of freedom that
he has never known."
Feds release SF Zoo tiger attack documents
The San Fransisco Examiner reported in February 2011 that Tatiana, a female Siberian tiger killed in a hail of police gunfire after fatally mauling a man at the San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day 2007 likely was provoked into leaping and clawing out of its enclosure, a federal investigator said in documents obtained by The Associated Press.
Full story available online at: http://www.sfexaminer.com
Amur Tigers on ‘genetic brink’
The world’s largest cat, the Amur Tiger, is down to an effective wild population of fewer than 35 individuals, new research has found. Although up to 500 of the big cats actually survive in the wild, the effective population is a measure of their genetic diversity.
Full story at BBC Earth News: http://news.bbc.co.uk
Wildcat Events, Films & Books
The Last Lions
National Geographic presents The Last Lions which tells the dramatic story of a lioness, Ma di Tau, and her cubs struggle to survive in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Ma di Tau's mate is killed by a rival pride looking to expand its territory, leaving her to protect her three cubs and find a new home.
Visit National Geographic at http://www.nationalgeographic/lastlions for more information and local listings.
dc bar conference
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
felid & wildlife conferences
The Human-Wildlife Conflict Collaboration (HWCC) is offering several of its highly acclaimed capacity building opportunities in "Analyzing and Transforming Conservation Conflicts to Create Effective Stakeholder Engagement and Sustainable Coexistence," including:
3 Days in Washington, DC, October 18-20, 2011
4 Days at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, The Big Island, Hawaii, November 1-4, 2011
5 Days in Kenya, Africa in early 2012 (Exact time/location TBD.)
Visit http://www.humanwildlifeconflict.org for more details on the trainings and how to register. Space is very limited, so register today!
laws & paws autumn ball
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