CLAWS Founder quoted in New York Times article on Leopard Status

This morning the New York Times published a story entitled "Leopards Are More Vulnerable Than Previously Believed, Study Finds" in anticipation of the release of a new study.  Dr. Andrew Stein, the CLAWS founder, is quoted in the article saying, "Partly on the basis of the findings, the cat specialist group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature has recommended that the leopard (Panthera pardus) be reclassified on its Red List of threatened species as “vulnerable,” indicating that stronger conservation efforts are needed"

Read the full article by clicking HERE!

"Into the Lions Den" our newest blog post is up on National Geographic's Cat Watch!

Conservationists often put in long hours tracking animals, meeting with communities and writing reports.  It is rare to have a day where you can honestly say you have worked closely with members of the community to address their concerns and make a direct impact on the species you are working hard to protect.  Eric LeFlore is a PhD student working for Pride in Our Prides in Northern Botswana and in this blog post he recounts a day last month where tensions were running high and the hunting party was getting set to retaliate for a recent string of lion conflict events.

Mayenga ("Decorated by the Gods") sporting her satellite tracking collar as she walks among her cubs

Researchers and conservationists must take the needs of the community into account if wildlife is to persist outside of fenced reserves. The Pride in Our Prides Program is already making progress in engaging communities for the benefit of people and lions.

Click HERE to read the full blogpost! Thank you for your interest and support!

Congratulations to DR. Florian Weise!

On March 17th, Florian Weise, our new field coordinator has passed his Viva exam from Manchester Metropolitan University for his pioneering conservation work on human carnivore conflict on Namibian farmlands.  Florian has partnered with Namibian livestock farmers in predator monitoring efforts that yielded higher conflict tolerance and reduced killing of predators. This pragmatic approach is the newest wave of conflict mitigation as conservationists grapple with the increased habitat fragmentation and communities that have been removed from the species conservation for too long. His approach is exactly what Pride in Our Prides was founded on andwe are excited to have Dr. Weise take on the challenges of human-lion conflict in the Delta in May!