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	<channel>
		<title>Conservation news</title>
		<atom:link href="https://news.mongabay.com/feed/?topic=cheetahs&#038;type=post" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
		<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/cheetahs/</link>
		<description>Environmental science and conservation news</description>
		<lastBuildDate>Tue, 27 Oct 2026 09:56:31 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<url>https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png</url>
	<title>News on Cheetahs</title>
	<link>https://news.mongabay.com/list/cheetahs/</link>
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				<item>
					<title>South Africa&#8217;s free-roaming cheetahs in steep decline, first national census finds</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/south-africas-free-roaming-cheetahs-in-steep-decline-first-national-census-finds/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/south-africas-free-roaming-cheetahs-in-steep-decline-first-national-census-finds/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Jul 2026 17:56:26 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victoria Schneider]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Malavikavyawahare]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/15134921/23-CT-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323543</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cheetahs, Conservation, Ecosystems, Environment, Forests, Governance, National Parks, Parks, Rainforests, Tropical Forests, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[South Africa&#8217;s free-roaming cheetah population is much smaller than previously thought, according to the first coordinated national census of the species living outside protected areas. Over three and a half years, between 2022 and 2026, researchers from Ashia Cheetah Conservation, the Cheetah Outreach Trust (COT) and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands surveyed almost [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[South Africa&#8217;s free-roaming cheetah population is much smaller than previously thought, according to the first coordinated national census of the species living outside protected areas. Over three and a half years, between 2022 and 2026, researchers from Ashia Cheetah Conservation, the Cheetah Outreach Trust (COT) and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands surveyed almost 100,000 square kilometers (38,610 square miles) of habitat across South Africa’s northern border. Wild cheetahs that inhabit the unprotected areas of South Africa are considered “free roaming.” Using camera traps, GPS collars, landowner surveys, genetic analyses, scat sampling and public sighting records, they compiled the Free-Roaming Cheetah Census (FRCC), which they described as the most comprehensive assessment yet of South Africa&#8217;s free-roaming cheetahs. During this time, they recorded only 83 mature adults, and 119 individual animals in total, which is 70% less than previous, smaller-scale studies suggested using model-based estimates. A young cheetah investigates a monitoring site in North West Province. Image courtesy of Ashia Cheetah Conservation. &#8220;Finding fewer than 100 mature adults is an extremely strong indication of how dramatically smaller the population has become within South Africa over the years,&#8221; Marna Smit, director of Ashia Cheetah Conservation, told Mongabay. Because of a high mortality rate in young cheetahs, which can be up to 90% for wild animals, mature adults — the breeding population —- are important for the survival of the species. Cheetahs in South Africa are currently managed in four separate systems: The free-roaming population, the semi-protected population in Kruger National Park&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/south-africas-free-roaming-cheetahs-in-steep-decline-first-national-census-finds/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/south-africas-free-roaming-cheetahs-in-steep-decline-first-national-census-finds/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323543</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Gus Mills, hyena expert and &#8216;the cheerful pessimist of the Kalahari&#8217;, has died</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2026 16:24:17 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Rhett Ayers Butler]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/07/14161941/gus-mills-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=323402</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Founder's briefs]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Mammals, Obituary, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[His nephew recalled that the children were taught to chant, “Hyenas are beautiful!” as often as possible. On visits to Kruger National Park, he got them out of bed at midnight to look for bushbabies and again at five in the morning to search for big cats. Wildlife was often most active at inconvenient hours, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[His nephew recalled that the children were taught to chant, “Hyenas are beautiful!” as often as possible. On visits to Kruger National Park, he got them out of bed at midnight to look for bushbabies and again at five in the morning to search for big cats. Wildlife was often most active at inconvenient hours, and he expected anyone accompanying him to adjust. Michael “Gus” Mills, who died on July 13th, spent more than 40 years studying Africa’s large carnivores, especially hyenas, wild dogs, and cheetahs. He published more than 150 scientific papers, chapters, and reports, advised conservation bodies, and trained younger researchers. Much of his working life was spent in a vehicle on a sandy track, waiting beside an animal that might sleep for most of the day. Gus and Margie Mills. Sourced via the Endangered Wildlife Trust At school he had seemed an unlikely future scientist. He described himself as a “very bad student,” failed South Africa’s high-school leaving examination, and was told that science was beyond him. After passing the examination on a second attempt, he joked that he had earned an MA: “Matric Again.” Three years of psychology persuaded him that he did not want to be a psychologist. Zoology held his attention. A visit to Kruger in 1954, when he was eight, had already pointed him toward field biology. “It did something to me,” he said. From then on he wanted to work in the bush. After studying at the University of Cape Town and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/07/gus-mills-spent-a-lifetime-studying-africas-carnivores/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-323402</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Poop pills and gut microbes: Wildlife microbiome studies aid conservation</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/poop-pills-and-gut-microbes-wildlife-microbiome-studies-aid-conservation/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/poop-pills-and-gut-microbes-wildlife-microbiome-studies-aid-conservation/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Mar 2026 15:35:05 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2026/03/26151027/Image_2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=316334</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Biodiversity, Cheetahs, Conservation, Diseases, Environment, Health, Mammals, Marsupials, Medicine, Microorganisms, Planetary Health, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Human microbiome research is a blossoming field of study, shedding light on the millions of microbes living within us — microscopic species frequently vital to our health. In tandem, researchers across the globe have also been delving into the microbes living inside wildlife in hopes of developing a new conservation and rewilding tool. Early research [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Human microbiome research is a blossoming field of study, shedding light on the millions of microbes living within us — microscopic species frequently vital to our health. In tandem, researchers across the globe have also been delving into the microbes living inside wildlife in hopes of developing a new conservation and rewilding tool. Early research on endangered Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) in Australia, for instance, found that the gut microbiome of this carnivorous marsupial, when kept in captivity, differs vastly from its cousins in the wild. This echoes other studies on a range of species in captivity, showing a species-specific response — some animals have lower microbiome diversity in captivity, while others have higher. In the case of Tasmanian devils, low microbial diversity in captive populations raised numerous health concerns, as that deficiency could potentially leave animals susceptible to illness and disease. “Initially we had concerns that their reduced gut microbiome in captivity would be an issue when they were released, and we wanted to know if we needed to manage this [issue] in captivity or undertake actions for when the [animals] were released” to better protect them in the wild, says Carolyn Hogg, research manager of the Australasian Wildlife Genomics Group at the University of Sydney. But for Tasmanian devils reintroduced to the wild, at least, it turned out no intervention was needed. Monitoring of the released devils’ microbiomes, via the collection and analysis of their feces, showed that the animals were able to regain a “wild” microbiome, a&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/poop-pills-and-gut-microbes-wildlife-microbiome-studies-aid-conservation/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2026/03/poop-pills-and-gut-microbes-wildlife-microbiome-studies-aid-conservation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-316334</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Do cheetahs scavenge? Yes, research says, but also not really</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/do-cheetahs-scavenge-yes-research-says-but-also-not-really/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/do-cheetahs-scavenge-yes-research-says-but-also-not-really/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>24 Jan 2025 20:13:49 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Dann Okoth]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Ochieng' Ogodo]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2025/01/24124921/kenya_3145-e1737722979172-768x512-1.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=293378</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, Kenya, Malawi, and South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Conservation, Environment, Predators, Research, Science, and Top Predators]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI — Cheetahs are known to be selective in their feeding habits — “clean eaters” that only go after the prime parts of their kill, such as the liver. But a new study has found that the large, slender, spotted cat found in Africa and parts of Western Asia can also scavenge. Unlike other African [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[NAIROBI — Cheetahs are known to be selective in their feeding habits — “clean eaters” that only go after the prime parts of their kill, such as the liver. But a new study has found that the large, slender, spotted cat found in Africa and parts of Western Asia can also scavenge. Unlike other African predators, cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) rarely search for and collect remains they did not kill themselves, but the study published this month in the journal Ecology and Evolution observed cheetahs scavenging between 2019 and 2023 in three different protected areas: Tswalu Kalahari Reserve and Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa, and Liwonde National Park in Malawi. “The observations made in this paper were very interesting to us and show that there could be potential for further studies into it,” said lead author Elizabeth Kennedy Overton, a researcher at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. Cheetahs were previously thought not to scavenge, with few reports in the scientific literature of them doing so, according to the researchers. “We wanted just to say, look it does happen and it would be interesting to find out the reasons behind it,” added Overton, who currently is doing a Ph.D. on cheetahs in the Kalahari. According to the study, all the adult cheetahs observed scavenging were animals that had previously been relocated from different areas. During the relocation process, they were temporarily put in holding enclosures known as bomas, where they were provided with supplementary feed in the form of carrion.