Providing cat toys for your kitty might seem like and easy task. There are so many cat toys on the market. But we know you want to find the best toys for your cat made from the safest non-toxic materials. And if these cat toys are also eco-friendly and biodegradable even better.
Wool is an ideal material for your cat due to wools durability, stain-resistant, and eco-friendly properties. Wool contains a waxy material called lanolin that sheds and absorbs water. Cats are also fond of the smell of wool making wool felted cat toys popular among cat parents.
Our felted wool cat toys are made entirely of natural wool obtained humanely from New Zealand. The wool is a natural product making the toys bio-degradable and eco-friendly. This makes wool felted cat toys safe for your cat you and the planet.
The felt cat toys are created using a natural dying method to bring the toys to life. Our toys are made with azo-free dyes as opposed to common textile dyes that are toxic to your cat.
These azo-free dyes do not contain any harmful, toxic or carcinogenic compounds. Your cat and you are safe knowing there are no potential health risks.
AZO dyes are a type of synthetic dye or colorant. These dyes are used extensively in the food, cosmetics and textile industries. These dyes are less cost and easier to use from a manufacturing point of view than other dyes and offer vibrant wide ranging colors that will not run when washed. Sadly, they come with significant health issues
Research has linked azo dyes to a wide range of human health issues, not only with the dyes themselves but as well as the metabolites formed when azo dyes break down.
When azo dyes break down the form a metabolite called aromatic amines. Humans can absorb these aromatic amines through our skin. Research has linked aromatic amine exposure to a number of cancers, including bladder, liver, and breast cancers. Some are also allergenic.
Azo dyes use crude oil in their formulation and resist natural breakdown, meaning they do not biodegrade and require intensive intervention to remove them from the environment. During production approximately 10-15% of azo dyes run off into wastewater, causing issues for aquatic life.
A ball of wool yarn has long been depicted as the top play choice for cats. Even today, stereotypical images of cats with yarn can be found misleading consumers into thinking the ball of yarn is safe for you cat. Yarn and string are often swallowed by cats and kittens and are a common reason for emergency vet clinic visits. These long strings can lead to gastrointestinal blockages or, worse become attached somewhere along the path and cut through the cat's intestinal wall.
Some popular felt cat toys on the market include felt mice, felt goldfish and felt balls. It is important to remember that each cat is different and my have their own preferences, so it may take some trial and error to find the right toy for your cat to engage in play.
The Tiniest Tiger wool felt cat toys are handmade in Nepal by a certified GoodWeave organization providing fair wages and a safe working environment. A portion of each felt cat toy sold is donated to The Snow Leopard Trust to help spread awareness and raise vital resources needed to protects cats in the wild.
The wool felt cat toys are made from 100% pure wool and only azo-free dyes. The cat toys are eco-friendly and biodegradable.
The Snow Leopard Trust aims to protect endangered snow leopards through community-based conservation projects supported by improved scientific of snow leopard behavior, needs, habitats and threats.
The Trust is a leader in efforts to secure the future of the snow leopard across 12 countries in South and Central Asia. The five key countries where the Snow Leopard Trust works contain over 75% of the world's populations of wild snow leopards.
Our Wool Felt Mouse Cat Toy was chosen by People Magazine as the Best Overall Cat Toy.
Owners said this eco-friendly 100% wool cat toy was a "crowd-pleaser" that made felines "light up" with excitement and play until they got tired.
]]>Should fashion pay a royalty for leopard print? For tiger stripes? For cheetah spots? Leopard print is so widespread in fashion, the cat's rosettes are considered by many a neutral that one can combine with other prints. Leopard print's hold on fashion is thought to be unique as fashion trends are typically volatile and follow a life cycle of popping up on the runways then filtering down to the mainstream before fading away. However, leopard print showing up seemingly everywhere on the Autumn 2022 runways solidifies the cat coat as a classic print now considered an acceptable aesthetic for all occasions.
Leopards themselves are not on the rise, but are in a dramatic decline across Africa and Asia. As the demand for cat prints and textiles replicating the gorgeous rosette pattern increases, leopards have silently disappeared from more than 75% of their historic range.
In a recent study, Connecting the spots: Leopard print fashion and Panthera pardus conservation published in the Journal for Nature Conservation, the research team found that even though the leopard print's popularity is driven by fashion clothing and accessories, there was little evidence to show the leopard print fashion accessories spark interest in the declining leopard populations and the extinction crisis. In fact, in traditional media, mentions of the leopard print in association with the leopard's conservation status were less than 2%.
There is a huge disconnect between those who design, sell, buy and wear leopard print with the status of the big cat. Beyond awareness is determining whether the industry cares about leopards.
Leopards are highly adaptable cats and the irony that leopard print is embraced for the beauty of the cat's coat and for the versatility of the coat pattern in fashion is not lost on wildlife conservationists. Sadly, even this affinity for the leopard's coat pattern does not seem to lead to awareness of the big cat's endangered status or support for their conservation.
The global prevalence of leopard print and perhaps even admiration for a charismatic cat are not connecting the spots to the plight of the cats who are disappearing in the wild. The real leopard and their fashion representation are worlds apart.
