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Poaching, hunting, the pet trade |
Loss of habitat |
To promote long-term conservation of wild cats in Central America
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Poaching, hunting, the pet trade |
Loss of habitat |
The ocelot and margay are on CITES Appendix 1, as are the Central American races of the jaguarundi. The IUCN Cat Specialist Group's Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan 1996 lists priority projects for study which include margay and ocelot.
Small cats are among the most neglected of mammals in terms of field research. Their distribution, ecology and behaviour in the wild are little understood.
Does this matter? Yes. Effective conservation depends on having accurate data, and for many of these cats there simply isn't any.
RTEC, through its LiFeline project, will make a positive contribution.
The Target Species
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Ocelot Leopardus pardalis The ocelot, found throughout most of Central and South America, is one of the world's most beautiful cats. It suffered heavily from the fur trade in the 1970's and 80's - in 1975 77,000 skins were imported by the UK alone. Some populations have not recovered from this exploitation. The surviving cats face continued poaching and loss of habitat through forest clearance. |
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Margay Leopardus wiedii A smaller cousin of the ocelot, with slimmer build and longer tail, the margay occupies a similar range but is more sparsely distributed. It has also suffered through the fur trade. Margays are highly dependent on forest, living most of the time high above the ground. They have unique flexible ankle joints that allow them to perform feats of agility as they pursue their prey through the trees. They are at risk from deforestation and from the illegal pet trade. There have only been documented studies of two margays in the wild; we know next to nothing about this cat. |
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Jaguarundi Herpailurus yagouarondi In appearance more like an otter or a weasel than a cat, its body shape is an adaptation for life in thick undergrowth. Its call is a bird-like chirp and it is also a good swimmer. A far from typical cat about which little is known. |
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LiFeline will establish a wild cat study centre in Belize, involving local biologists, Belizean colleges and government and non-government agencies. The research will involve gathering extensive scientific data to determine cat habitats, numbers, and behaviour. It will also study methods to reduce persecution of cats by farmers and hunters.
LiFeline will produce the first comprehensive study of sympatric cat species in Central America. This information will be fed into the national parks system and local community initiatives, to give decision makers sound data to further the conservation of Belize's small cats.
WHY BELIZE?
Belize is the second smallest country in Central America, with a human population of only 250,000. It is politically stable and unlike its neighbours has more than 70% of its forest cover remaining. Animals which are scarce in other parts of Central America are believed to still exist in healthy numbers in Belize.
RTEC has had links with the country since 1990. We have exchanged animals with Belize Zoo - our first margays came from there - and we were among the first supporters of the Programme for Belize's project to save and manage the Rio Bravo forest.
Belize has a large number of protected reserves and national parks, including the world's first reserve specifically set up to protect jaguars, in Cockscomb Basin. Most parks are managed by the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources, or by the Belize Audubon Society, but there are also a number of privately run reserves. Within the country there are thought to be good populations of all five native cats - jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay and jaguarundi. This gives plenty of scope for field research on cats in practically undisturbed habitat. On the reserve borders, and in unprotected areas, cats are increasingly coming into conflict with humans, and ways must be found to minimise this.
LIFELINE'S RESERVE
We have already raised the funds to buy 50 acres of rainforest in Cayo District. This will be our base, and will operate as a private reserve. It borders the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve, which is in turn flanked by other parks, forming the largest continuous area of protected forest in Belize. RTEC's land is on a forestry road, and is rich in wildlife - tapir, peccary, ocelot, margay, and many species of birds including keel-billed toucans. Puma and jaguar are in the vicinity. There is a cave used as a bat roost, and the site also contains a small Mayan ruin. Apart from a 1 acre cleared patch next to the road, it is all forest. On this site we need to build accommodation for researchers and enclosures for rescued cats, but we will remove the absolute minimum number of trees. Our base is 10 miles from the nearest town, San Ignacio, and at the moment it lacks all services: we need to sink a well, and install a generator and solar panels for power.
LiFeline is established as a non-profit organisation in Belize.
Collecting data and Providing Information
This will be done firstly by the use of camera traps. These are remote units triggered by the animal passing through an infrared beam. Cameras are placed at various locations to establish the presence of cats and give an initial idea of their distribution.
After this, ocelots, margays and jaguarundis will be live-trapped. Box traps will be used, set and constructed to minimise risk of injury to the cats, and they will be checked regularly. Captured cats will be sedated, weighed, measured, and fitted with radio-collars. They can then be tracked by radio telemetry. This will establish their home range sizes, resting sites, distance travelled, and hunting activity.
In addition, fecal samples will be assessed to determine what kind of prey the cats are taking.
Once good baseline data has been gathered in undisturbed protected habitat, the study will be extended to compare cats' behaviour in interface areas which are more widely affected by human impact. Potential and real conflicts between cats and humans will be identified and information and advice will be made available to relevant parties such as farmers, local communities, and conservation managers.
The initial project will be extended after 3 years to become a long-term research programme following several generations of cats to find out how they disperse, assess gene flow within a population, and the factors that affect the stability of a population over time. We need to see how cats can react and adjust to the impact of habitat loss and human encroachment, and how to ensure their survival for decades to come.
Problem jaguars and pumasLiFeline
has been asked by the Belize Forestry Department to provide a holding facility for problem cats that attack cattle and livestock. Instead of simply being shot, these animals can be securely held while their eventual fate is discussed, whether for captive breeding or education. This offers the cats a chance of survival.Training Belizean nationals
LiFeline
will actively encourage local people to take part in the research programme. We will forge links between Belizean colleges and UK academic institutions in order to train Belizean students as field biologists. This will mean the project can be expanded throughout Belize to establish the effect of human encroachment on cat habitats. Students we have trained can set up local projects elsewhere in the country; and in future it is hoped our research will also have benefits further afield in Latin America.RTEC staff who will be working on the
LiFeline project are: Helen Miles, our Assistant Director, who has radio-tracked ocelot and jaguarundi in Mexico and is currently working on neotropical felid behaviour; consultant advisers:
Arturo Caso, IUCN representative for Mexico and a member of the Cat Specialist Group, and Dr John Lewis of the International Zoo Veterinary Group.
HOW YOU CAN HELP The Lifeline Appeal
We need to build staff accommodation, a laboratory, cabins for students undergoing training, and enclosures for cats rescued from the pet trade. Other items of capital expenditure are camera traps, box traps, radio telemetry equipment, a 4wd vehicle, and radios. Salaries will be needed for researchers. To get
LiFeline up and running and ensure the project continues long term, our target is £1m. This will allow us to invest funds to cover the
running costs in future years so the project will be financially independent.
You can be part of our campaign to secure the future of wild cats in Central America. Support our LiFeline appeal with a donation.
