Big Cat Conservation: A Global Alliance

Jaguar of Light

Global Big Cat Alliance

January 2018 Project Update

Dear Donor,

Thank you for all that you do to help us bring Western and Indigenous knowledge systems together for the conservation of these beloved big cats. We are immensely grateful to you, to the ancestors, and to the spirit of the big cats.

Tiger Conservation

We have a number of updates to share with you this quarter, including our work with one of our partners, China Tiger Revival (CTR), whose Director was integrally involved in the global tiger conservation work of UNDP and who authored a seminal book on South China Tigers. We hosted a visit of the Director last month, during which time we strategized on tiger conservation and the role of culture. By way of background, CTR was instrumental in launching the first program of its kind, a program through which tigers previously held in captivity were brought to South Africa, and released into the wild, essentially “re-wilding” them so that they could learn to function like tigers in the wild. The goal is ultimately to bring these tigers back to China where they can roam free on their ancestral lands. During our time together, we learned that CTR was able to negotiate with the organizers of the Wild Conference to host the next annual global conference China for the first time ever. Our aim now is to identify Indigenous Cultural Practitioners in China who still perform the ancient tiger dances, in order to bring a cultural component to this conference. It’s a big step to bridge the tiger conservation and the indigenous world.

Jaguar Conservation

Additionally, one of our partners, ICP and artist Ernesto Olmos was able through the support of WISN and your generous contributions to travel to the Oaxaca Xaguar Xoo (Jaguar Zoo) to set up an exhibit and altar dedicated to the white Jaguar, also known as the Jaguar of Light an icon representation of the species’ sacredness. The zoo has a number of jaguars in residence, which they hope to rehabilitate and release back into the wild. The environment is not currently hospitable for jaguar conservation.

In the month ahead, we will introduce an ICP from a pristine culture and ecosystem (Yawanawa from Brazil) to both conservationist and and ICP from Mexico to mirror how things can look when culture and ecosystems remain intact. It’s an aspirational model and our hope is that through these connections, a corridor of protection can be established for jaguar conservation that extends from the Amazon in Brazil through Central and North America.

We will continue to raise funds for this effort as well as our work with the other big cats and will have more to report on our ongoing work in our next report this Spring. As always, we are immensely grateful to you, our donors, for all you have done to make this possible.