Can we assume the same holds true for tiger stripes and cheetah spots and African lion imagery?Cheetah populations are on the decline as well yet cheetah spots are frequently found in fashion apparel and accessories. Often referred to as leopard print, the cheetah's spots don't seem to be easily differentiated from the rosettes of the leopard and jaguar. African lions are struggling for survival, yet lion imagery is almost everywhere.
One problem with big cat coat patterns and images being so prolific in fashion and culture is creating the delusion that the wild populations of leopards, tigers, cheetahs and African lions are abundant and not at risk.
Can we spark interest in the fashion industry to care about the living cats?
The tiger is one of the most popular animals in the world, yet tiger populations are declining and like the disconnect between leopard print and living leopards, can we assume those who wear tiger stripes and images of tigers are unaware of the tiger's future? Could the cat print popularity be an opportunity for big cat conservation?
We are proud to be part of The Fashion Presentations at Fashion Week Columbus this month. "The Vanishing Species Collections spotlights the beauty of our big cats fading into black. Instead of featuring the cat coat patterns, I wanted to feature the gorgeous faces of these iconic cats. Looking at their faces, makes us see them. Not as a print, but as a living being. " said designer Joanne McGonagle. "The statement totes express to the world that you care about big cats and don't want them to disappear."
"Columbus ranks third in its number of fashion designers, trailing only New York and LA. The opportunity to showcase our Vanishing Species Collection enables us to be a voice for the big cats in a new venue."
Fashion Week Columbus is the flagship program of the Columbus Fashion Council, which produces a full week of fashion shows and fashion related programs showcasing emerging designers to media, buyers and the incredible fashion community in Central Ohio.
"I hope to spark interest and open a dialogue about the need for big cat conservation and the possibility of a royalty for leopard print, and for all big cat conservation projects by the fashion community." Triple T Studios supports big cat conservation projects including, The Lion Guardians, Cheetah Conservation Fund, Mountain Lion Foundation, Snow Leopard Trust and Panthera's Tigers Forever program.
C. Good, D. Burnham, T.P. Moorhouse, D.W. Macdonald. Connecting the spots: Leopard print fashion and Panthera pardus conservation J. Nat. Conserv., 61 (2021), Article 125976
Good, C., Burnham, D., & Macdonald, D. W. (2017). A Cultural Conscience for Conservation. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 7(7), 52. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani7070052
Mead, Rebecca. Should Leopards Be Paid For Their Spots? The New Yorker, March 21, 2022.
]]>I was able to visit the orphanage when I was in Kenya and see first-hand the love the keepers have for the babies in their care. Sadly, elephants are being murdered at a rate of 1 every 15 minutes. When mothers are murdered for their tusks, the babies are left traumatized, alone, and at risk. Without the elephant orphanage, these defenseless babies would not be able to survive.
The Tiniest Tiger community has been fostering Lasayen and Lentili for several years now. Both Elephants graduated to the Voi Reintegration Unit. We adopted Jotto and Sattao last year. Happy tears were shed when Jotto graduated to the Ithumba Reintegration Unit in Tsavo East.
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Meet Apollo! We adopted a baby rhino!
Apollo's rescue took place on 21st September 2019, after the Senior Warden of Tsavo West NP requested that the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust (SWT) helicopter urgently assist in rescuing a rhino calf, which had been spotted alongside its dead mother.
]]>Supporting Panthera means being part of a global team of women and men working day in, day out to protect cats and their wild places.
Panthera is the only organization in the world devoted exclusively to the conservation of the world’s 40 wild cat species and their ecosystems.
Utilizing the expertise of the world’s premier cat biologists, Panthera develops and implements global strategies for the most imperiled large cats: tigers, lions, jaguars, snow leopards, cheetahs, pumas, and leopards.
Representing the most comprehensive effort of its kind, Panthera partners with local and international NGOs, scientific institutions, local communities, governments around the globe, and citizens who want to help ensure a future for wild cats.
Panthera’s grants program, the Small Cat Action Fund (SCAF), additionally supports conservation and research initiatives on many of the smaller wild cat species around the globe.
Friends of The Tiniest Tiger community know that we are supporters of Panthera. We have donated to Panthera’s Tigers Forever, The Jaguar Corridor Initiative, Project Leonardo, The Puma Project and Snow Leopards.
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community purchased two more PoacherCams for Panthera to distribute in the tiger’s range. This donation supporting Panthera’s Tigers Forever Program was made in honor of Gracey, The Tiniest Tiger, the inspiration behind our community.
Thank you for caring for all cats, big and small and for being a part of The Tiniest Tiger Community. Small Paws United Can Make a Big Difference.
]]>Cheetahs could face extinction in as little as two years due to smuggles selling upto three quarters of wild cubs to wealthy Arabs as pets. As many as 300 young cheetahs are trafficked out of Somaliland in East Africa every year.
Dr. Laurie Marker, conservation biologist and founder of Cheetah Conservation Fund told CNN ” If you do the math, the math kind of shows that it’s only going to be a matter of a couple of years before we are not going to have any cheetahs.”