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/do-cheetahs-scavenge-yes-research-says-but-also-not-really/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2025/01/do-cheetahs-scavenge-yes-research-says-but-also-not-really/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-293378</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Final cheetah conservationists freed in Iran, but the big cat’s outlook remains grim</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/final-cheetah-conservationists-freed-in-iran-but-the-big-cats-outlook-remains-grim/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/final-cheetah-conservationists-freed-in-iran-but-the-big-cats-outlook-remains-grim/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 May 2024 15:38:50 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Kayleigh Long]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2024/05/10155433/cheetah-in-iran-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=281960</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Endangered Environmentalists]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cats, Cheetahs, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Environment, Governance, Green, Human Rights, Law, Law Enforcement, Politics, Predators, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Top Predators, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[In December 2023, three staff members from the Iranian Cheetah Society crowded around a laptop, moved to tears by the sight of a mother cheetah and her four cubs, caught on a camera trap. Population estimates for the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) vary, but experts say fewer than 30 may remain. Once [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In December 2023, three staff members from the Iranian Cheetah Society crowded around a laptop, moved to tears by the sight of a mother cheetah and her four cubs, caught on a camera trap. Population estimates for the critically endangered Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) vary, but experts say fewer than 30 may remain. Once found throughout Central and Southwest Asia, as far east as India, today the Asiatic cheetah is found only in Iran, where conservation of the species has been hampered by complex geopolitical dynamics. Cheetah conservationists finally freed In January 2018, Iran arrested nine conservationists from the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation (PWHF) and charged them with spying for states hostile to Iran. They were sentenced in 2019. The decision was upheld in 2020, amid allegations of flaws in the judicial process, including reports of torture and forced confessions. Last month, the final four Iranian scientists and conservationists linked to the PWHF walked free from Tehran’s Evin Prison, pardoned after serving six years and three months apiece. Researchers Houman Jowkar, Sepideh Kashani, Taher Ghadirian and Niloufar Bayani were released on April 8 and 9. The organization’s co-founder, Morad Tahbaz, who also holds U.K. and U.S. citizenship, was released late last year as part of prisoner swap and sanctions waiver deal with the U.S., tied to the unfreezing of $6 billion in Iranian oil funds, earmarked for humanitarian purposes. Three other PWHF-affiliated conservationists, Sam Rajabi, Amir-Hossein Khaleghi and Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, were released between 2020 and 2023. However, the PWHF&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/final-cheetah-conservationists-freed-in-iran-but-the-big-cats-outlook-remains-grim/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2024/05/final-cheetah-conservationists-freed-in-iran-but-the-big-cats-outlook-remains-grim/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-281960</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>India cheetah births spark interest in fast felines in neighboring Nepal</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/cheetah-births-in-india-has-nepal-asking-whether-it-too-should-get-some-fast-felines/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/cheetah-births-in-india-has-nepal-asking-whether-it-too-should-get-some-fast-felines/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Apr 2023 15:30:53 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Abhaya Raj Joshi]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/06170809/Running-cheetah-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=267165</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Atlantic Forest, India, Nepal, and South Asia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Cheetahs, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, History, Human-wildlife Conflict, Leopards, Mammals, Reintroductions, Rewilding, Snow Leopards, Tigers, and Top Predators]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — News of four cheetah cubs being born recently in India has sparked interest in the species in the conservation community in neighboring Nepal, where the big cat’s historical presence has long been debated. The Indian cubs were born from southeast African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) reintroduced to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[KATHMANDU — News of four cheetah cubs being born recently in India has sparked interest in the species in the conservation community in neighboring Nepal, where the big cat’s historical presence has long been debated. The Indian cubs were born from southeast African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus) reintroduced to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, from where the species was believed to have gone extinct 70 years ago. Under the reintroduction program, India brought 20 cheetahs from Namibia and South Africa and released them in its grasslands, which last hosted Asiatic cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) some 70 years ago. Grasslands of a similar nature are also found further north, in Nepal, where tigers (Panthera tigris) have historically been the dominant apex predators. “As Nepal and India share the Terai Arc landscape’s grasslands and floodplains, we were discussing a few days ago whether it could have supported a cheetah population or not,” a Nepali conservationist told Mongabay recently. A greater one-horned rhino in its grassland habitat inside Chitwan National Park. Image by Jonas Gratzer for Mongabay. The Action Plan for Reintroduction of Cheetahs in India also mentions that, historically, the animal  roamed “the entire country except the high mountains, coasts and the northeast region.” The animal was sighted as far north as Lucknow, near the present India-Nepal border, in 1837, and records in the sal tree (Shorea robusta) forests that are found in both countries also suggest they could have lived in Nepal as well, conservationists say. “From existing literature and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/cheetah-births-in-india-has-nepal-asking-whether-it-too-should-get-some-fast-felines/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2023/04/cheetah-births-in-india-has-nepal-asking-whether-it-too-should-get-some-fast-felines/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-267165</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rehabilitation research returns orphaned cheetahs to the wild</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/rehabilitation-research-returns-orphaned-cheetahs-to-the-wild/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/rehabilitation-research-returns-orphaned-cheetahs-to-the-wild/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>01 Jun 2022 20:35:41 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sean Mowbray]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/06/01172400/Image_2-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=256665</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Namibia, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Cats, Charismatic Animals, Cheetahs, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Endangered Species, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Human-wildlife Conflict, Predators, Research, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal, but it’s running out of space. Its range has been reduced dramatically over the past decades, and populations continue to decline. Identifying solutions to conserve and protect the species in the wild is thus vital. A new study published in the journal Oryx by the Cheetah Conservation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The cheetah is the world’s fastest land animal, but it’s running out of space. Its range has been reduced dramatically over the past decades, and populations continue to decline. Identifying solutions to conserve and protect the species in the wild is thus vital. A new study published in the journal Oryx by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) charts the results of a cheetah orphan release project that operated between 2002 and 2018 in Namibia. Rescued orphans were put through a rigorous rehabilitation program. “Our findings demonstrate the ability of wild-born, captive-raised cheetah to transition back into the wild with strategic pre- and post-release management directed towards optimizing survival,” the study notes. The results of the project are framed as a methodological framework on cheetah rehabilitation and post-release management for others to use and adapt as part of a strategy to reverse the decline of the species, Acinonyx jubatus. Fewer than 7,100 cheetahs remain: in Africa, they inhabit around 10% of their former range; large swaths of that territory lie outside of protected areas. Threats include human-wildlife conflict, lack of suitable prey, and poaching for the wildlife trade, resulting in the species being as listed as vulnerable by the IUCN. Two subspecies, the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and the Northwest African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki), are both listed as critically endangered by the IUCN. Image courtesy of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. From 2001 to 2012, the project took in 86 young cheetahs orphaned due to human-wildlife conflict. Careful selection of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/rehabilitation-research-returns-orphaned-cheetahs-to-the-wild/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/06/rehabilitation-research-returns-orphaned-cheetahs-to-the-wild/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
					<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/06/01193059/Video2.mp4" length="3428727" type="video/mp4" />
<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/06/01195051/Video1.mp4" length="4055487" type="video/mp4" />
					<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-256665</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Wild cat trade: Why the cheetah is not safe just yet (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/wild-cat-trade-why-the-cheetah-is-not-safe-just-yet-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/wild-cat-trade-why-the-cheetah-is-not-safe-just-yet-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>12 Jan 2022 07:32:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Patricia TricoracheTomas Maule]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/01/12072920/cheetah-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=251669</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Asia, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Charismatic Animals, Cheetahs, Commentary, Conservation, Crime, Environment, Environmental Law, International Trade, Pet Trade, Poaching, Trade, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A recent article on the Emirati newspaper The National reports that, according to conservationists, “The increased enforcement by Somaliland in the Gulf [of Aden] and along known smuggling routes, plus the increased community awareness for poaching as a crime has led to a major decline in cub trafficking.” While this is a positive outlook, and all [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A recent article on the Emirati newspaper The National reports that, according to conservationists, “The increased enforcement by Somaliland in the Gulf [of Aden] and along known smuggling routes, plus the increased community awareness for poaching as a crime has led to a major decline in cub trafficking.” While this is a positive outlook, and all positive actions taken by governments in the affected countries are applauded, laws banning the trade and private ownership of exotic animals have had no impact as cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and other exotic animals continue to be popular pets in households across the Gulf States. Data collected by ourselves and fellow illegal wildlife trade researchers Guenther Wirth of Heritage Somaliland and Dan Stiles of the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) show that the cheetah trade has actively continued between East Africa/Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Our findings indicate that international criminal syndicates based across Ethiopia, Djibouti, Puntland, Somaliland, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and UAE have adapted their operations to avoid law enforcement action and have continued sourcing cheetah cubs from the wild for export, largely unimpeded. Reports of cubs being offered for sale to Gulf States nationals and residents are received nearly every week, as the evidence suggests. Most cheetah cubs that enter the illegal pet trade in the Gulf States are captured in areas of East Africa and smuggled by boat across the Gulf of Aden into Yemen. Between 2019 and 2021, East Africa/Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula regions&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/wild-cat-trade-why-the-cheetah-is-not-safe-just-yet-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2022/01/wild-cat-trade-why-the-cheetah-is-not-safe-just-yet-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-251669</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Unregulated by U.S. at home, Facebook boosts wildlife trafficking abroad</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/unregulated-by-u-s-at-home-facebook-boosts-wildlife-trafficking-abroad/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/unregulated-by-u-s-at-home-facebook-boosts-wildlife-trafficking-abroad/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Jun 2021 09:11:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Ian Morse]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Glenn Scherer]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2021/06/08090025/cheetahs-header-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=243403</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global, Mexico, North America, and United States]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cheetahs, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Green, Hunting, Illegal Trade, Ivory, Organized Crime, Pet Trade, Poaching, Social Media, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife consumption, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Despite a 2019 self-imposed ban, Facebook continues linking wildlife traffickers with buyers around the globe, while the U.S. government has so far done little to regulate trade facilitated by Facebook and other social media firms.]