A female Arabian leopard at the Arabian Leopard Conservation Breeding Centre in Taif, Saudi Arabia. Scientists estimate that only 120 Arabian leopards remain in the wild. The Royal Commission for AlUla, with the help of Panthera, is conserving the Critically Endangered species and working toward its eventual reintroduction into the wild. (Photo: Frederic Uhel)
For the third year in a row, the world’s leading wild cat conservation group, Panthera, has released its top wild cat photos of the year. Whether taken from camera traps or DSLRs, these photographs are a testament to the incredible work that Panthera and its partner organizations have been doing around the world.
From lion cubs and curious cougars to rare marbled cats and ocelots, these photos are an incredible look at cats thriving in the wild. Sprinkled in are some of the park rangers and Panthera team members who make reserves safe for these animals and conduct programming that educates the community about the importance of conservation.
While incredible progress is being made on multiple fronts, there is still work to be done in order to ensure that these species not only survive, but thrive. Right now, Panthera is running a “Home for the Holidays” campaign, which highlights the critical need to understand and protect the homes of wild cats. All donations to Panthera made through December 31, 2024, will be tax-deductible in the United States and matched dollar-for-dollar by The Ayers Wild Cat Conservation Trust.
To get more insight into what’s happening on the ground with these wild cats, we chatted with Panthera’s chief scientist, Dr. John Goodrich, about this year’s triumphs and challenges. Scroll down to read our interview and enjoy these incredible images.
A male lion rests in the grass in South Africa’s Sabi Sand Nature Reserve.
Many argue that lions receive the lion’s share of conservation attention when it comes to Africa’s wild cats, but in this region of the continent, Panthera’s Sabi Sands Leopard Project proudly stands as the lengthiest and most comprehensive leopard research study ever undertaken. It encompasses three private reserves (the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, Mala Mala Game Reserve, and Sabie Game Reserve), where Panthera researchers have studied, monitored, and gained a better understanding of leopard behavior using this unique population since 2009.
Due to the well-protected environment and sensitive viewing practices, leopards in the reserve have become comfortable around vehicles. Because of this, leopard sightings are frequent, and safari guides can identify and monitor up to 85 resident leopards using their unique spots and established territories. Panthera has trained safari guides to act as citizen scientists, using their photo-tourism sightings as biological data that ultimately inform the conservation of at-risk leopard populations in other regions. (Photo: Panthera/Nikki Balme)
What have been some victories in wild cat conservation over the past year?
There have been so many recently that it’s hard to narrow them down, but in southeast Asia where tigers are still highly threatened, we’ve seen some excellent progress. In Thailand’s Salakpra Wild Life Sanctuary of the Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), the number of tigers has increased from one female in 2014 to five individuals in 2024, including one breeding female currently raising a litter. This accompanies a new study out of Thailand showing tiger population density in protected areas has more than doubled over the last 20 years.
In parts of Zambia’s Kafue National Park, leopards and lions have begun rebounding thanks to counter-poaching efforts and technological advances led by the state government and supported by Panthera and partners.
In Senegal’s Niokolo Koba National Park, Panthera and the Senegal government’s work in GPS-collaring and monitoring the nation’s Critically Endangered West African lions has helped numbers double from 15 to over 30 in less than a decade. And these conservation efforts are good news for other wildlife too: an image of a giant pangolin was captured this year for the first time in 25 years, and this year UNESCO removed the park from the List of World Heritage in Danger, noting the conservation improvements that began in 2017 with Panthera’s partnership with Senegal’s national park authority.
Stateside, in Washington, Panthera successfully advocated for closing loopholes in cougar hunting regulations, ensuring hunting quotas will prioritize the health of cougar populations. And further south in Texas, Panthera successfully pushed for the state’s first-ever protections for mountain lions, which bans canned hunting of mountain lions and requires that live mountain lions not be held in traps for longer than 36 hours.
A female cougar nicknamed Genevieve stands behind her nearly one-year-old kitten on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. In this landscape, high-definition remote cameras and GPS collars provide a window into the secret world of cougars, unveiling where the species travels and why, what they eat, how they raise their young, interactions between pumas and bobcats and how the species navigates through a mosaic of human-dominated lands.
The Olympic Cougar Project (OCP) is a large-scale, multi-national collaborative effort to assess and increase cougar connectivity in western Washington State where these big cats have lower genetic diversity than in other areas of the state. Given conflict over livestock is the biggest source of cougar deaths in the region, the OCP also aims to facilitate co-existence between cougars and human communities through various education and community outreach initiatives.
Adopting a community approach rarely seen in the United States that extends across state and tribal nation boundaries, the OCP is carried out by Panthera and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe alongside multiple other tribal nations. (Photo: Matt Mahen)
And some continued struggles?