There are fewer than 7,500 cheetahs left in the wild with another 1,000 being held captive in private hands in Gulf countries. Many of the cheetahs are bought and sold in illegal online sales through Youtube and Instagram. Over 90% of sales were found to originate in Gulf nations with 60% of those in Saudi Arabia. The cubs are sold as young as two or three months old.
Social media posts show cheetahs in luxury cars, prowling around mansions and being pushed into swimming pools. Some are shown force-fed ice-cream and candy while others are taunted by their owners. One post shows a cheetah dying on camera.
Trading cheetahs is prohibited under Appendix 1 of the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species. The UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment claims any cheetahs in the country were in “licensed facilities.”
Dr. Marker estimates the three out of four cheetah cubs die during the smuggling run trip. Many cubs arrive with mangled and broken legs. Most Gulf owners are lacking the knowledge of how to care for cheetahs and the majority of the captive cheetahs die within a year or two. Veterinarians in Gulf countries confirmed cheetahs are suffering from metabolic and digestive disorders from not being fed properly.
Triple T Studios was a sponsor of A Cheetah Connection with Dr. Laurie Marker at The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s Africa Event Center. Dr. Marker spoke on how the struggle to save the cheetah has increased with the number of cubs being trafficked through Somaliland to be sold as pets.
Cheetah Conservation Fund has built a shelter in Somaliland, where rescued orphaned cheetahs are cared for at a safe house that is now bursting at the seams. Veterinarian student Neju Jimmy lives in the shelter and is the main care-giver of the rescued cheetahs.
This shelter shows the harsh reality of the cyber-trade. When the rescued cubs arrive at the shelter, they are barely alive. international staff and volunteers are rushing to build a bigger shelter, eventually releasing cheetahs into a wildlife sanctuary.
Costs are climbing as more cats are brought to the shelter. Expenses currently total $10,000 a month. Dr. Marker told the group in Columbus that as many as 40 cubs were rescued last week and the survival rate is quite low. She said she hates to wake up in the morning to hear the report on how many lives were lost during the night.
Awareness is key. We have to stop the demand for cheetahs as pets. Dr. Marker said ” We really need influencers, we need governments, the kings, the princes, or the queens to actually say this is not right! If we can save them, We are going to give them the best life that they can have, but they shouldn’t be in our care. They should be in the wild.”
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community was able to make a generous donation directly to CCF to care for the cheetah cubs in their shelter in Somaliland.
Are you afraid of the dark? Has your heart raced and your imagination conjured up images of creatures lurking in the black of night? Have you tried to overcome your fear with logic and reason but you still have an instinctive nagging voice that sparks your heart to race and your mouth to go dry when things go bump in the night?
Does your feeling of restlessness increase with the onset of the full moon? If so, it probably doesn’t help that the words lunatic and lunacy have their origins in the word lunar. Throughout human history, people around the world have been bewitched by the moon. Myths about the moon persist to this day even though the science doesn’t back up the claims. The belief that werewolves change into their canine incarnations when the moon is full certainly adds to the myth and I bet you will find folks that swear the full moon leads to more aggressive behavior and crime.
Tonight, we will experience a full moon. So I thought this would be a great time to look into why so many of us are afraid of the dark or are skittish when the moon hangs full and bright in the night sky.
Your fear is likely a part of human evolution called an adaptation. That’s right, you might not be able to help it that you shiver and get the goosebumps when day turns into night and the moon begins to wane. According to an interesting research article, Fear of Darkness, the Full Moon and the Nocturnal Ecology of African Lions,* nocturnal carnivores have played a part in human evolution, motivating the need for night-time shelter, for fire and our instinctive fear of darkness.
The article discusses the predatory behavior across the lunar cycle on the largest data-set of lion attacks ever compiled and found that African lions are sensitive to moonlight when hunting. The study found that lions are most dangerous to humans when the moon is waning and/or below the horizon not when the moon is full.
Attacks by predators that will resort to eating humans commonly occur at night and nocturnal species usually alter their behavior with the phases of the moon. When the moon is full and bright in the nighttime sky, lions and perhaps all carnivores, have a tougher time of a successful hunt. The light of the moon makes it much harder for the lions to remain in stealth mode when stalking their next meal. When the moon begins to wane, the lions are super hungry and will then resort to taking down the easiest prey. Most humans are active between sunset and 10:00 pm and in the first weeks following the full moon, when the moon rises at least an hour after sunset, this darkness gives the lions better odds of taking down their prey.
Humans have always been exposed to the risks of predation that coincided with the phases of the moon. Although most of us are safe from lion attacks in our own habitats, the long history of seeking shelter from night time predators has left its impression in our psyche. This is why the myths and mystery around the full moon persist to this day. I really liked this quote from the Packer, et al. article:
“Thus the full moon is not dangerous in itself, but is instead a portent of the darkness to come”*
Isn’t that a good quote? “A portent of the darkness to come”, that really makes me shiver a bit. Does it you?
So forgive yourself if you are a bit of a scaredy cat when the darkness of night falls, because odds are you just can’t help it! Now that you might have a better understanding of why you fear the darkness of night, I hope it puts you more at ease.