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[In a matter of seconds, anyone can find evidence of wildlife trafficking on Facebook, according to independent researchers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) experts. Even using simple search terms returns thousands of posts that offer wildlife and body parts up for sale. Elephant ivory from Thailand, pangolin scales from Vietnam, and sun bears from Malaysia. Tigers, walrus, tortoises, rhinos, sea turtles and shark fins have all been found for sale on the world’s biggest social media platform, even though it says it has banned the trade on its site. Patricia Tricorache, an independent wildlife researcher, monitors cheetah cubs appearing on social media every day. From her home in Mexico, she watches online as cheetahs exchange hands, shuffled from their home in the Horn of Africa to collectors’ homes in Saudi Arabia — posted on Facebook and its subsidiary, Instagram. The animals are likely doomed. Usually, cubs only last among traffickers and buyers for a few months before they die. But U.S.-headquartered Facebook, Tricorache says, is shielded by U.S. laws designed to protect free speech. As a result, the company, which boasts 2.7 billion global users, has long dodged responsibility for hosting wildlife traffickers — a trade that researchers say has only increased since the company committed to stopping it in 2019. “Facebook is like the cop that stands outside the house while the house is being robbed,” Tricorache says. “It’s like they’re watching all this happening and saying, ‘well it wasn’t my precinct or I wasn’t on duty,’&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/unregulated-by-u-s-at-home-facebook-boosts-wildlife-trafficking-abroad/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2021/06/unregulated-by-u-s-at-home-facebook-boosts-wildlife-trafficking-abroad/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-243403</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>In the Horn of Africa, conflict and illegal trade create a ‘cheetah hell’</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/in-the-horn-of-africa-conflict-and-illegal-trade-create-a-cheetah-hell/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/in-the-horn-of-africa-conflict-and-illegal-trade-create-a-cheetah-hell/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>07 Oct 2020 05:43:54 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Elizabeth Claire Alberts]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Elizabethalberts]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/10/06165333/Two-cubs-in-yard-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=235600</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Somalia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Welfare, Animals, Baby Animals, Big Cats, Cats, Charismatic Animals, Cheetahs, Climate Change, Conservation, Education, Environment, Farming, Green, Human-wildlife Conflict, Livestock, Wildlife, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Wildlife Rescues, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The 8-week-old cheetah cubs should have been with their mother. Instead, they were penned up in a small village near Erigavo, Somaliland, after a group of nomadic livestock farmers chased the mother away and captured the cubs from a nearby cave. “There were actually three [cubs],” Asma Bileh, a Somaliland veterinarian for the Cheetah Conservation [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The 8-week-old cheetah cubs should have been with their mother. Instead, they were penned up in a small village near Erigavo, Somaliland, after a group of nomadic livestock farmers chased the mother away and captured the cubs from a nearby cave. “There were actually three [cubs],” Asma Bileh, a Somaliland veterinarian for the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), told Mongabay. “One died immediately … so they brought back two of them into their houses. They were keeping them for a while.” One of the two cubs rescued near Erigavo, Somaliland on August 22, 2020. Image provided by Cheetah Conservation Fund and the Somaliland Ministry of Environment and Rural Development. When Somaliland’s Ministry of Environment and Rural Development (MoERD) received a tip about the cubs, a rescue team, which included Bileh, traveled to the village on Aug. 22. The baby cheetahs were a little malnourished and dehydrated, having only been fed small portions of goat milk and meat, which hadn’t provided enough sustenance. These cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are among dozens of cubs that have been rescued by the MoERD-CCF team in Somaliland this year; as of this week, CCF reported a total of 29 rescued cubs since January, three of which have died. The reason for this onslaught of rescued cubs is human-wildlife conflicts between livestock farmers and wild cheetahs, as well as the illegal demand for wild cheetahs as pets in the Middle East, according to conservationists. While the global cheetah population is estimated to be around 7,100, the local population&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/in-the-horn-of-africa-conflict-and-illegal-trade-create-a-cheetah-hell/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/10/in-the-horn-of-africa-conflict-and-illegal-trade-create-a-cheetah-hell/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-235600</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Spots of hope: Some good news for South Africa’s cheetahs</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/spots-of-hope-some-good-news-for-south-africas-cheetahs/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/spots-of-hope-some-good-news-for-south-africas-cheetahs/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>28 Sep 2020 11:28:57 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Tony Carnie]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Terna Gyuse]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/09/28110612/Cheetah-moves-2.-Cheetah-at-Zimanga-private-game-reserve-Zuluand.-Pic-by-Charl-Senekal-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=235175</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, South Africa, and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Carnivores, Cheetahs, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Human-wildlife Conflict, Livestock, Mammals, Predators, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[DURBAN, South Africa — South Africa is home to around 1,300 of the world’s roughly 7,100 remaining cheetahs. It’s also the only country in the world with significant cheetah population growth, thanks largely to a nongovernmental conservation project that depends on careful and intensive human management of small, fenced-in cheetah populations. Because most of the [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[DURBAN, South Africa — South Africa is home to around 1,300 of the world’s roughly 7,100 remaining cheetahs. It’s also the only country in the world with significant cheetah population growth, thanks largely to a nongovernmental conservation project that depends on careful and intensive human management of small, fenced-in cheetah populations. Because most of the reserves are privately funded and properly fenced, the animals benefit from higher levels of security than in the increasingly thinly funded state reserves. Initiated by the Endangered Wildlife Trust nearly a decade ago, the Cheetah Metapopulation Project recognizes that small cheetah populations may be physically secure in several small reserves, but the likelihood of inbreeding remains high if they are kept separated behind fences. By swapping animals between participating reserves, the trust helps private and state wildlife custodians manage overpopulation and underpopulation on their land and also identify new areas of suitable cheetah habitat. Most importantly, swapping animals reduces the risk of inbreeding among closely related animals. Vincent van der Merwe, coordinator of the trust’s metapopulation initiative, says that when the project began in 2011, there were 217 cheetahs scattered between 41 reserves. Now there are 419 spread across 60 reserves — more than a third of South Africa’s total cheetah population. Vincent van der Merwe at a cheetah translocation. Image courtesy Endangered Wildlife Trust. Under pressure Cheetah populations elsewhere in Southern Africa have not prospered over the past 50 years. In Zimbabwe, cheetah numbers have crashed from 1,500 in 1975, to just 170 today.&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/spots-of-hope-some-good-news-for-south-africas-cheetahs/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/spots-of-hope-some-good-news-for-south-africas-cheetahs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-235175</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cheetahs, CITES, and illegal trade: Are consumer countries doing enough? (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/cheetahs-cites-and-illegal-trade-are-consumer-countries-doing-enough-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/cheetahs-cites-and-illegal-trade-are-consumer-countries-doing-enough-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>30 Sep 2019 14:12:04 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Sarah Durant]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/09/30134802/cheetah-cubs_1210px-768x451.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=222957</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Cheetahs, Commentary, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Illegal Trade, Mammals, Pet Trade, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Trade, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[At the end of August, countries from across the world came together at the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP18) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to discuss actions to combat illegal trade in endangered species and to ensure sustainable management of legal [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[At the end of August, countries from across the world came together at the 18th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP18) to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to discuss actions to combat illegal trade in endangered species and to ensure sustainable management of legal trade. CITES is one of the oldest international environmental agreements: the Convention came into force in 1975, its main objective being to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. The capacity of CITES to fairly balance the voices of countries that harbor source populations of endangered species subject to international trafficking with those of consumer countries is vital to the international mandate of CITES for its continued enforcement activities. Cheetah are a case in point: Confined to less than 10 percent of their former distributional range with only 7,000 individuals left, the species is facing a significant threat from illegal trade in parts of its range. A demand for live animals as pets, primarily as cubs, is fueled by social media that glamorizes the keeping of these animals, with the Gulf States identified as a key market for this trade. All international trade in wild-caught cheetah cubs violates CITES and is illegal, and the trade in cubs is thought to be a key driver of decline in the cheetah population in the Horn of Africa. Yet at the recent CITES CoP, countries chose to ignore this threat to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/cheetahs-cites-and-illegal-trade-are-consumer-countries-doing-enough-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/09/cheetahs-cites-and-illegal-trade-are-consumer-countries-doing-enough-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-222957</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Iran’s