MORE FROM HUFFPOST
MORE FROM HUFFPOST
panthera
"We still can put some conservation policies into place that ensure their existence.”
The horrific killing of the magnificent, black-maned lion Cecil by an American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe highlights the little-known plight of his species. Lion populations are in free fall, and we are losing this iconic species in most of its range.
On Thursday, January 29th, I scrambled into the U.S. premiere of Canadian writer/director, Lindsay MacKay's independent feature, "Wet Bum." This was my second attempt to see this film as the first one had been full!
WHAT'S HAPPENING
WHAT'S HAPPENING
My hope is that National Geographic's wonderful photographs bring the predicament of this critically endangered cat to a new audience who, like most Iranians a decade ago, had never heard of the cheetah's existence in the country.
A wire snare is cheap to make, easy to set and deadly for big cats. One recent victim close to my heart is a leopard called Ngoye. She is the central character of a project I started 10 years ago in Phinda, South Africa -- Panthera's Munyawana Leopard Project.
Shooting a big cat in the name of "sport" nauseates me; I've spent a career working to conserve the world's great cats. Yet I question the effort to list the African lion under the Endangered Species Act.
In many countries around the world, working to save wildlife is viewed as a lowly position with little to no recognition accompanied by a meager and inconsistent paycheck.