*Packer C, Swanson A, Ikanda D, Kushnir H (2011) Fear of Darkness, the Full Moon and the Nocturnal Ecology of African Lions. PLoS ONE 6(7): e22285. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022285
]]>Today is World Elephant Day! Update! Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, today, August 12, 2019, The Tiniest Tiger community is fostering four elephants. Lentili and Lasayan have graduated to the Voi Reintegration Unit. Jotto has graduated to the Ithumba Reintegration Unit and Sattao is at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust's Nairobi Nursery.
This is the story of my visit to the Elephant Orphanage, why I love DSWT and why I hope you will too.
I had the pleasure of meeting Edwin Lusichi when I visited The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya. Even though we only exchanged a few words, I felt honored to shake his hand, look into his eyes, and thank him from the bottom of my heart, for the work he does saving orphaned elephants
The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is the most successful baby elephant orphanage in the world and is devoted to rescuing and rehabilitating baby elephants from all over Kenya that have been orphaned due to poaching or human-wildlife conflict. The nursery is located along the northern rim of Kenya's Nairobi National Park A short drive from the Nairobi Hilton where I was staying prior to meeting up with the rest of my group to head into the field to study with the Maasai.
Upon arrival at the elephant orphanage, I was surprised, yet I am not sure why, to find such a big crowd of visitors. Walking the path to the viewing area we passed by the nursery stables which reminded me more of a dormitory than a stable. Each baby elephant sleeps with a different keeper every night so that neither the elephant nor the keeper get too attached. The young elephants are vulnerable and require round the clock care. The dedication required of the keepers takes a special type of person willing to give completely of themselves to experience great joy when a baby grows into a healthy juvenile as well as great sorrow when a baby does not survive despite all of their efforts.
The day of my visit, there were 12 baby elephants living at the orphanage. We had arrived just in time to see a parade of 6 small elephants entering the viewing area for their feeding. Edwin, the head baby elephant keeper, was explaining to the crowd the history of the elephant orphanage, and how Daphne Sheldrick worked tirelessly by trial and error to develop a formula that would enable the baby elephants to survive without their mother's milk.
Edwin also made an impassioned plea for elephant conservation. His calm manner and voice were nearly overshadowed by the ruckus of the crowd jockeying for the best angle to catch photographs of the adorable elephants.
I overheard all kinds of conversations about school, friends, clothing styles, what was for lunch, but I didn't hear anyone discussing elephant conservation. I didn't hear or witness any of the teenagers react with horror that one elephant is killed for its tusks every 15 minutes often leaving a defenseless orphan that would surely perish if not for the dedicated souls at The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.
It felt bittersweet listening to Edwin. Sad that most of the visitors weren't listening to his plea and that these poor elephants lost their mothers, but happy the little ones were being cared for until their release back into the wild.
I heard Edwin say he was studying Theology and on his way to becoming a priest when he took a departure from God's work and ended up becoming a full time elephant keeper.
As we were leaving, I got to shake Edwin's hand and tell him, thank you. I told him perhaps he had not taken a departure at all from God's work but was redirected to care for these magnificent beings. He looked me right in the eyes and said, "That is what I believe too."
Saying goodbye to the baby elephants and Edwin
Thank you for caring for all animals big and small.
]]>Members of The Tiniest Tiger community know that we support Lion Guardians. We have also supported L.I.N.C. and today on World Lion Day we were able to make another donation to this amazing project to help identify African Lions.
The Lion Identification Network of Collaborators- LINC is an innovative open source platform that allows collaboration in research and conservation of African Lions across international boundaries. The accurate monitoring of lion populations and better understanding of the connectivity between them is critical to maintaining the genetic viability of increasingly isolated populations.
“Lions roam over such vast areas that no one research group can effectively study them across their entire range. Platforms like LINC enable us to work together and identify lions from photos more easily, thereby increasing the chances of picking up potential movement between populations.”
- Stephanie Dolrenry - Co-founder of Lion Guardians
Artificial Intelligence Technology
LINC is an innovative automated lion recognition algorithm. With the simple click of a button, hours of pouring over photographs of whisker spots can be eliminated.
The LINC Lion identification algorithms use two methods to match individual lions:
Whisker Patterns
"The first uses the lion’s whisker patterns, comparing them between individuals as if matching constellations in the night sky. This AI method is based on a modified chamfer technique. It is implemented in combination with an affine transform and iterative closest point matching to sum a mean average score of the difference between the pattern alignment of the two whisker spot images."
Individual Lion Faces
"The second method looks at the feature groups of individual lion faces, akin to how we identify faces through reduction; even if there is a mud splatter on a friend’s face we recognize the shape of their eyes. This method leverages a fine-tuned Deep Convolutional Neural Network with Residual Inception Blocks (“Inception ResNet v2”) pretrained on ImageNet and fine-tuned on the normalized LINC datasets labelled by conservationists. This network architecture is computationally efficient as it exhibits a high accuracy to parameter count ratio and it converges quickly on the LINC dataset when fine-tuned on a pre-trained ImageNet model.
Both these AI methodologies in conjunction with the continued integration of human-centered development of the user interface, allow researchers to handle and access previously unmanageably large datasets. The LINC project is an open source model allowing a sustained development that benefits the whole conservation community."
]]>They work in some of the world’s most dangerous and extreme places. The anti-poaching rangers do one of the toughest jobs in the world.
