Passion provoked by a species in need...

These posts (and other updates) are at my personal Facebook page if you wish to comment but please don't forget to follow Living with Leopards also at Facebook.

The word passion is something I'm happy to say I can use more and more now as we get closer to an announcement regarding International Day of the Leopard. There are really passionate people getting involved, people with genuine regard, concern and above all, the desire to conserve the great cat.

Protection levels throughout the range of the leopard vary, so do perceptions. Those are the human elements. The cat itself is one of the most adaptable and resilient species on the planet. It's ecological importance as an apex predator and umbrella species in so many regions is vital. As I've mentioned before, governments, large chunks of the conservation sector and the general public have dropped the ball on this.  If the public get on board and realize the true essence of this issue then we can win.

So a strong group of people are joining together for the leopard. Coexistence, hard science and wildlife crime are themes within a theme and although a big part of my own emphasis is reintroduction (includes rehab, rewiding etc) and how we can put the great cat back into ecosystems where predators need to be, there is a much broader spectrum in my day to day thinking. Sharing those thoughts with true leopard people from around the world is exciting but tempered by the daily loss, the persecution of the species.

So a lot to do but well worth doing, we just need more people to truly understand and support that.

Jai Chituwa.

A question of values...

 I love being in the jungle, really love it. Mountain or lowland, it doesn't matter, as long as it is big cat habitat it feels right. My head clears very quickly and the job at hand takes focus.
Today was a little different. I did not mind the heat or biting insects and I had my usual observation of surroundings based on monitoring and safety. I just found it longer than usual to clear my head. A family member who knows my stuff, knows the pressure of what I'm doing as well as the sacrifices I've made, reminded me by email to keep my values, qualifying that by saying he knows I will. I miss my family a lot, sometimes that compounds the difficulties but they understand and support my motivation.
In an interview yesterday I told of my total respect for the leopard, an animal I have come to admire more and more. The pressure this species is under, the lack of support, is perhaps the burden I took into the jungle today, perhaps the burden of a misunderstood animal weighed me down more than usual, took me a while to shake off. A post made earlier today on Facebook perhaps made me ask more deeply than usual the question of human values. Tiger farming and other issues regarding the trade in big cat body parts in general, give every day reminders for those of us involved in big cat protection, there is no escape and a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes to combat these scourges. It's just that today, I guess combined with the serious infrastructure challenges we've had here (see Facebook post two back), I questioned values again when it comes to marginalization of species, marginalization of people.
Everyone screams "save the tiger! save wildlife!" but is it just noise? Normally in the jungle I just get on with the work and despite everything there is a sense of peace. Today the noise went with me, it made me wonder who is the genuine article...
Tomorrow there will be two more jungles, the tiredness that brings and now we have some electricity a ceiling fan that works, will hopefully mean sleep... but not tonight, a lot to do, a lot to catch up on... and some gnawing questions...

#Coexistence - Predator, Prey, Livestock, People...

These are four images I posted at my own Facebook page today in an album called Nepal - People, Wildlife, Habitat.  These four were captured by a fixed camera, one of many I use monitoring leopard in buffer zone jungles.  Shared space, different times.

We're in that stifling pre-monsoon heat here in western Nepal.  Wildlife tends to congregate near available water holes, it's a difficult time for all living things, energy has to used wisely.  But life goes on and within the realms of leopard conservation, that is, coexistence, rehabilitation and wildlife crime, the work has to continue.

I thank those who care and support.  Don't forget to follow Living with Leopards at Facebook and the the Twitter site @WildTigerNews

Big cats - spots or stripes, should it make a difference in how we treat them?

These posts (and other updates) are at Facebook if you wish to comment

Just a quick post and the title is slightly misleading but represents my deep thoughts right now.  At dawn this morning I watched a herd of wild elephants make their way.  This came on the back of a long fascinating discussion last night with a couple of people who spend a big chunk of their lives reintroducing marine species like orcas and dolphins into the wild (I'll blog about Jeff and Katy soon).  A big part of our talk centered on the out of balance emphasis some species get, for reasons that simply come down to money but are making true conservation more and more difficult.

I've mentioned many times how the leopard is discriminated against within that context.  As someone hell bent and devoting his life to the species, and reintroduction programs are a big part of that, I lament the lack of support the spotted cat gets compared to its striped relative, in  fact compared to icon species in general.  So much of this comes down to a lack of understanding including the ridiculous notion that just because a species has a healthy population in parts of its range it is not in trouble.  For the leopard, which is seriously marginalized, particularly because it is not a tourism money spinner, its persecution has seen it wiped out in many parts of its range.

So how does that play into ecosystems?  That is the message that is not being received and is one we have to deliver before it is too late.  Reintroduction of species, the leopard included, is future proofing, it is rebuilding.  It's about time more people looked beyond the stripes, personal agendas and organization agendas, and started putting emphasis on what is right rather than what is cute and what makes money.

Yes, we need the tiger, very much so... but we need the leopard too...

Predator, prey, a man who protects them...

These posts (as well as other updates) are at Facebook should you wish to comment.

.I dedicate these images to Ramesh Thapa (also known as Panthera Thapa). There are many people who have helped the Bardia tiger population recover but few who have risked life and limb as much as the dedicated Chief Warden. Anti-Poaching is a tough gig, death threats to those involved, their families, as well as physical confrontations are part of the landscape.

Wildlife protection, to be effective, involves sacrifice, the job is never done, there is no time for back slapping. Another man, a high ranking military officer, at the forefront of anti-poaching here, when I see him he uses the words "till now" ... which effectively means anything could happen in an instant, there has to be constant readiness. Till now, Ramesh Thapa has shown total commitment, I'm sure that will never stop...

I have thousands of images and hours of video footage, I'm very careful how I use them/it, no unnecessary data is published but it is important that people understand just how much work goes into wildlife protection at ground level.

Every day a bonus when you are a deer in tiger land...

As beautiful as they are I'm pretty sure I don't want to come back in my next life as a chital. Or for that matter any ungulate in Nepal (although it could actually be less dangerous than driving on the roads here). For spotted deer on the Terai to Himalayan tahr in the shadows of the world's loftiest peaks, all sorts of "tigers" await, hoofed animals are prey species for hungry big cats. Yesterday and today so far, ears, eyes, nose, sixth sense and technology have told me stories of chital coping with panthera tigris as wary movements, alarm calls and giant pug marks signal the drama of the jungle. Perhaps this deer was a scout? Tiger was nearby...
The word "tiger" in Nepal can mean leopard, snow leopard, smaller wild cats and of course the huge striped predator but to deer they all mean one thing, danger and the constant reminder that things could get messy...

These posts (and other updates) are at Facebook if you wish to comment.

To a wildlife lover, a small gift for a friend in pain...

 I’ve written recently about using remote camera images as an art form to express coexistence in the areas the leopard roams, protected and unprotected zones, showing species from the high mountains to the boiling lowlands, such is the range of the leopard.

I want to dedicate this recent image to a dear lady who corresponds with me, she has a great love for wildlife. This woman is in a lot of pain, sadly at a time of life where she should be enjoying peace in twilight years, after raising children, living her life. Life is harsh in that respect, as it is in many ways. Another message today confirmed her pain and discomfort.

“I used to give away small elephants made of stone as gifts of good luck but for you dear friend, I send you the strength of this elephant as it wandered recently in the still of night, a fleeting moment when it allowed a little light to capture the journey. As I do for this magnificent animal, I wish you well in the days to come…”

A little note – for security reasons I turn off location settings in remote cameras and I crop off the image details before posting.

These posts (and other updates) are at Facebook should you wish to comment...