Unfortunately, the struggles of protecting wild cats will always endure. As we learn more about the trends and tactics of the illegal wildlife trade and hone our counter-poaching strategy and tools, poachers adapt, and we must constantly revise our strategies in response.
Securing long-term funding for nature conservation from individuals throughout the global community (even if it’s a $25 recurring monthly gift), foundations, governments, multi-lateral organizations and others is another enduring struggle. Recovering cat populations is a long-term process and, in many cases, we are planning 10 years or more into the future, yet many of our funding commitments are one to three years.
As I wrote about for The Washington Post, another struggle is a global understanding (and resulting funding) that investment in the protection of species like wild cats—the ultimate apex carnivore in so many terrestrial landscapes—is an investment in the protection of 74% of the earth’s landmass, home to thousands of species of flora and fauna, including humans and the carbon, water, and food resources ensuring our survival.
An adolescent leopard rests on a fallen tree trunk in South Africa’s Sabi Sand Nature Reserve.
Panthera’s Sabi Sands Leopard Project proudly stands as the lengthiest and most comprehensive leopard research study ever undertaken. It encompasses three private reserves (the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve, Mala Mala Game Reserve, and Sabie Game Reserve), where Panthera researchers have studied, monitored, and gained a better understanding of leopard behavior using this unique population since 2009.
Due to the well-protected environment and sensitive viewing practices, leopards in the reserve have become comfortable around vehicles. Because of this, leopard sightings are frequent and safari guides can identify and monitor up to 85 resident leopards using their unique spots and established territories. Panthera has trained safari guides to act as citizen scientists, using their photo-tourism sightings as biological data that ultimately inform the conservation of at-risk leopard populations in other regions.
Mgiba was born in July 2023 to the Ntsumi female in southern Sabi Sands. She was part of a litter of two, and both her and her sister Kurhula reached independence a few months ago, which is noteworthy in the reserve as leopard cub mortality is high. Although they are independent of their mother, they are still found in her natal territory, sometimes together and sometimes apart, as they begin to support themselves. Their father is likely the Nweti male, as he is the dominant territory holder in the area and was seen mating with Ntsumi prior to the birth of the cubs. (Photo: Panthera/Nikki Balme)
As a scientist, what concerns you the most for the survival of these animals?
The rapid rate at which we continue to lose cat habitats, despite concrete evidence of the critical importance of those habitats not only to cats, but to stem climate change and biodiversity loss, and ensure our own survival.
What do you hope that people take away from this image collection?
After taking in this collection, I hope that viewers will appreciate the raw beauty of wild cats and their landscapes and be inspired by the dedication of those working in all conditions—from freezing rain to extreme heat, at all hours of the day and sometimes at risk to their lives—in the pursuit of protecting these magnificent animals. I hope this window into the world of wild cats inspires curiosity about how viewers can also help protect wild cats, and if that wish is granted, I ask that you please consider donating to Panthera’s “Home for the Holidays” campaign, which highlights the critical need to understand and protect the homes of wild cats.
Panthera’s top wild cat images of 2024 highlight the incredible nature of these animals.
An endangered flat-headed cat (Prionailurus planiceps) roams the swampy area of the Tangkulap Forest Reserve, Sabah, Malaysian Borneo.
On the island of Borneo, Panthera works through Project Dupot to monitor and protect the Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis Diardi) and other Bornean wild cats and their prey in the Deramakot Core Area, a mixed-use landscape in Sabah. Using counter-poaching strategies developed for this region, we work closely with the Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Wildlife Department, as well as the Keramuak Community Rangers to increase the level of security across the Deramakot landscape. (Photo: Sabah Forestry Department/Sabah Wildlife Department/Panther)
A cheetah cub seeks shelter from the wind in Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa. (Photo: Alexander Botha)
Taken less than two weeks before the start of 2024 in Thailand’s Dong Phayayen Khao Yai Forest Complex, we snuck this camera trap shot of a tigress and her cub into our 2024 collection due to its raw beauty and the significance of new life for the future of the Endangered tiger. This cub is estimated to be two to three months old – an exciting time of life when cubs begin to explore the world with their mothers. (Photo: Thailand DPKY/Panthera)
This leading wild cat conservation group works with local organizations around the globe to help wild cats thrive.
A collection of skins of pumas and culpeo fox killed in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Sport hunting of pumas and foxes in this Province of Argentinean Patagonia is legal, allowing hunters to take a puma per week. On the other side of the border in Chile, pumas are legally protected, although retaliatory killing is still a common management strategy among ranchers as a way to protect their livestock.