The brave women and me work in hostile conditions to protects wildlife. Working tirelessly round the clock, they are the frontline protectors for vulnerable endangered animals. There work is never done and there is never a break from the ongoing threats to the animals they protect.
Many wildlife rangers have died in the line of duty. Fighting to protect wildlife, they are murdered by poachers or killed by distressed animals. Current global statistics state that two rangers lose their lives every week in the line of duty.
The duties of wildlife ranger is vital to the survival of critically endangered species like elephants, rhinos, and tigers. Without the rangers, there would be no hope to win the war on wildlife crime.
I had the opportunity during my zoology studies to spend a day with the Africa Conservation Center Scouts. After reading about the ACC Scouts and trying to imagine what a typical day must be like for them, the experience of walking along side them felt surreal. Yet there I was boots on the ground ready to search. After a brief introduction and a reminder to remain vigilant in the open bush we began to survey the area.
An untrained eye could easily walk right past the wire snares that are nearly invisible even from short range. The poachers are equipped with GPS units to help them locate and return to active snares they placed in the expansive open savannah between Kenya and Tanzania. The ACC Scouts also track poacher activity on their GPS units trying to keep tabs on active locations. The Scouts used to be able to track the footprints of the poachers until the poachers began to wear the same shoes as the Kenya Wildlife Service and the ACC Scouts. Now the Scouts keep exacting records of the time and location of their searches so that a misplaced footprint can be identified.
The Scouts must rely on their finely honed observation skills to track down poacher activity and dismantle snares before an animal is caught. Animals caught in a poacher's snare may die quickly but often the snared animal dies a long and painful death from infection or starvation.
Both of the snares we found on our search were dismantled. I couldn’t help but think how overwhelming the search for snares must be for the ACC Scouts. Such a big problem over such a big space. But they are determined to save lives by dismantling one snare at a time.
The Scouts were kind enough to take a photo of me holding one of the snares we found that day.
It was an honor to walk with the African Conservation Center Scouts and to see up close the work that they do every day to help all animals. They are true wildlife heroes.
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, the Tiniest Tiger Community has made a donation to the Wildlife Rangers through David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation
]]>You probably know that the tiger population around the world has been rapidly declining due to illegal hunting and habitat loss. We have gotten used to hearing bad news when it comes to wild tigers, but today on Global Tiger Day, there is a bit of good news from Thailand.
Scientists from Panthera worked with the Thai Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation and Freeland Foundation to set up a network of more than 80 camera stations in the Dong Phayayen—Khao Yai Forest Complex in eastern Thailand. The images from the cameras showed tigers are breeding in this protected area! This is the first time in over ten years any evidence of breeding has been found.
Tiger numbers continue to decline across their ranges, but news like this gives us hope for the future of the big cat. Tigers are resilient and their populations can recover thanks to hard-working scientist and brave rangers fighting every single day to protect them.
The Tiniest Tiger community supports Panthera’s Tigers Forever program. Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, we were able to donate again to the Tigers Forever Program in honor of Gracey, The Tiniest Tiger and Global Tiger Day!
Adapted from Panthera’s previous camera traps, the PoacherCam has a groundbreaking new feature: its motion-triggered detection system can now instantly distinguish between people and animals—the world’s first camera to do so.
With an invisible infrared flash, the PoacherCam covertly captures human activities and sends images and locations to law enforcement officials in real-time via wireless networks. This revolutionary technology enables law enforcement officials and site security experts to identify, capture and prosecute poachers, saving the lives of big cats around the world.
Panthera’s Tigers Forever program maintains a razor-sharp focus on law enforcement: increased and well-trained boots on the ground and sophisticated conservation strategy and technology, including a PoacherCam that stops poaching before it happens. Their Tiger Team works across Asia to outfit and train anti-poaching patrols, prevent the setting of snares, influence policy to ensure stricter sentencing for poachers, establish community informant networks, monitor tigers and prey, and more.
Thank you for caring for all cats, big and small.
]]>Lion Guardians
Since 2007, Lion Guardians has been helping people live peacefully with wildlife by increasing the benefits from conservation and reducing the associated setbacks. Each year, this amazing organization has achieved positive outcomes building tolerance and saving lions.
Thanks to your continued support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community is proud to begin our fifth year as a sponsor of, Lipap Ole Sayioki, a Lion Guardian.
When I first learned of the Lion Guardians project during my zoology studies, I decided to do what I could to help support this important work. Sometimes the world feels hopeless, but as Fred Rogers' mother told him, "look for the helpers". When I feel forlorn about the future of lions, I look to the Lion Guardians and I know they are making a difference, and that we too can make a difference by helping the helpers.
Promoting Coexistence
One of the most important things gaining traction saving a species is not to forget the people whose lives are impacted by living with predators every day. The Lion Guardians understand that in order to save lions, they need to protect people and their livelihood as well
In order to save lions, tolerance must be built within the communities. Last year 7,232 head of lost livestock were recovered by the Lion Guardians avoiding close to $1 million in potential losses. Livestock corrals (bomas) suffering depredations were reinforced by Guardians by an increase of 40% and all 7 herders and children (3x less than previous years) reported lost to Guardians were returned safely to their families.
