{{No footnotes, date=August 2011 Felidae Conservation Fund (FCF) is a

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

-based

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

dedicated to preserving wild cats and their habitats. The organization supports and promotes international wild cat research and conservation by collaborating on field research projects, partnering with other environmental organizations, and developing community outreach and education programs.

History

FCF was founded in 2006 by conservationist and entrepreneur Zara McDonald. As a competitive

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

runner, McDonald twice encountered

mountain lions The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, '' KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North, Central and South America, making it the most widely distributed wild ...

during solitary runs in the

Marin Headlands The Marin Headlands are a hilly peninsula at the southernmost end of Marin County, California, United States, located just north of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge, which connects the two counties and peninsulas. The entire area is p ...

in Northern California. These encounters led her to become involved in California mountain lion research in 2002, and she soon expanded her research work to include other wild cat species. In the fall of 2004, after returning from extended capture work with mountain lions, she began developing a conservation model that combined scientific research with education and outreach programs. This led her to found the Felidae Conservation Fund (

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

) in April 2006. Today Felidae supports and collaborates in scientific research projects in nine countries, promotes community-level education and outreach programs, and fosters international cooperation among scientists, conservationists, governments, and environmental

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

s. Felidae is based in

Sausalito, California Sausalito ( Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, and about north of San Francisco from the Golden Gate Bridge. Sausalito's ...

, and raises money through donations, grants, fundraising events and online

social networks A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of meth ...

Mission and philosophy

FCF's mission is to advance the conservation of the planet's wild cat species and their habitats through partnerships in research, education and technology. Its model is to collaborate on research studies that examine human impact on wild cats and their habitats, then disseminate the results in outreach and education programs designed to convince people of the importance of preserving the natural environment. Felidae collaborates with scientists, educators, communities and lawmakers with the goal of protecting

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

s, staving off further

extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

s, and promoting healthy ways for humans to coexist with wild cats and their habitats. Felidae's focus on wild cat conservation is motivated by the belief that the study of wild cats can serve as a leverage point for addressing the broader environmental issues of

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

, human-nature interactions, and wildlife sustainability. This belief is based on the idea that because cats are often the top

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

s in the ecosystems they inhabit, understanding and solving the problems they face can inform and guide the conservation and preservation of wild animals and wild habitats of all kinds.

Programs

Felidae currently collaborates on research projects in field locations around the globe, including the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. Felidae provides strategic guidance, funding, field support, supplies and equipment to its project partners to help them achieve their research goals. To link this scientific research to conservation efforts, Felidae incorporates the results of field studies into its outreach and education programs. These include talks and presentations throughout the US, collaborations with artists and video producers to convey the conservation message through visual media, and online projects aimed at educating young people through an interactive portal, an

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

and

mobile phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This rad ...

game, and social network activities.

Partnerships and collaboration

In its field work and conservation efforts FCF collaborates with the following organizations:

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

California State Parks California State Parks is the state park system for the U.S. state of California. The system is administered by the California Department of Parks and Recreation, a department under the California Natural Resources Agency. The California State ...

California Department of Fish and Game The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), formerly known as the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), is an American state agency under the California Natural Resources Agency. The Department of Fish and Wildlife manages ...

UC Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of California system. Located in Monterey Bay ...

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

Wildlife Conservation Society The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a global 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization, headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, with a mission to save "wildlife and wild places across the globe". Founded in ...

, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Snow Leopard Trust,

Snow Leopard Conservancy The Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC) was founded in 2000 by Dr Rodney Jackson, a leading expert on snow leopards (''Panthera uncia'') and their habitat. The conservancy works to engage and incorporate local communities in protecting snow leopards i ...

International Wildlife Film Festival The International Wildlife Film Festival is a film festival held annually at the Roxy Theater in Missoula, Montana. The International Wildlife Film Festival was "the first regular ongoing festival devoted solely to wildlife films" and this "signale ...

, Craighead Beringa South,

Cheetah Conservation Fund The Cheetah Conservation Fund is a research and education institution in Namibia concerned with the study and sustenance of the country's cheetah population, the largest and healthiest in the world. Its Research and Education Centre is located ...

and the

International League of Conservation Photographers International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

, among many other organizations.