endangered cheetahs and imperiled conservationists (commentary)</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/irans-endangered-cheetahs-and-imperiled-conservationists-commentary/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/irans-endangered-cheetahs-and-imperiled-conservationists-commentary/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>08 Mar 2019 11:39:34 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Christian WalzerChristine BreitenmoserLaurie MarkerLuke HunterSarah DurantStephane OstrowskiUrs Breitenmoser]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mike Gaworecki]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2019/03/08112230/Asiatic-cheetah_1200px-cropped-768x477.png" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=216383</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Iran]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Charismatic Animals, Cheetahs, Commentary, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Environment, Mammals, Research, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Few people realize that Iran is home to cheetahs. Once found from the Arabian Peninsula to India, the Asiatic cheetah — genetically and ecologically distinct from its African counterpart — is now reduced to fewer than 50 individuals occupying Iran’s vast, arid central plateau. This critically endangered population has been the focus of a sustained [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Few people realize that Iran is home to cheetahs. Once found from the Arabian Peninsula to India, the Asiatic cheetah — genetically and ecologically distinct from its African counterpart — is now reduced to fewer than 50 individuals occupying Iran’s vast, arid central plateau. This critically endangered population has been the focus of a sustained conservation effort led by the Iranian Department of Environment (DoE) since 2001. Among its many achievements, the ambitious program declared specially protected cheetah reserves and supplied the parks with guards, new vehicles, and other equipment to protect them. The program also fostered a new era of cooperation between professional conservationists inside and outside Iran, united in their commitment to averting the cheetah’s extinction. The DoE enlisted members of Iran’s vibrant non-governmental sector to provide technical expertise and training, particularly in science-based surveys of cheetah populations. Surveys are essential to understanding where cheetahs live and move, how many remain, and whether they are breeding. Those surveys are also at the heart of a devastating case unfolding in the Iranian courts this month. Clockwise from top left: Amirhossein Khaleghi Hamidi, Taher Ghadirian, Sam Radjabi, Niloufar Bayani, Morad Tahbaz, Houman Jowkar, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, Sepideh Kashani. Photo Credit: #AnyHopeForNature. Eight wildlife conservationists have been imprisoned by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps since January 2018, facing charges of espionage. All those in detention — Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghadirian, Houman Jowkar, Sepideh Kashani, Amirhossein Khaleghi Hamidi, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh, Sam Radjabi and Morad Tahbaz — are among the most knowledgeable, experienced, and&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/irans-endangered-cheetahs-and-imperiled-conservationists-commentary/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2019/03/irans-endangered-cheetahs-and-imperiled-conservationists-commentary/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-216383</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Five wildlife conservationists held by Iran could face the death penalty</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/four-wildlife-conservationists-held-by-iran-could-face-the-death-penalty/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/four-wildlife-conservationists-held-by-iran-could-face-the-death-penalty/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>27 Nov 2018 00:07:02 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/11/25064159/Asian_cheetah.d6557dc9d9484ded93bb5660f335d5cb-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=212641</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Endangered Environmentalists]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Asia, Iran, and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Big Cats, Camera Trapping, Cats, Cheetahs, Conservation, Crime, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Environmentalists, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Heroes, Law, Law Enforcement, Mammals, NGOs, Politics, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Up to five conservation researchers accused of spying by the Iranian government could face the death penalty if convicted, according to multiple media reports. Conservationists Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghadirian, Houman Jowkar, Sepideh Kashani and Morad Tahbaz work with the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation on the conservation of different wildlife species in Iran, which includes monitoring [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Up to five conservation researchers accused of spying by the Iranian government could face the death penalty if convicted, according to multiple media reports. Conservationists Niloufar Bayani, Taher Ghadirian, Houman Jowkar, Sepideh Kashani and Morad Tahbaz work with the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation on the conservation of different wildlife species in Iran, which includes monitoring animals such as Asiatic cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) with camera traps. The country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which reports to the country’s supreme leader, alleges that the team used camera traps to collect information on Iran’s missile program, Science magazine reported Oct. 30. The eight environmentalists from the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation currently being held in Iran on charges related to espionage. Image © #anyhopefornature. The five are among a group of eight — which also includes Amir Hossein Khaleghi, Abdolreza Kouhpayeh and Sam Rajabi from the same organization — being held in custody, according to The Guardian newspaper and other media reports. A sociologist and manager of the Persian Wildlife Heritage Foundation, Kavous Seyed Emami, who was arrested in early 2018, died under suspicious circumstances in February while in custody, observers said according to a report in The New York Times. “This is a very bizarre charge to bring against environmental activists,” Tara Sepehri Far, a researcher with Human Rights Watch (HRW), told Science. After months of confinement, five of the eight conservationists were charged with the crime of “sowing corruption on Earth” in early October, The Guardian wrote. (Science reported that only four of them&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/four-wildlife-conservationists-held-by-iran-could-face-the-death-penalty/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/four-wildlife-conservationists-held-by-iran-could-face-the-death-penalty/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-212641</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Speed trap: Cameras help defuse human-cheetah conflict in Botswana</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/speed-trap-cameras-help-defuse-human-cheetah-conflict-in-botswana/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/speed-trap-cameras-help-defuse-human-cheetah-conflict-in-botswana/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>13 Nov 2018 21:19:20 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Calistus Bosaletswe]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sue Palminteri]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/11/13211657/tz_2526_cheetah-by-Rhett-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=212222</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Botswana and Southern Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Camera Trapping, cameras, Carnivores, Cheetahs, Conservation, Conservation Solutions, Human-wildlife Conflict, Livestock, Monitoring, Predators, Research, Sensors, Solutions, Surveying, Technology, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Botswana’s policy of zero tolerance for poaching and illegal hunting has given it the reputation of valuing wildlife conservation. But an increase in human-wildlife conflict in recent years appears to undermine those conservation efforts. Of particular concern is an apparent “shoot-to-kill” stance by livestock farmers against cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in Ghanzi district — something conservationists [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Botswana’s policy of zero tolerance for poaching and illegal hunting has given it the reputation of valuing wildlife conservation. But an increase in human-wildlife conflict in recent years appears to undermine those conservation efforts. Of particular concern is an apparent “shoot-to-kill” stance by livestock farmers against cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in Ghanzi district — something conservationists hope to de-escalate with the help of remote-monitoring technology. Cheetahs on private lands Much of Botswana’s cheetah habitat has been lost to private farmland, leaving the cats in close proximity to farmers. Their tendency to hunt during the day makes them vulnerable to killing by farmers and being blamed even for livestock kills they didn’t make. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t us.&#8221; A pair of cheetahs caught resting on camera. Cheetahs&#8217; diurnal nature and wide-ranging movements make them visible to farmers and blamed for livestock kills. Image courtesy of Cheetah Conservation Botswana. “Multiple studies across the cheetah’s range have shown that cheetahs preferentially kill wild animals over livestock,” Lorraine Boast, a researcher with Cheetah Conservation Botswana (CCB), a nonprofit, told Mongabay. In her doctoral thesis exploring human-predator conflict on game ranches in Botswana, Boast said camera-trap surveys on Ghanzi farms were crucial, given the country&#8217;s game ranching industry belief that cheetahs caused the greatest economic losses to ranches. Cheetahs have disappeared from more than 90 percent of their historical range, and their global population numbers fewer than 7,000 mature individuals. To better understand cheetah movements on commercial farmland in Botswana, Boast and fellow CCB researchers estimated their distribution&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/speed-trap-cameras-help-defuse-human-cheetah-conflict-in-botswana/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/11/speed-trap-cameras-help-defuse-human-cheetah-conflict-in-botswana/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-212222</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Illegal cheetah trade continues through Instagram, 4sale, YouTube</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/illegal-cheetah-trade-continues-through-instagram-4sale-youtube/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/illegal-cheetah-trade-continues-through-instagram-4sale-youtube/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>22 Oct 2018 05:06:46 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/12/11100825/kenya_3152-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=211355</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cheetahs, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Mammals, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs continue to be illegally traded through social media platforms, according to a new analysis published by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), a non-profit research and lobby organization based in Namibia. Between February 2012 and July 2018, a total of 1,367 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) were offered on sale through 906 posts on social media, the analysis [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs continue to be illegally traded through social media platforms, according to a new analysis published by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), a non-profit research and lobby organization based in Namibia. Between February 2012 and July 2018, a total of 1,367 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) were offered on sale through 906 posts on social media, the analysis found, with Instagram alone accounting for some 77 percent of the offerings. A Kuwait-based mobile application, 4sale, and YouTube accounted for 11 percent of the posts. With wild cheetah populations now down to just 7,100 individuals, a decline of more than 90 percent since the turn of the 20th century, illegal trade of the animal presents an urgent threat to the species. “Whether it is online or at an animal market, the sale of live cheetah cubs can be devastating to the wild populations in the areas where they seem to originate: eastern Ethiopia, northern Kenya and Somalia/Somaliland,” Patricia Tricorache, assistant director, strategic communications and illegal wildlife trade at the CCF, said in an email. “Unfortunately little is known about how many wild cheetah exist in those areas, but it is likely that they range in the few hundreds and [are] rapidly diminishing if our estimates are correct — that is, 300 cheetah cubs per year being smuggled out of those areas for the illegal pet trade in the Gulf States. Many more die.” Cheetah cubs that are sold online are often stolen from mothers in the wild. Image of cheetah cubs by Bernard DUPONT&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/illegal-cheetah-trade-continues-through-instagram-4sale-youtube/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/illegal-cheetah-trade-continues-through-instagram-4sale-youtube/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-211355</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>$25m in funding to help African gov&#8217;ts prosecute poachers, traffickers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/new-funding-aimed-at-helping-govts-prosecute-traffickers-poachers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/new-funding-aimed-at-helping-govts-prosecute-traffickers-poachers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>15 Oct 2018 08:16:52 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[John Cannon]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/10/14093845/20160302-113228-2.503a86ba4c634e87b60025b0f3526a27-768x450.