Conserving Lions
The the area of operation by Lion Guardian community members 0 lions were killed while an estimated 15 lions were killed in neighboring areas not under Guardian protection.
24 hunts were stopped, with about 35% of these in collaboration with Big Life Foundation and Kenya Wildlife Service.
There are 230 lions being monitored, 6 lions per 100 square kilometer up 13% from 2017 and close to 6 times the number when Lion Guardians first started.
You can read more of The Lion Guardians Annual Report 2018.
Thank you for being a part of The Tiniest Tiger Community and for caring about all cats big and small.
]]>
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community is proud to contribute to Panthera's work to save the jaguar. We are all part of a global movement working side-by-side with Panthera’s scientists, law enforcement personnel, and conservation advocates to ensure a future for wild cats and their habitats.
Thank you for caring about all cats big and small.
]]>Cheetah Conservation Fund's (CCF’s) Livestock Guarding Dogs are at the core of its efforts to address the human-wildlife conflict that threatens the cheetah. The Anatolian shepherd and Kangal dogs, raised and bred at CCF Namibia headquarters, are placed with Namibian farmers. The dogs protect livestock from cheetah attacks, barking loudly whenever they see a cheetah or predator, scaring the big cats away. Farmers no longer need to kill cheetahs to protect their livestock and their livelihood.
How successful has the program been? Very. Most farmers report an 80% to 100% reduction in livestock kills by cheetahs and other predators.
Since 1994, CCF has placed hundreds of livestock guarding dogs, with more and more puppies born every year. The puppies bond with their herds and protect the herds from predators. Most farmers with dogs from CCF report dramatic reductions of livestock losses due to cheetahs and other predators. In turn, this helps the farmers implement improved livestock management techniques and encourages the farmers to co-exist with cheetahs instead of removing cheetahs from farmland.
Farmers are so eager to adopt puppies and use this livestock management technique, there is a long waiting list for dogs.
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community is once again the proud sponsor of a livestock guarding dog. Our sponsorship covers the annual costs of caring for and raising the working dog. These costs include food, vaccinations, new-owner support, veterinary care and long-term monitoring. Our donation will also support training programs for the farmers.
Thank you for caring for all cats big and small. Fashion with a Passion®
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger Community is proudly supporting the Wildlife Conservation Network Scholarship Program. We invite you to read our updates all week as we celebrate and support the good works of great people.
"The Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN) Scholarship program was founded in 2006 to discover and nurture emerging young conservationists so they can one day take up the fight for wildlife.
WCN scholars are the future of conservation. Investing in the next generation brings hope that true progress will continue. Students from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America are committed to working on wildlife conservation in their home countries. They are forward thinkers and out-of-the-box problem solvers, able to navigate the labyrinth of challenges they face protecting endangered wildlife with courage, optimism, stamina, and a nimbleness to adapt to constantly fluctuating political and cultural landscapes-always keeping an eye on the bigger picture."
Giridhar Malla- 2018 WCN Scholarship Recipient
Excerpt from, Kristen Garabedian's article Meet 2018 WCN Scholar Giridhar Malla
"Because fishing cats are so hard to find, conservationists can only guess at their numbers. As Giridhar studies their behavior in the wild, working for the conservation of these cats and their mangrove habitats in Godavari, he hopes to also develop a technique for using his recordings of their vocal calls to assess population statistics. This wetland-associated cat species is now listed as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List and is included under Schedule I of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
With help from WCN’s 2018 scholarship, he will continue earning his PhD at the Wildlife Institute of India, studying the ecology of these beautiful cats and monitoring their population in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary. He also plans to extend his research area to the mangrove forests outside the sanctuary, allowing him to study any movement of the cats between different mangrove patches in the region. In the future, he plans to expand fishing cat conservation efforts in the up-streams of Godavari River Valley, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, which will also ensure support to the rich cultural aspects of fishing communities and tribal communities in those areas."
To read more about Giridhar and his work to save fishing cats pounce here: Meet Giridhar Malla
You can learn more about the WCN Scholars Here: SUPPORT OUR SCHOLARS
]]>All of these countries are important but China has as much as 60% of snow leopard habitat. Mongolia is thought to have the second-largest habitat and population and that is where the Snow Leopard Trust study is located.
Snow leopards prefer cold try climates with rocky terrain. Even though the map shows a vast amount of land, the habitat is similar in many of these countries. Some of the snow leopards tracked in the Snow Leopard Trust's long-term study in Mongolia's South Gobi desert have been known to travel over 25 miles in just one night. The big cat's home ranges are up to 1,000 square kilometers.This long-term study area in the South Gobi is over 8,000 square kilometers. The research study and conservation programs in five range countries cover a territory many times that size. Support for these programs directly help protect around 500 snow leopards from retaliation killing and poaching.
Snow leopards are perfectly adapted to the cold, barren landscape of their high-altitude home, but human threats have created an uncertain future for the cats. Despite a range of over 2 million km2, scientists estimate there may only be between 3,920 and 6,390 snow leopards left in the wild.