In Chile, Panthera works to resolve human-cat conflicts that have persisted for more than a century in the Magallanes Region, with a replicable model for other ranches in Patagonia. Amongst other conservation efforts in country, our approach involves the use of non-lethal alternatives for the protection of domestic livestock, such as light deterrents and livestock protection dogs. (Photo: Nicolas Lagos/Panthera)
Phu Teoy National Park rangers, equipped with natural umbrellas, are conducting a survey as part of ongoing wild cat conservation efforts between Panthera, the government of Thailand and other partners. Despite being a protected area at the edge of the forest complex and serving as a buffer zone, Phu Teoy has remarkably recorded tigers in the area. The discovery of the first tiger in this area is an exceptional and noteworthy case.Phu Teoy National Park rangers, equipped with natural umbrellas, are conducting a survey as part of ongoing wild cat conservation efforts between Panthera, the government of Thailand and other partners. Despite being a protected area at the edge of the forest complex and serving as a buffer zone, Phu Teoy has remarkably recorded tigers in the area. The discovery of the first tiger in this area is an exceptional and noteworthy case. (Photo: Panthera Thailand)
An adult bobcat examines Panthera’s camera trap on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington. (Photo: Matt Mahen/Panthera)
A sleepy clouded leopard ambles in front of our camera traps in Malaysia’s Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve. En route to catch the next catnap! (Photo: Panthera/Pahang Biodiversity Council/DWNP/Enggang)
A melanistic leopard in Malaysia’s Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve. Nearly all leopards on the Malay Peninsula are black. Their color comes from a genetic mutation that causes an overproduction in the dark pigment melanin, which results in black fur coats.
The Malay Peninsula is one of the last strongholds for the Indochinese leopard. Some believe that black leopards (or panthers) are better concealed than lighter-colored leopards in the dense canopies of the region’s rainforests, making them more effective at stalking prey.
We’re monitoring the black leopard’s population trends in the landscape, and working alongside the Malaysian government to improve protection measures. These leopards are highly sought after by the illegal wildlife trade and often fall prey to poachers’ wire snares. (Photo: Panthera/Pahang Biodiversity Council/DWNP/Enggang)
One of the jaguars initially discovered in 2020 now makes up a previously unknown population in the proposed La Danta Wildlife Refuge, Honduras. During the past two years, the Honduran government (ICF), Municipalities of Jutiapa and Olanchito, SERSO, BTSA, Panthera and Re:wild have been working alongside local communities to establish La Danta Wildlife Refuge as a protected area. Below this region lives a community of 100,000 people who are fed water from the rivers in La Danta. There’s no question that protecting wild cats like jaguars, their prey and their habitats can help keep ecosystems safe and help protect the quality of critical ecosystem services, like water, benefitting the health of people and so many other living beings. (Photo: Panthera)
A tiger carries prey, a sambar deer, in the Dong Phayayen-Khao Yai Forest Complex of Thailand. Sambar deer are among the most favored prey of tigers. Tigers often bypass smaller prey in favor of these larger animals, maximizing energy efficiency in their hunting efforts. Tigers play a vital role in maintaining the health of deer populations by preying on sick individuals. This natural selection process helps strengthen the genetic traits of the deer population over time. (Photo: Thailand DPKY/Panthera)
Immersed in the raw wild of the Brazilian Pantanal, a female jaguar known as ‘Saseka’ rests. This photo was taken during wildfires in the Pantanal, which have become an annual ‘new normal’ for the region. At least 17 million vertebrates are estimated to have been killed immediately by wildfires that burned a quarter of the Brazilian Pantanal in 2020, according to a study from the Mogu Mata Network, coordinated by Embrapa Pantanal and ICMBio/CENAP, in which Panthera actively participated. Immersed in the raw wild of the Brazilian Pantanal, a female jaguar known as ‘Saseka’ rests. This photo was taken during wildfires in the Pantanal, which have become an annual ‘new normal’ for the region. At least 17 million vertebrates are estimated to have been killed immediately by wildfires that burned a quarter of the Brazilian Pantanal in 2020, according to a study from the Mogu Mata Network, coordinated by Embrapa Pantanal and ICMBio/CENAP, in which Panthera actively participated. Immersed in the raw wild of the Brazilian Pantanal, a female jaguar known as ‘Saseka’ rests. This photo was taken during wildfires in the Pantanal, which have become an annual ‘new normal’ for the region. At least 17 million vertebrates are estimated to have been killed immediately by wildfires that burned a quarter of the Brazilian Pantanal in 2020, according to a study from the Mogu Mata Network, coordinated by Embrapa Pantanal and ICMBio/CENAP, in which Panthera actively participated. Immersed in the raw wild of the Brazilian Pantanal, a female jaguar known as ‘Saseka’ rests. This photo was taken during wildfires in the Pantanal, which have become an annual ‘new normal’ for the region. At least 17 million vertebrates are estimated to have been killed immediately by wildfires that burned a quarter of the Brazilian Pantanal in 2020, according to a study from the Mogu Mata Network, coordinated by Embrapa Pantanal and ICMBio/CENAP, in which Panthera actively participated. (Photo: Panthera/Raissa Sepulvida)
A startled marbled cat hisses at the camera in Malaysia’s Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve.