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=211115</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Black Rhino, Cats, Cheetahs, Community Development, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Environment, Environmental Law, Global Environmental Crisis, Habitat Degradation, Habitat Loss, Illegal Trade, Indigenous Peoples, Law, Law Enforcement, Lions, Mammals, Parks, Poaching, Rhinos, Sustainable Development, trafficking, Wildlife, Wildlife Trade, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A prominent African wildlife conservation NGO has committed $25 million to help protect iconic fauna from poaching and habitat loss across the continent by investing in African institutions and people. “We are seeing recovery and stabilization of some critical wildlife populations,” Kaddu Sebunya, president of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), said in a statement. “We [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A prominent African wildlife conservation NGO has committed $25 million to help protect iconic fauna from poaching and habitat loss across the continent by investing in African institutions and people. “We are seeing recovery and stabilization of some critical wildlife populations,” Kaddu Sebunya, president of the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF), said in a statement. “We know what is working and it’s time to scale up the investment to combat this serious threat.” The Nairobi-based organization made the announcement on Oct. 11 during the Illegal Wildlife Trade conference in London. The money will complement more than $13 million that AWF says it has used to support projects aimed at countering the illegal trade of wildlife and wildlife products. The African Wildlife Foundation’s work includes programs to stop the loss of habitat for large carnivores, such as cheetahs. Image by John C. Cannon/Mongabay. “If we can keep wildlife safe from poachers, make wildlife products difficult to move around, actively involve key local players, and dampen the demand for wildlife products, then Africa’s magnificent animals have a fighting chance,” Philip Muruthi, AWF’s chief scientist, said in the statement. Current AWF projects include training sniffer dogs credited with detecting the presence of more than 250 illicit shipments of wildlife products; engaging with communities to encourage economic development that also supports conservation; and equipping wildlife rangers with the tools they need to catch poachers. This infusion of funds will go toward bolstering the capacity of authorities, specifically judges and prosecutors, to hold poachers and traffickers&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/new-funding-aimed-at-helping-govts-prosecute-traffickers-poachers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/10/new-funding-aimed-at-helping-govts-prosecute-traffickers-poachers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-211115</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Films celebrate big cats on World Wildlife Day</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/films-celebrate-big-cats-on-world-wildlife-day/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/films-celebrate-big-cats-on-world-wildlife-day/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>19 Feb 2018 11:07:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Erik Hoffner]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2018/02/14114355/Julie-Larsen-Maher_7579_Jaguar_ZM_12-19-12_hr_preview-768x512.jpeg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=203759</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Global and New York]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Arts, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Cats, Cheetahs, Critically Endangered Species, Endangered Species, Film, Global Environmental Crisis, Jaguars, Leopards, Lions, Snow Leopards, and Tigers]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Big cats around the world face many challenges, from diminishing prey populations and habitat degradation, to poaching for their meat and body parts. A current spike in the killing of Bolivia’s jaguars for the illegal trade in their teeth for jewelry is perhaps the most recent and egregious example of the latter. But there are [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Big cats around the world face many challenges, from diminishing prey populations and habitat degradation, to poaching for their meat and body parts. A current spike in the killing of Bolivia’s jaguars for the illegal trade in their teeth for jewelry is perhaps the most recent and egregious example of the latter. But there are notable efforts to raise awareness and galvanize support for these important apex predators led by some governments and NGOs like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Panthera, National Geographic Society’s Big Cats Initiative, and many others. Cheetah with cubs. Photo courtesy of ZSL Now added to this list is an upcoming event for World Wildlife Day on March 3. A key celebration of this global event will be the International Big Cats Film Festival, on March 2 and 3, jointly presented by Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. The festival will be hosted at the United Nations headquarters in New York City and the Explorers Club, as well as many other places around the world. “When it comes to big cats, there is an urgent need for action, now,” Lisa Samford, executive director of Jackson Hole WILD, told Mongabay by email. “The International Big Cats Film Festival creates a bank of programming for free local events that raise awareness on a global scale to empower local stakeholders and cat conservation advocates as they address local issues. By working&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/films-celebrate-big-cats-on-world-wildlife-day/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/02/films-celebrate-big-cats-on-world-wildlife-day/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-203759</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Scientists call for cheetahs to be listed as Endangered</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/scientists-call-for-cheetahs-to-be-listed-as-endangered/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/scientists-call-for-cheetahs-to-be-listed-as-endangered/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>11 Dec 2017 10:31:16 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/12/11100825/kenya_3152-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=201996</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cheetahs, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Mammals, Research, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A year ago, scientists reported that cheetahs had disappeared from across 91 percent of their historic range. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the researchers recommended in their study, should be up-listed from Vulnerable to Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Doing this could afford the imperiled species greater attention and support, they said. [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[A year ago, scientists reported that cheetahs had disappeared from across 91 percent of their historic range. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the researchers recommended in their study, should be up-listed from Vulnerable to Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Doing this could afford the imperiled species greater attention and support, they said. The cheetah, however, remains officially listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Now, in a new study, scientists have called for up-listing the species to Endangered yet again. By analyzing millions of cheetah observations, a team of researchers have concluded that only about 3,577 adult cheetahs remain in southern Africa&#8211;within an area of 789,800 square kilometers across Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe. More than 55 percent of these cheetahs live in Namibia alone, the researchers reported in the study published in the journal PeerJ. “This is the area with the largest population of free-ranging cheetahs left on Earth,&#8221; lead author of the study Varsha Vijay of Duke University said in a statement. &#8220;Knowing how many cheetahs there are and where they occur is crucial for developing suitable conservation management plans for the species.” Cheetahs have disappeared from across 91 percent of their range. Photo by Udayan Dasgupta/Mongabay. The researchers also estimate that there could be an additional 3,250 cheetahs living in potential habitat areas, or places where cheetahs can possibly live but where they have not been observed recently. But the team has lower confidence in this estimate. &#8220;We know about three and a half&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/scientists-call-for-cheetahs-to-be-listed-as-endangered/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/scientists-call-for-cheetahs-to-be-listed-as-endangered/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-201996</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cheetahs return to Malawi after decades</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/cheetahs-return-to-malawi-after-decades/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/cheetahs-return-to-malawi-after-decades/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>29 May 2017 04:52:51 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Shreya Dasgupta]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2017/05/29033540/4.-The-translocated-cheetah-are-adjusting-well-to-their-new-surroundings-in-Liwonde-Copyright-African-Parks-Frank-Weitzer-1-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=196181</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Malawi]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Biodiversity, Cheetahs, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Mammals, Predators, Protected Areas, Reintroductions, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs are back in Malawi after being extinct for nearly 20 years. On May 17, conservation non-profit African Parks, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) flew four African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from South Africa and reintroduced them to Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi. The cheetahs have [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs are back in Malawi after being extinct for nearly 20 years. On May 17, conservation non-profit African Parks, the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) and Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) flew four African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) from South Africa and reintroduced them to Liwonde National Park in southern Malawi. The cheetahs have been moved into special enclosures called bomas for now, where the animals will learn to adapt to their new home under constant supervision. After spending some time in the bomas, the cheetahs will be released into the wider park, African Parks said in a statement. The animals are the first large predator to be reintroduced into Liwonde, and are said to be in good health. “The reintroduction of the cheetah is historic for the country and a new era for the park, where the return of large predators holds great optimism for the restoration of the natural system and the conservation of this highly vulnerable species,&#8221; Craig Reid, Liwonde National Park Manager, said in the statement. A Cheetah translocated from South Africa is offloaded from the aircraft before being safely transferred to the boma in Liwonde. Photo by African Parks / Frank Weitzer. A Cheetah is released into a boma at Liwonde National Park as part of the translocation to restore predators to the park. Photo by African Parks / Frank Weitzer. African Parks began managing Liwonde National Park in 2015 in partnership with the DNPW. The group claims to have enhanced law enforcement of&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/cheetahs-return-to-malawi-after-decades/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2017/05/cheetahs-return-to-malawi-after-decades/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-196181</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cheetah populations crash as fastest-animal disappears from 91% of its range</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/cheetah-populations-crash-as-fastest-animal-disappears-from-91-of-its-range/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/cheetah-populations-crash-as-fastest-animal-disappears-from-91-of-its-range/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Dec 2016 21:43:10 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Mongabay.com]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rhett Butler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/12/26214122/Hazelnut-and-cubs_credit-ZSL-768x512.