Snow Leopard Facts
One lonely tiger is wandering a massive wildlife sanctuary in Southeast Asia calling for a mate, but her calls are unanswered. There is no male tiger in the territory. In fact, she is the one lone tiger inhabiting the sanctuary. This tiger known as 197F and her brother grew up in a wildlife sanctuary, protected by anti-poaching patrols. Even though their home was safe with access to food, tigers will be tigers, so they set out to find their own territories with fewer protections.
Panthera has been paying close attention to 197F because science shows us that all the elements needed for tiger recovery are in her region. There is plenty of space, prey and protections. Alex Varga, Panthera's Tiger Programs Manager tells us, "If 197F finds the mate she's so desperately seeking, their cubs will soon spread out and claim new territory and mates of their own. As we've seen in many of our Tigers Forever sites, we can rebuild healthy populations of tigers, even where there are very few to start."
Tiger 197F Image courtesy of Panthera
With only 3,900 wild tigers left on Earth, every tiger counts. This video produced for Global Tiger Day, tells us why getting lone tigress 197F a mate is so important for the tiger population in her area and what Panthera is doing to make it happen.
The world's rarest cat received a population boost when two orphaned kittens were discovered in Scotland. Only 35 Scottish wildcats are thought to remain in the wild in Britain. The wildcat sub-species is in peril of dying out because the wild cats breed with feral domesticated cats, muddying up the gene pool.
It is unlikely the two kittens would have survived on their own and were moving closer to a road and at risk of being hit by traffic. The weak and dehydrated kittens were rescued by Wildcat Haven.
The two kittens boosted the Scottish wildcats population by six percent, to 37 individuals.
"I almost fell off my chair when I saw the photos," said Wildcat Haven's chief scientific advisor Dr. Paul O'Donoghue. "The markings looked amazing, far better than any kitten I'd seen in a zoo, but in a very exposed place. It seemed likely they had been abandoned or orphaned and were in grave danger. I am overjoyed that we've been able to give these two orphaned wildcat kittens a lifeline."
The wildcats are protected, so the team had to apply to Scottish Natural Heritage to rescue and rehabilitate the kittens. The plan is to release them back into the wild when they are older and stronger. This will be the first time anyone has attempted to re-wild a Scottish wildcat in decades!
Scottish Wildcat Photo credit. BBC -Earth. BBC.com
The Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia), sometimes called the Highland Tiger, is a unique population of the European wildcat isolated for over 9,000 years by the English Channel. They are the largest of the wildcat family, which spreads across Europe, Africa, and Asia and can grow up to twice the size of a domestic cat.
Their fur is thicker than a domestic cat and the coast shows distinctive unbroken black and brown stripes. Spots, broken stripes, or white fur are all indications of hybridization with domestic cats. The Scottish wildcat will have a thick banded tail, perfectly ringed with no dorsal stripe running off the spine. They have retractable claws, exceptional night vision, part-color day vision, excellent hearing and a powerful body shape for sprinting and pouncing.
Unlike most cats they are multi-habitat hunters, adapting to the heavy deforestation that has taken place across the British Isles and distinguishing them from the mainland European population which tend to be forest specialists.
Fortunately living in Scotland, Scottish wildcats also have a reduced fear of water. They have a thick coat keeping them warm in the rain. Because river edges provide opportunities for hunting, the wildcats are excellent swimmers.
Believed to be man-killers as recently as the 1950s, they are ferociously aggressive defending themselves or their young, even mock-charging large threats as a big cat will, but they are actually deeply fearful of mankind and will do anything they can to avoid us.
They live solitary lives in the most remote corners of the Scottish West Highlands, active mostly at dawn and dusk (making them a crepuscular species) hunting or maintaining territorial scent markings.
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, I am thrilled to tell you that The Tiniest Tiger community has made a generous donation to hep support the two rescued wildcats. We also contributed to the purchase of a camera trap. Wildcat Haven is a compassionate conservation program making extensive use of motion-activated cameras hidden in natural habitat which they use to observe wildlife without causing any harm. The images help identify the wildcats in a given area and to identify any feral cats that need neutering.
In the spirit of giving, we also donated to purchase an additional plot of land to help WildCat Haven expand and keep doing their good work.
Thank you so much for your support of Triple T Studios, for being a member of The Tiniest Tiger community and for caring about all cats big and small.
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Three years ago, Cecil, a beloved African lion in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park, was shot and killed by Walter Palmer, a dentist from the United States. Palmer paid around $54,000 to bow-hunt Cecil. On July 1, the dentist hit the lion with an arrow on a farm outside the national park, a place where Cecil was known to explore. Palmer and his guide tracked Cecil for over 11 hours then shot again taking the collared lion’s life.
The murder of Cecil, a 13-year-old lion with a glorious black mane, sparked international outcry. News spread rapidly across the world via social media. Cecil was the star of Hwange National Park and he was one of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit’s (Wildcru) radio collared lions. The contempt for Walter Palmer was so intense the dentist was forced to close his practice and go into hiding until the public quieted down. One could argue that Palmer was one of the most hated people on earth.
To read more about Cecil's Story pounce here: Honor Cecil by Signing World Heritage Species Petition
Thank you for caring for all cats big and small and for being a part of The Tiniest Tiger community.
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community is supporting the Bay Area Bobcat Study.