Science and research

Felidae's scientific research projects are based in field locations around the globe. The Bay Area Puma Project in Northern California is the first comprehensive study of mountain lions in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

. A primary goal of this study is to determine priority locations for wildlife overpasses and underpasses to maintain connectivity for the region's wildlife populations. In addition, the study uses

GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based hyperbolic navigation system owned by the United States Space Force and operated by Mission Delta 31. It is one of the global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) that provide geol ...

collars equipped with

accelerometer An accelerometer is a device that measures the proper acceleration of an object. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change (mathematics), rate of change of velocity) of the object relative to an observer who is in free fall (tha ...

s to record detailed information on mountain lion movements that will reveal new insights into their behavior and

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

. Felidae is working with Dr. Chris Wilmers of UC Santa Cruz, along with the

and California State Parks. The

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

Puma Project in Chile is a long-term ecological study by Dr. Heiko Wittmer of UC Davis which examines the dynamics relating to the puma’s role in the decline of the huemul deer. The researchers hope to exonerate the puma from major blame in the huemul's decline. The Bornean Wild Cat and Clouded Leopard Project in Malaysia investigates the conservation needs of five species of Bornean wild cats ( Bornean clouded leopard,

bay cat The bay cat (''Catopuma badia''), also known as the Bornean bay cat, is a small wild cat endemic to the island of Borneo that appears to be relatively rare compared to sympatric wild cats, based on the paucity of historical, as well as recent rec ...

flat-headed cat The flat-headed cat (''Prionailurus planiceps'') is a felinae, small wild cat with short reddish-brown fur. Its head is elongated, and its ears are rounded. Its slender body is long with a tail of , and it weighs . The flat-headed cat was first ...

marbled cat The marbled cat (''Pardofelis marmorata'') is a small Felidae, wild cat native from the eastern Himalayas to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests up to an elevation of . As it is present in a large range, it has been listed as Near Threatene ...

, and

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

). The study will use GPS collars and radio tracking to document spatial patterns,

ranging Length measurement, distance measurement, or range measurement (ranging) all refer to the many ways in which length, distance, or range can be measured. The most commonly used approaches are the rulers, followed by transit-time methods and the ...

behavior, activity patterns, and habitat use. Felidae is working in partnership with the Global Canopy Programme ( UK), the Institute for Tropical Biology and Conservation at the University of Malaysia, and

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

graduate students Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

Andrew Hearn and Joanna Ross. The Study on Endangered

Snow Leopards The snow leopard (''Panthera uncia'') is a species of large cat in the genus ''Panthera'' of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because ...

in Mongolia is a long-term research project that will answer basic ecological and behavioral questions about the mysterious and elusive snow leopard. The study will be conducted using GPS collars, non-invasive

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

, and

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by motion in its vicinity, like the presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor—usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor or an active infrared ...

ping with advanced mark-recapture modeling. It will attempt to answer basic questions about snow leopards (

birth Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring, also referred to in technical contexts as parturition. In mammals, the process is initiated by hormones which cause the muscular walls of the uterus to contract, expelling the f ...

and

mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular Statistical population, population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically ...

s, cub survival, dispersal rates, habitat use, and

home range A home range is the area in which an animal lives and moves on a periodic basis. It is related to the concept of an animal's territory which is the area that is actively defended. The concept of a home range was introduced by W. H. Burt in 1943. ...

size) that are currently unknown due to their cryptic nature and inaccessible habitat. Felidae's partners in the project are the Snow Leopard Trust and the

. The Teton

Cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

Project in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

studies the

population dynamics Population dynamics is the type of mathematics used to model and study the size and age composition of populations as dynamical systems. Population dynamics is a branch of mathematical biology, and uses mathematical techniques such as differenti ...

of mountain lions in the

Greater Yellowstone ecosystem The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is one of the last remaining large, nearly intact ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of Earth. It is located within the northern Rocky Mountains, in areas of northwestern Wyoming, southwestern Monta ...

by examining predation, behavior associated with human development, and interactions with

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

grizzly bear The grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis''), also known as the North American brown bear or simply grizzly, is a population or subspecies of the brown bear inhabiting North America. In addition to the mainland grizzly (''Ursus arctos horr ...

s and black bears. The project is operated by Craighead Beringia South with support from Felidae. The Southern California Puma Project examines the progress and implications of

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

as puma populations in Southern California become more isolated. Felidae is collaborating with UC Davis Wildlife Health Center on this study, which has radio-collared more than 50 pumas over 7 years. The

Asiatic Cheetah The Asiatic cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus venaticus'') is a critically endangered cheetah subspecies currently only surviving in Iran. Its range once spread from the Arabian Peninsula and the Near East to the Caspian region, Transcaucasus, Kyzyl ...

Project in Iran is the first detailed ecological study of the

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

Asiatic cheetah. Researchers in Northern Iran work to gain insight into the cheetahs’ movements within and between reserves, information that can help scientists to protect the cats' habitat and stave off extinction. The Snow Leopard Conservation Project in Pakistan is a high-profile study in the North Western Frontier Province of Pakistan in which the first ever GPS collar was placed on a snow leopard, as seen in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

documentary "Snow Leopard: Beyond the Myth". The study is a partnership between Snow Leopard Trust, WWF-Pakistan, NWFP Wildlife Department, and Felidae Conservation Fund. The African Cheetah Project in Namibia is an ongoing study of the African cheetah that includes camera-trapping, spoor tracking, and

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

research. The study is led by the

and Dr. Laurie Marker with support from Felidae.

References