Mostly arboreal and often only detected by our cameras on trails along high-elevation ridgelines, the marbled cat is among some of the more elusive cat species. This individual is challenging the Pallas’ Cat for the title of World’s Grumpiest Cat. (Photo: Panthera/Pahang Biodiversity Council/DWNP/Enggang)
As part of a remarkable program fusing faith and conservation, Panthera, the global wild cat conservation organization, has joined forces with the one-million-member African Congregational Church (ACC) to expand the Furs for Life program (FFL) – a decade-long initiative to reduce the killing of wild leopards in southern Africa. Representing the third FFL partnership with a Church or Royal Establishment, the latest alliance will reduce demand for authentic leopard skins, save significant leopard lives and bring economic benefits to local women often income-dependent on the illegal wildlife trade.
The new initiative will replace the Church’s ceremonial regalia – hats traditionally made from authentic leopard fur – with a synthetic, longer-lasting and cheaper alternative known as “Heritage Fur.” One significant goal is to provide an alternative source of income for women reliant on tailoring illegally sourced wildlife products and increase their skills training, including business management, that will enable independent operation of tailoring micro-enterprises. Thus far, Panthera has provided 20 sewing machines and tables, equipment and 280 hours of training to twenty women from the South Africa-based African Congregational Church to tailor thousands of Heritage Fur hats and other garments, including school uniforms, in high demand outside of the Church. (Photo: Jabulani Mkhize)
Part of Panthera’s Thailand team support the #WildatHeart campaign to spotlight wild cats and the incredible impacts they have on our shared ecosystems. (Photo: Panthera)
A howler monkey bravely challenges a camera trap in Costa Rica, where Panthera works to connect and protect wild cats in and beyond the nation’s borders – including jaguars, pumas, ocelots, jaguarundis, margays, and oncillas.
As part of Panthera’s Wild Cat Friendly Roads Project, camera traps are placed both in trees and in and around roads to assess how wildlife are using natural and manmade arboreal crossings, underpasses and culverts. These data help inform the construction of structures like underpasses in wildlife crossing hotspots, saving the lives of wildlife and reducing collisions. (Photo: Panthera/Inter-American Development Bank Ministry of Transportation)
‘Akira’ is a female ocelot that has been monitored for several years in the Andes region of Colombia where Panthera carries out a multitude of wild cat conservation initiatives. In 2023, she was fixed with a GPS collar to study her movements, and in 2024 we obtained camera trap photos of her activities. Photos show her to be in good health and even captured her carrying a rodent in her mouth. (Photo: Panthera)
An Asian golden cat battles a snake in Malaysia’s Al-Sultan Abdullah Royal Tiger Reserve. This species is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ by the International Union for Conservation of Nature while its cousin, the African golden cat, is considered Endangered. (Photo: Panthera/Pahang Biodiversity Council/DWNP/Enggang)
Two male lion cubs, estimated to be 12-18 months old, inspect a camera trap in Mufunta Game Management Area (GMA) bordering the western boundary of Zambia’s Kafue National Park. These two males were photographed with a lioness, which is likely their mother.
In 2023, Panthera was thrilled to share that counter-poaching operations and innovative technological advances, including ‘vulture sentinels,’ have helped triple leopard density and increase lion numbers in parts of Kafue. (Photo: Panthera)
Panthera K9 Research Assistant Fatima Germani and her 6-year-old male Belgian Malinois, Phiri, (also known as Phiri Dog and Baby) admire the view after successfully completing a training exercise. Phiri is a tracking dog trained to detect snares and camps of poachers in Terengganu Forest, Malaysia, where Panthera carries out antipoaching and monitoring efforts on behalf of tigers and other wild cats. He had just successfully found a day-old mock poacher’s camp when this photo was taken. (Photo: Ben Riopelle)
Students of the Jaguar School in Colombia roar for the camera.
The Jaguar School, or La Escuela Jaguar, is a remarkable learning project in Colombia dedicated to inspiring children to appreciate jaguars. By engaging them through various interactive activities such as art, music, games, and even statistics lessons, our young students learn why jaguars are so crucial to Colombia’s ecosystems and the world at large. The Jaguar School is implemented where people live in close proximity to jaguars and other wildlife. The Jaguar School is creating new opportunities for vulnerable jaguars and the surrounding community through its efforts.
Since 2009, more than 1,300 children and youth have been taught the importance of wild cats and their conservation. (Photo: Panthera)
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