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=191920</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Botswana, Iran, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Conservation, Endangered Species, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hunting, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[The world&#8217;s fastest land animal is speeding toward extinction across much of its range, reports a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, which was authored by an international team of researchers including biologists from ZSL (Zoological Society of London), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Panthera, estimates that the planet&#8217;s [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[The world&#8217;s fastest land animal is speeding toward extinction across much of its range, reports a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, which was authored by an international team of researchers including biologists from ZSL (Zoological Society of London), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and Panthera, estimates that the planet&#8217;s wild cheetah population is down to just 7,100 individuals, a decline of more than 90 percent since the turn of the 20th century. Cheetah have disappeared across 91 percent of their historic range, with Asian populations going extinct except for one group of about 50 individuals in Iran. In Zimbabwe the population plummeted 85 percent since 2000. Cheetah. Photo courtesy of ZSL The findings prompted the authors to recommend the cheetah be up-listed from from ‘Vulnerable&#8217; to ‘Endangered&#8217; on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, potentially affording the species with greater attention and support. &#8220;This study represents the most comprehensive analysis of cheetah status to date. Given the secretive nature of this elusive cat, it has been difficult to gather hard information on the species, leading to its plight being overlooked,&#8221; the study&#8217;s lead author Sarah Durant, a researcher with ZSL/WCS who serves as the project leader for the Rangewide Conservation Program for Cheetah and African Wild Dog, said in a press release. &#8220;Our findings show that the large space requirements for cheetah, coupled with the complex range of threats faced by the species in the wild, mean that it is likely to be&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/cheetah-populations-crash-as-fastest-animal-disappears-from-91-of-its-range/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/12/cheetah-populations-crash-as-fastest-animal-disappears-from-91-of-its-range/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-191920</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Three murders highlight troubles of Iran’s park rangers</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/three-murders-highlight-troubles-of-irans-park-rangers/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/three-murders-highlight-troubles-of-irans-park-rangers/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>18 Aug 2016 19:52:29 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jennifer Huizen]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Rebecca Kessler]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2016/08/01192805/081816-JHuizen_Iran_PersianLeopard_LarNationalPark-440x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/?p=188740</guid>

											<reporting-project>
							<![CDATA[Endangered Environmentalists]]>
						</reporting-project>
					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Iran and Middle East]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Activism, Animals, Biodiversity, Cats, Cheetahs, Conflict, Conservation, Crime, Endangered Environmentalists, Environment, Environmental Law, Environmental Policy, Governance, Human Rights, Hunting, Land Rights, Law, Law Enforcement, Poaching, Politics, Protected Areas, Social Justice, Wildlife, Wildlife Rangers, and Wildlife Trafficking]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[One June 23 Mohammad Dehqani and Parviz Hormozi, two park rangers with a combined 35 years on the job, were patrolling a nearly impassable section of southern Iran’s Geno Biosphere Reserve when they came across poachers. While the details of what happened next are likely lost to history, the outcome is tragically clear. The poachers [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[One June 23 Mohammad Dehqani and Parviz Hormozi, two park rangers with a combined 35 years on the job, were patrolling a nearly impassable section of southern Iran’s Geno Biosphere Reserve when they came across poachers. While the details of what happened next are likely lost to history, the outcome is tragically clear. The poachers shot both men in the head and heart and left them for dead. Two days later another park ranger named Manouchehr Shojaei met a similar fate in Bamou National Park in the country’s southwest. Poachers shot Shojaei in the chest then reportedly threw him off a cliff. He died in a local hospital a few hours later. The stories caused public outrage in Iran and abroad. President Hassan Rouhani even issued a text statement calling the three men martyrs. Now the horrendous deaths are catalyzing a national conversation about a system that pits the country’s scattered, scarce, and undersupported park rangers not only against poachers but in some cases, the Iranian judiciary system. Masoumeh Ebtekar, Iran’s Vice President and head of its Department of Environment. Under Ebtekar the department claims it helped secure the release of eight imprisoned rangers in the past year. Photo by Mostafa Gholamnejad/Tasnim News Agency via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) The full story isn’t entirely accessible, even to environmentalists and journalists within the country, thanks to a mix of corruption, politics, the arcana of elements of Iranian law, and of course, the harsh, remote, terrain where much of the drama plays&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/three-murders-highlight-troubles-of-irans-park-rangers/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2016/08/three-murders-highlight-troubles-of-irans-park-rangers/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-188740</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Running Wild with Cheetah Expert Laurie Marker</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/running-wild-with-laurie-marker/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/running-wild-with-laurie-marker/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>31 Oct 2015 09:00:22 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Nathan Hahn]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Sue Palminteri]]>
					</author>
							<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
										<enclosure url="https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/10/03141119/Radio-collared-cheetahs_reduced-495x330.jpg" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">https://news.mongabay.com/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Namibia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs, Conservation, Genetics, Human-wildlife Conflict, Interviews, Monitoring, Poverty, Research, Technology, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Laurie Marker&#8217;s passion for cheetahs was kindled far from the grasslands of Africa. In 1974, she got a job working for a new wildlife park in Oregon, and as she worked with the park’s captive cheetahs, her interest grew to their wild cousins back in Namibia. When Marker reached out to biologists and researchers, she [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Laurie Marker&#8217;s passion for cheetahs was kindled far from the grasslands of Africa. In 1974, she got a job working for a new wildlife park in Oregon, and as she worked with the park’s captive cheetahs, her interest grew to their wild cousins back in Namibia. When Marker reached out to biologists and researchers, she quickly realized just how little people knew about the species, and decided to do something about it. As the founder and executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia, Marker has essentially written the book on cheetahs, developing methods to re-introduce captive-bred animals, studying cheetahs’ habitat and movement patterns in the wild and discovering the species’ lack of genetic variation. She is now distilling the knowledge and insights gleaned in the past 25 years, developing strategies to solve the growing conflict between farmers and wildlife. WildTech sat down with Marker to learn about how she got her start, CCF’s work with cheetah and human communities in Namibia, her views on the future of conservation and tips for aspiring field biologists. Dr. Laurie Marker with Cheetah Conservation Fund&#8217;s famous late ambassador cheetah Chewbaaka. Photo courtesy of the Cheetah Conservation Fund. You pioneered a lot of the research to understand cheetahs and the factors at play in their conservation. Can you tell us about how you got your start working in the field? Well I had been running a wildlife park and breeding cheetahs in captivity, but nobody really knew much about cheetahs in the wild&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/running-wild-with-laurie-marker/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/10/running-wild-with-laurie-marker/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-155815</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs dwindle in West and Central African protected areas</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/07/lions-cheetahs-and-wild-dogs-dwindle-in-west-and-central-african-protected-areas/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/07/lions-cheetahs-and-wild-dogs-dwindle-in-west-and-central-african-protected-areas/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>14 Jul 2015 22:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Victor Montoro]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/07/lions-cheetahs-and-wild-dogs-dwindle-in-west-and-central-african-protected-areas</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Lions, Mongabay.org, Protected Areas, Tropical Conservation Science, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Africa is famous for its lions and other large carnivores, but populations are dwindling and even vanishing all over the continent. A new study published in mongabay.com’s open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science quantifies the disappearance of the lion (Panthera leo), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), and wild dog (Lycaon pictus) from 41 protected areas in West and [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Africa is famous for its lions and other large carnivores, but populations are dwindling and even vanishing all over the continent. A new study published in mongabay.com’s open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science quantifies the disappearance of the lion (Panthera leo), cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), and wild dog (Lycaon pictus) from 41 protected areas in West and Central Africa, and finds that together the three species disappeared from 74 percent of the sites they once inhabited. &#8220;A number of recent studies have suggested that large carnivores are rapidly disappearing in West Africa, including in protected areas (PAs). The extent of this extinction process, however, is poorly known,&#8221; David Brugiere of the French environmental consulting firm BRL Ingénierie and two co-authors write in the paper. The authors focused on 41 PAs devoted to the conservation of biodiversity that are scattered throughout 15 countries in West and Central Africa. They compared historical data in published literature on the occurrence of the three large carnivores at each PA around the time it was founded — as far back as 1925 — to current data published within the past five years. The researchers also interviewed 14 scientists and park staff with advanced knowledge of the protected areas to verify data from the literature and gather new information on