Felidae Conservation Fund

10/16/2026

Meet Otis the mountain lion! 🐾

Researchers at the Bay Area Puma Project (BAPP) first laid eyes on Otis in 2022 as he padded into frame on black-and-white camera footage playing on their computer screens. The video was recorded on one of the many motion-sensing cameras (aka “camera traps”) placed around Point Reyes and Marin County to track pumas’ movement patterns and behaviors—there are multiple camera traps collecting data in forested habitats.

By collecting data points about lions around Point Reyes, Marin County, and the broader Bay Area through spatial tracking, modeling, and lab analyses of biological samples (aka s**t and fur), BAPP is developing one of California’s most detailed databases about wild felid health. This information allows researchers to better understand and support lions like Otis as they face growing challenges to their survival.

Read more about Otis, DJ the scent-detection dog, the jaguars that once inhabited the Bay Area, and more: ptreyes.org/news/otis/

If you’ve seen a puma or bobcat, add your observation to Bay Area Puma Project’s map, which supports researchers in evaluating potential problem areas and movement barriers for wildlife: bapp.org/meet-puma/sightings

📽️ Videos courtesy of Bay Area Puma Project



Video Description: Black-and-white night vision trail camera footage of a mountain lion, with a timestamp, date, and temperature data at the bottom. On screen text describes Otis the mountain lion, how long researchers have been monitoring him, his appearance, range, and a call to action to read an article with more information.

10/16/2026

Today is National Feral Cat Day!
As habitat fragmentation intensifies, people, domestic animals, and wild cats (e.g. pumas and bobcats) increasingly share the same space.
Vaccinating stray and feral cats and supporting spay/neuter programs are important for coexistence and can help prevent the spread of viruses like rabies to wild felids while protecting ecosystems.

10/15/2026

In Orange County, Ortega Highway has become a hotspot for puma mortality from vehicle collisions, which kill 6 out of 7 pumas. Because roads restrict puma movement, this isolates individuals and can lead to inbreeding and decreased reproduction, both of which negatively affect puma populations in California.

Learn more https://voiceofoc.org/2026/08/from-backcountry-to-museums-oc-mountain-lions-at-the-brink-of-extinction/

10/14/2026

The rusty-spotted cat is the world's smallest wild cat & it's found in India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. This small cat weighs just a few pounds and is very elusive, making it difficult to study, so very little is known about its ecology. Rusty-spotted cats are classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN as they’re threatened by poaching and habitat loss from the expansion of agriculture.
https://indiandefencereview.com/meet-the-worlds-smallest-wild-cat/

In the neighboring country of Bhutan, Felidae's Bhutan Wild Cat Project studies the wild cats facing similar conservation challenges as the rusty-spotted cat:
https://felidaefund.org/projects/research/bhutan-wild-cat-health-project

This tiny cat weighs barely three pounds, yet much about its secretive life in the wild remains unknown.

10/13/2026

How do local attitudes towards coexistence inform wildlife management preferences? A survey of Texas residents and livestock producers sought to explore what drives willingness to coexist with pumas- is it trust in officials? Perceived risk? Some perception of mutualism? Turns out mutualists (people who saw wildlife as deserving protection) and domination-focused respondents (those who favored human control over wildlife) were most willing to coexist. Also, they were more likely to favor non-lethal and less aggressive management strategies.

Read more: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320726002697

10/12/2026

California’s 6 year bobcat hunting moratorium is expiring, and the state is deciding right now whether to make protections permanent or reopen trophy hunting. These native wild cats provide important ecological services, helping control the rodent population.

Please email [email protected] and [email protected] (Subject: Public Comment: Draft California Bobcat Conservation Plan) before Nov 1 to urge a permanent end to bobcat hunting!

Read our latest Substack on this issue! https://shorturl.at/ysBRQ

California is preparing to decide whether to bring back bobcat hunting. Have we learned nothing from the last six years?

10/09/2026

South Carolina's Kiawah Island bobcat population has suffered after the island reopened to tourism. Rodenticides used in rental homes were the leading cause in bobcat deaths, as bobcats consumed poisoned rodents as their food source, leading to a bioaccumulation of toxins in their body.
Luckily, the community took action by switching to less harmful pest control methods.
Read more about this community effort: shorturl.at/y48zQ

Learn about Felidae’s Wild Cat Health Project 🐱:
felidaefund.org/projects/research/wild-cat-health-project

10/08/2026

From DNA and parasites, to pollutants and stress hormones- f***l samples from wild cats provide a unique window into their health.
As part of Felidae’s Wild Cat Health Project, we study mountain lion and bobcat health at the urban-wildland interface. Findings will be used to identify hotspots in disease risk and determine where wild cat health is most vulnerable.

Learn more!
jmlt.org/2024/12/11/cat-s**t

10/08/2026

Genetics just unveiled what years of morphological analysis got wrong- Miracinonyx trumani, an extinct big cat was thought to be the cheetah’s ancestor. But recent genetic analyses suggests this species is more closely related to the puma! Findings show the value of genetic analysis relative to morphological comparisons.
Learn about our work to understand & conserve wild cats: felidaefund.org

Read more about Miracinonyx trumani:
scitechdaily.com/ancient-dna-rewrites-the-story-of-the-american-cheetah

The “American cheetah” may have looked built for speed, but new evidence reveals a stranger story: it was closer to a puma, and some Arctic populations appear to have survived almost entirely on fish.

10/04/2026

Oct 4 is World Animal Day! Today we celebrate by highlighting the wild cats that we study and strive to protect. As carnivores, wild cats play a critical role. They help regulate prey populations and are key to preventing the spread of disease. Unfortunately, all wild cat species are threatened by human disturbance. Our non-invasive research spans multiple cat species all over the world, including bobcats and pumas in California, 9 wild felids in Bhutan, Geoffroy’s cat and pampas cat in Argentina, and cheetahs in Kenya.
Learn more about all these projects at Felidaefund.org