When you support Triple T Studios, we are able to support global conservation projects. Fashion with a Passion®
To learn more about Bobcat Conservation, pounce here: Bobcat Conservation
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community was able to donate once again to the Mountain Lion Foundation to help save Americas lions by keeping them away from livestock.
When you support Triple T Studios, we are able to support global conservation projects. Fashion with a Passion®
To learn more about Saving Mountain Lions, pounce here: We Are Helping Save American Lions
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I received word yesterday that Amani, our sponsored cheetah at Cheetah Conservation Fund passed earlier this month of renal failure. Although it is always sad to say goodbye to animals we love, there is comfort in knowing Amani lived a long and wonderful life at CCF. She was cared for and comforted even in her final days. For this we are grateful to the CCF staff that knew and loved her.
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community sponsors a cheetah and a guarding dog at The Cheetah Conservation Fund.
When you support Triple T Studios, we are able to support global conservation projects. Fashion with a Passion®
To learn more about Amani and CCF pounce here: Farewell to Amani at Cheetah Conservation Fund
]]>The Tiniest Tiger Hipster has been spotted in the Look What We Found section of the Fall/Winter Issue of ModernCat Magazine. Our most popular cross-body handbag that features our proprietary cat quilting was chosen as one of the Cool finds for cats & the people who love them.
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The Tiniest Tiger Hipster has been spotted in the Look What We Found section of the Fall/Winter Issue of ModernCat Magazine. Our most popular cross-body handbag that features our proprietary cat quilting was chosen as one of the Cool finds for cats & the people who love them.
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We hope you enjoy the video we made of Annie and Eddie.
]]>The cheetah is Africa’s most endangered big cat. We’ve lost over 90 percent of the world’s population of wild cheetahs in the last 100 years, and if we don’t help make changes today, we could lose the cheetah forever. As the world’s leading organization dedicated to saving the cheetah in the wild the Cheetah Conservation Fund offers a number of ways to help the cheetah win the race against extinction.
One of the ways you can help is by sponsoring one of the cheetahs that calls CCF home.
Thanks to your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community is sponsoring a cheetah named Amani.
"One-eyed and growling, Amani would seem a dangerous cat but with the arrival of her keepers and the husbandry truck, a new cat emerges. Before feeding, she skulks along the fence with her shoulders and haunches poised for action underneath a tawny, tufty coat. She jumps at the fence, lets out a growl, but the the gate opens and the truck drives through: her hunched shoulders transform into a raised head, adorned with a single attentive eye. When the truck takes off that solitary eye does nothing to hinder her ability to chase it across the enclosure.
Over the last six months, Amani has become even more of a feisty old girl than she was before.
With only one eye, it would seem that Amani would have difficulty navigating her enclosure but this is not the case. Not only does Amani excel at making her way around, she is the best runner out of her old girls, racing after the truck as though she is young and fully sighted. She can sometimes catch treats thrown from the back of the truck in her mouth and she doesn't struggle to find the husbandry truck if she fails to show up at the gate. In addition, she has developed a liking for attempting to scare new interns and guests, almost as though it is a game for her. It has been a good few months."
Amani, meaning Peace in Swahili, was caught by a farmer in the Khomas Hochland area (east of Windhoek) when she was about one year old. They do not know what happened to the rest of her family as she was far too young to be on her own.
The farmer gave the young cheetah to the Amani Lodge near Windhoek where she was kept as a companion for their tame cheetah. The two cats never got along and after a year, it was decided that it would be better to send Amani to CCF.
Amani is a true testament to the survival of the cheetahs. She was slow to acclimate to her new surroundings at CCF but once she found her way, she is thriving.
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We did it. Through your support of Triple T Studios, The Tiniest Tiger community is sponsoring Lipap Ole Sayioki, a Lion Guardian in Kenya. Lipap is one of the newest Guardians having joined the team early this year. He monitors a very important zone in Olgulului Group Ranch called Oiti (outlined in black in the image below) that provides connectivity between Amboseli National Park, Oswean and the Matapatu hills. Lipap is currently monitoring the movement of two sub-adults and one mature male African lion in his zone.
The Lion Guardian team tells us that he is already proving to be a worthy Guardian with his discipline and good tracking skills. They receive field reports from him almost every day. Furthermore, Lipap uses his strong written and oral Swahili skills to help his fellow Guardians by working with them on their literacy. So far this year, he has found 293 livestock out of the 299 that were reported lost to him. The Lion Guardians are happy that he is now part of the team.
We would like you to know that your sponsorship provides multiple benefits – strengthening lion conservation and improving local livelihoods. We hire only exceptional candidates and commit to building their skills and capacities so that they grow as individuals and also help strengthen our programs. As part of their training, our Guardians learn to read and write in basic Swahili, use GPS tracking devices, and gain field research and data collection skills. All of this helps the Guardians monitor and protect the lions in their communities. In addition to supporting successful conservation, your sponsorship provides employment to Lipap, who is a member of the local community where employment opportunities are hard to find. He uses his monthly wages to buy food for his family and pay medical bills. Your support is not only helping Lipap but also his entire family.
Thank you again for your important support –100% will go to conserving lions and preserving traditional culture.
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