the animals&#8217; status. Cheetahs in the W-Arly-Pendjari complex (in Benin, Burkina Faso, and Niger), Photo credit: C. Pavey. They found that lions are extinct or near extinct in 23 out of 38 protected areas where they were present&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/07/lions-cheetahs-and-wild-dogs-dwindle-in-west-and-central-african-protected-areas/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/07/lions-cheetahs-and-wild-dogs-dwindle-in-west-and-central-african-protected-areas/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-62724</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>On the fence about wildlife fencing: new paper outlines research needed to resolve debate</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/on-the-fence-about-wildlife-fencing-new-paper-outlines-research-needed-to-resolve-debate/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/on-the-fence-about-wildlife-fencing-new-paper-outlines-research-needed-to-resolve-debate/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>23 Jun 2015 23:56:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Neelam Pereira]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Mongabay Editor]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/06/on-the-fence-about-wildlife-fencing-new-paper-outlines-research-needed-to-resolve-debate</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and Uganda]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Cheetahs, Climate Change, Conservation, Elephants, Environment, Fences, Giraffes, Green, Lions, Migration, Mongabay.org, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Fencing is used to protect wildlife against poaching and human encroachment, and also to protect people and livestock from wildlife. As a conservation strategy, it has proponents as well as detractors. A recent paper by a team of 45 international researchers in the Journal of Applied Ecology questions the wisdom of erecting wildlife fencing in [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Fencing is used to protect wildlife against poaching and human encroachment, and also to protect people and livestock from wildlife. As a conservation strategy, it has proponents as well as detractors. A recent paper by a team of 45 international researchers in the Journal of Applied Ecology questions the wisdom of erecting wildlife fencing in dryland ecosystems. It also seeks to ease decision-making on fencing initiatives by setting a research agenda to answer open questions that will help resolve the debate. In Africa, wildlife fencing expanded rapidly during the 1960s and 1970s as a solution to human-wildlife conflicts. After a lull, the continent is once again witnessing a resurgence of fence building. Rwanda recently put up a 75-mile-long fence around Akagera National Park at a cost of $2.5 million. Uganda plans to fence all its parks, and Malawi may, too. A fence in the Gourma region in Mali. Its purpose is unknown. Photo by Jake Wall. But fences have come under fire for restricting animal movement, particularly in drylands, where enormous animal migrations occur as an adaptation to extreme and variable conditions and, the paper&#8217;s authors write, &#8220;mobility is essential for both wildlife and people.&#8221; Climate change is expected to exacerbate the situation. &#8220;Large-scale fencing can disrupt migration pathways and reduce access to key areas within drylands, such as seasonal foraging areas,&#8221; said lead author Sarah Durant, an ecologist at the Zoological Society of London, in a press release announcing the paper. &#8220;This can lead to severe reductions in migratory&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/06/on-the-fence-about-wildlife-fencing-new-paper-outlines-research-needed-to-resolve-debate/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-62834</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>To keep big cats out, use a cat door</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/to-keep-big-cats-out-use-a-cat-door/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/to-keep-big-cats-out-use-a-cat-door/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>26 Feb 2015 16:14:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Michael Buelna]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Tiffany Roufs]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2015/02/to-keep-big-cats-out-use-a-cat-door/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Big Cats, Cheetahs, Conservation, Environment, Farming, Green, Livestock, Mammals, and Predators]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Swing gates help decrease human-wildlife conflict in South Africa As a hunter searches for prey, heat radiates off the sun stroked horizon distorting the landscape. At the snap of a twig and a rustle in thorny acacia the hunter is off. Keen eyed hearing pinpoint its prey: the cheetah spots an impala and immediately gives [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Swing gates help decrease human-wildlife conflict in South Africa As a hunter searches for prey, heat radiates off the sun stroked horizon distorting the landscape. At the snap of a twig and a rustle in thorny acacia the hunter is off. Keen eyed hearing pinpoint its prey: the cheetah spots an impala and immediately gives chase. The chase won&#8217;t last long though. The impala lives on a farm and is protected by a high fence to keep predators out. But these fences aren&#8217;t fool proof. A persistent cheetah can find a way in if it can find a warthog tunnel. In a paper recently published in the Journal of African Ecology, Phd Candidate Niki Rust investigated how environmental factors affected swing gates on a game farm in the Otjozondjupa region of Namibia. Developed by the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF), these gates are intended to protect cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) by decreasing human-wildlife conflict. The swing gates are essentially large pet doors that help prevent indiscriminate killing of cheetahs by game farmers. When valued livestock is lost to predation, game farmers react by hunting down the likely culprit and shooting them dead. Taking the stance that the only good cat is a dead cat. The finished construction of a swing gate. This is a similar design to a cat flap as it swings from the top bar. The wood at the bottom reinforces the swing gate and stops animals from digging a bigger hole underneath it. Photo credit: Cheetah Conservation Fund. This&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/to-keep-big-cats-out-use-a-cat-door/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
										<wfw:commentRss>https://news.mongabay.com/2015/02/to-keep-big-cats-out-use-a-cat-door/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24051</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Rhino, cheetah win the world&#8217;s top camera trap photo contest</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/rhino-cheetah-win-the-worlds-top-camera-trap-photo-contest/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/rhino-cheetah-win-the-worlds-top-camera-trap-photo-contest/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>02 Dec 2014 21:35:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/12/rhino-cheetah-win-the-worlds-top-camera-trap-photo-contest/</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animal Behavior, Animals, Camera Trapping, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Mammals, Photos, Predators, and Rhinos]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Overall winner of the photography categories and Animal Portraits winner: Black rhino, Zambia. Photo by: Will Burrard-Lucas. Two big&#8212;and endangered&#8212;mammals took 2014&#8217;s top prizes in the world&#8217;s biggest camera trap photo contest: a black rhino and a Asiatic cheetah. The gorgeous shot of a black rhino at night in Zambia photo won the overall photo [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Overall winner of the photography categories and Animal Portraits winner: Black rhino, Zambia. Photo by: Will Burrard-Lucas. Two big&#8212;and endangered&#8212;mammals took 2014&#8217;s top prizes in the world&#8217;s biggest camera trap photo contest: a black rhino and a Asiatic cheetah. The gorgeous shot of a black rhino at night in Zambia photo won the overall photo competition, while the image of a super-rare Asiatic cheetah in Iran took the top research prize. &#8220;After talking to researchers and photographers, we decided to overhaul the competition,&#8221; said BBC Wildlife editor Matt Swaine, which holds the BBC Wildlife Magazine&#8217;s Camera-Trap Photo of the Year competition. &#8220;We wanted to offer two separate awards: one for the most striking photograph, and another for the image that had done the most to advance our understanding of a species. The entries surpassed expectation.&#8221; The contest had 877 entries from around the world, including incredible photos of a giant armadillo baby and a stirring shot of the elusive tropical bovine, the banteng among many other winners. While the contest awards artistic merit, it also has several categories under research discoveries, such as new ranges for wildlife and unknown animal behavior. For example, the photos of giant armadillo baby have proven that juvenile armadillos stay with their mothers far longer than expected. New Behaviour runner-up: baby giant armadillo playing, Brazilian Pantanal. Photo by © Arnaud Desbiez/Pantanal Giant Armadillo Project. &#8220;It was believed that young giant armadillos disperse from their mothers at 6 weeks of age. This an estimate based on&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/12/rhino-cheetah-win-the-worlds-top-camera-trap-photo-contest/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24384</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Zambia ends trophy hunting ban, elephants fair game</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/zambia-ends-trophy-hunting-ban-elephants-fair-game/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/zambia-ends-trophy-hunting-ban-elephants-fair-game/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Sep 2014 17:39:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/09/zambia-ends-trophy-hunting-ban-elephants-fair-game/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Southern Africa, and Zambia]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Cats, Cheetahs, Elephants, Environment, Governance, Green, Hunting, Lions, Mammals, Trophy Hunting, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Wild cats will remain protected from hunting for now. After 20 months, Zambia has lifted its ban on hunting, allowing trophy hunters to target numerous species in the wildlife-rich country including elephants. The announcement was made by the country&#8217;s Tourism and Art&#8217;s Minister, Jean Kapata, who stated that the ban had resulted in a loss [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
																					<content:encoded>
							<![CDATA[Wild cats will remain protected from hunting for now. After 20 months, Zambia has lifted its ban on hunting, allowing trophy hunters to target numerous species in the wildlife-rich country including elephants. The announcement was made by the country&#8217;s Tourism and Art&#8217;s Minister, Jean Kapata, who stated that the ban had resulted in a loss of revenue to the Zambia Wild Life Authority (ZAWA). The ban on hunting still extends to the country&#8217;s big cats, however. The government will survey their numbers and propose sustainability measures before any hunting would begin. Zambia is home to lions, cheetahs, and leopards. The ban proved controversial in Zambia and led to the downfall of the previous Tourism and Arts Minister, Sylvia Masebo. After canceling already-awarded hunting concessions, Masebo was brought before a tribunal and found guilty of abuse of power. She was fired by current President Sata for lying under oath when she testified that Sata told her to cancel the hunting concessions. Trophy hunting has long been a contentious issue in sub-Saharan Africa. A recent decision to allow a trophy hunter to kill a black rhino&#8212;a Critically Endangered species&#8212;in Namibia sparked a number of major media stories and a social media war. Namibia faced another controversy when it allowed trophy hunters to kill desert elephants, which are only found in Namibia and Mali. Trophy hunters often argue that by paying large rates to shoot and kill Africa&#8217;s animals, they bring in much-needed revenue for local communities and conservation work. However, some conservationists&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/09/zambia-ends-trophy-hunting-ban-elephants-fair-game/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
						</content:encoded>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24719</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Cats&#8217; best friend? A new role for guard dogs in South Africa</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/07/cats-best-friend-a-new-role-for-guard-dogs-in-south-africa/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/07/cats-best-friend-a-new-role-for-guard-dogs-in-south-africa/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>09 Jul 2014 17:26:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Erin Crandall]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Morgan Erickson-Davis]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/07/cats-best-friend-a-new-role-for-guard-dogs-in-south-africa/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa and South Africa]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Agriculture, Big Cats, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Environment, Green, Human-wildlife Conflict, Leopards, Livestock, Predators, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Dogs protect livestock from predators, predators from humans The last couple centuries have seen the decline of many large predator species. While there has been a surge of recovery and reintroduction programs to combat this problem, human population growth and limited protected areas have led to increased rates of human-wildlife conflicts in many regions of [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Dogs protect livestock from predators, predators from humans The last couple centuries have seen the decline of many large predator species. While there has been a surge of recovery and reintroduction programs to combat this problem, human population growth and limited protected areas have led to increased rates of human-wildlife conflicts in many regions of the world. A study published recently in the Wildlife Society Bulletin tested the ability of trained guarding dogs to protect livestock in South Africa and found it to be highly effective, protecting humans and predators alike. In South Africa, predators such as large cats often live in close proximity to farmlands and often times will prey on livestock. Predation of livestock can take a toll on farmers’ income, often costing more than $3,000 in annual losses. This, in turn, can lead farmers to hunt and kill cats as a means of protecting their livelihoods. Leopards (Panthera pardus) are found throughout Africa and Asia, and often kill livestock. Photo by Niki Rust. Cheetah Outreach is a Non-Government Organization (NGO) based in South Africa that aims to protect large, carnivorous cats. They actively seek out alternative solutions to predation that can help famers protect their livelihood without further endangering these predators. Cheetah Outreach has started a program to provide livestock-guarding dogs to farmers in hopes that the dogs will drive away predators, reducing livestock losses and, in turn, the hunting and killing of the cats. Similar programs have been implemented in North America and have proven to&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/07/cats-best-friend-a-new-role-for-guard-dogs-in-south-africa/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-24959</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Four donors pledge $80 million for big cats</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/four-donors-pledge-80-million-for-big-cats/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/four-donors-pledge-80-million-for-big-cats/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Jun 2014 19:22:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2014/06/four-donors-pledge-80-million-for-big-cats/</guid>

					
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Cats, Cheetahs, Conservation, Conservation Finance, Endangered Species, Environment, Funding, Green, Happy-upbeat Environmental, Jaguars, Leopards, Lions, Mammals, Predators, Saving Species From Extinction, Snow Leopards, Solutions, Tigers, Top Predators, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Four donors from around the world have pledged $80 million to cat conservation group, Panthera. The money will fund projects working to preserve tigers, lions, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards, and cougars over ten years. &#8220;Today marks a turning point for global cat conservation,&#8221; said Panthera Founder and Chairman of the Board, Thomas Kaplan, who [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Four donors from around the world have pledged $80 million to cat conservation group, Panthera. The money will fund projects working to preserve tigers, lions, jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, snow leopards, and cougars over ten years. &#8220;Today marks a turning point for global cat conservation,&#8221; said Panthera Founder and Chairman of the Board, Thomas Kaplan, who added that the support of Abu Dhubai&#8217;s Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, &#8220;is a game changer, opening a path for us to create what has become an unprecedented alliance of philanthropists from Arabia, China, India and America, now united in a common cause.&#8221; In addition to support from Al Nahyan, the other funders include Panthera&#8217;s founders, Thomas Kaplan and Daphne Recanati Kaplan; Jho Low, the CEO of Jynwel Capital; and Hemendra Kothari, Chairman DSP Blackrock India and the Wildlife Conservation Trust. All around the world big cats are vanishing. African lions (Panthera leo) have fallen from around 100,000 to somewhere between 15,000-35,000 individuals in just 50 years, while a recent survey found that West Africa&#8217;s lions&#8212;a distinct subspecies&#8212;are likely down to just 250 individuals and on the edge of extinction. A lion in Kruger National Park in South Africa. Lion populations have plummeted in recent years and the West African lion is on the verge of extinction. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. Meanwhile, scientists believe that just 3,200 tigers (Panthera tigris) survive in the wild today, less than the number of tigers found in captivity in the U.S. Also, snow leopards are&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/four-donors-pledge-80-million-for-big-cats/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25144</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>86 percent of big animals in the Sahara Desert are extinct or endangered</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/12/86-percent-of-big-animals-in-the-sahara-desert-are-extinct-or-endangered/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/12/86-percent-of-big-animals-in-the-sahara-desert-are-extinct-or-endangered/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>03 Dec 2013 21:42:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2013/12/86-percent-of-big-animals-in-the-sahara-desert-are-extinct-or-endangered/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, Chad, Niger, North Africa, and Sahara Desert]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Antelope, Big Cats, Biodiversity, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Climate Change, Conservation, Critically Endangered Species, Deserts, Endangered Species, Environment, Extinction, Global Environmental Crisis, Global Warming, Green, Hunting, Impact Of Climate Change, Lions, Mammals, Megafauna, Overconsumption, Poaching, Predators, Ungulates, and Wildlife]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[Bigger than all of Brazil, among the harshest ecosystems on Earth, and largely undeveloped, one would expect that the Sahara desert would be a haven for desert wildlife. One would anticipate that big African animals&#8212;which are facing poaching and habitat loss in other parts of the world&#8212;would thrive in this vast wilderness. But a new [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[Bigger than all of Brazil, among the harshest ecosystems on Earth, and largely undeveloped, one would expect that the Sahara desert would be a haven for desert wildlife. One would anticipate that big African animals&#8212;which are facing poaching and habitat loss in other parts of the world&#8212;would thrive in this vast wilderness. But a new landmark study in Diversity and Distributions finds that the megafauna of the Sahara desert are on the verge of total collapse. &#8220;While global attention has been focused on [biodiversity] hotspots, the world’s largest tropical desert, the Sahara, has suffered a catastrophic decline in megafauna,&#8221; the researchers write. Looking at 14 large-bodied animals, the study found that 86 percent of them (ten of the species) were either extinct or endangered. Four of them (28 percent) are already extinct in the region. The Bubal hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus buselaphus) is gone forever while the scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah) is extinct in the wild, although there are efforts to re-introduce it. Meanwhile, two of the Sahara&#8217;s once top predators are gone: the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) and the African lion (Panthera leo). Herd of wild addax in Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger. Photo by: Copyright Thomas Rabeil and Sahara Conservation Fund. Megafauna that are still around aren&#8217;t doing much better. The dama gazelle (Nanger dama), the addax (Addax nasomaculatus), and the Saharan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus hecki) are all on the razor-edge of extinction with each one listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/12/86-percent-of-big-animals-in-the-sahara-desert-are-extinct-or-endangered/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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					<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-25980</doi>				</item>
						<item>
					<title>Protecting predators in the wildest landscape you&#8217;ve never heard of</title>
					<link>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/09/protecting-predators-in-the-wildest-landscape-youve-never-heard-of/</link>
					<comments>https://news.mongabay.com/2013/09/protecting-predators-in-the-wildest-landscape-youve-never-heard-of/#respond</comments>
					<pubDate>10 Sep 2013 13:57:00 +0000</pubDate>
											<dc:creator>
							<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
						</dc:creator>
										<author>
						<![CDATA[Jeremy Hance]]>
					</author>
															<enclosure url="" type="image/jpeg" />
					<guid isPermaLink="false">http://news.mongabaydev.co.uk/2013/09/protecting-predators-in-the-wildest-landscape-youve-never-heard-of/</guid>

					
											<locations>
							<![CDATA[Africa, East Africa, and Tanzania]]>
						</locations>
					
											<topic-tags>
							<![CDATA[Animals, Big Cats, Bushmeat, Camera Trapping, Carnivores, Cats, Cheetahs, Community Development, Community-based Conservation, Conservation, Endangered Species, Environment, Green, Human-wildlife Conflict, Hunting, Indigenous Peoples, Interviews, Leopards, Lions, Mammals, Parks, Poaching, Predators, Protected Areas, Saving Species From Extinction, Solutions, Technology, Top Predators, Wildlife, and Wildtech]]>
						</topic-tags>
					
					
											<description>
							<![CDATA[A Ruaha male lion in his prime. Photo © : Sasja van Vechgel. The Serengeti, the Congo, the Okavango Delta: many of Africa&#8217;s great wildernesses are household names, however on a continent that never fails to surprise remain vast wild lands practically unknown to the global public. One of these is the Ruaha landscape: covering [&#8230;]]]>
						</description>
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							<![CDATA[A Ruaha male lion in his prime. Photo © : Sasja van Vechgel. The Serengeti, the Congo, the Okavango Delta: many of Africa&#8217;s great wildernesses are household names, however on a continent that never fails to surprise remain vast wild lands practically unknown to the global public. One of these is the Ruaha landscape: covering 51,800 square kilometers (20,000 square miles) of southern Tanzania&#8217;s woodlands and savannah, Ruaha contains the largest population of elephants in East Africa, over 500 bird species, and a wealth of iconic top predators, including cheetah, hyena, wild dogs, leopard, and&#8212;the jewel in its crown&#8212;10 percent of the world&#8217;s lions. But that&#8217;s not all, one of Africa&#8217;s least-known and secretive tribal groups, the Barabaig, also calls Ruaha home. Creating harmony between this fiercely-traditional tribe and top prowling carnivores has become the passion of UK conservationist, Amy Dickman. &#8220;It is vast &#8212;larger than Switzerland&#8212;and is centered around Ruaha National Park, which at over 20,000km2 is the biggest National Park in Tanzania and one of the largest in the whole of Africa,&#8221; Dickman, the director of Ruaha Carnivore Project and a National Geographic Explorer, told mongabay.com in a recent interview. &#8220;The landscape also includes several Game Reserves and village land&#8212;the Park is unfenced and the surrounding human-dominated land actually represents very important seasonal wildlife habitat for many species. [&#8230;] Despite its huge global importance [&#8230;] though, Ruaha is very poorly known and has received very little attention either from tourists or researchers.&#8221; In fact, when Dickman was first&hellip;This article was originally published on <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2013/09/protecting-predators-in-the-wildest-landscape-youve-never-heard-of/" data-wpel-link="internal">Mongabay</a>]]>
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										<doi>https://doi.org/10.66709/news-26415</doi>				</item>
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