Today fewer than 6,000 tigers roam the forests and plains of Asia, and their numbers are still falling. The most immediate threat is illegal hunting for their bones and other body parts which are used in traditional medicines in the Far East. WWF is trying to stem the catastrophe and conserve wild tigers in China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Russia, Thailand and Vietnam.

The jaguar is threatened by rainforest destruction. Since 1986, WWF has given substantial funding to the Cockscomb Basin wildlife sanctuary in Belize, which contains around 200 jaguars. WWF has also supported jaguar conservation in the vast Pantanal region of Brazil.

In the main, the leopard is found south of the Sahara Desert in Africa and throughout southern Asia. It inhabits virtually any habitat that provides sufficient shelter and prey. Some leopard subspecies are extremely endangered.

Despite its name, the snow leopard is rarely found in snow, though it does live in high Asian mountain ranges. Only a small proportion of the 4,500 - 7,500 animals live in protected areas. Poaching, the decline of its natural prey and encroachment of alpine pastures by humans and livestock, hinder its recovery. WWF continues to fund projects involving snow leopards in Nepal, Bhutan and Pakistan.

The heavily-built clouded leopard often feeds on monkeys, squirrels and birds. It is to be found in dense lowland Asian forests and, unlike most cats, it is able to climb down trees head-first.

The puma, also known as the cougar or mountain lion, generally lives in rocky habitats ranging from deserts to forests. It is found from southern Canada to Patagonia.

Despite their incredible speed - up to 96km per hour over short distances - fewer than 12,000 cheetahs survive in the wild. Most live in Africa and a small number in Iran. They are threatened because stronger predators kill their kittens and steal their prey. Inbreeding, which weakens any species, has added to the cheetah's plight.


Current threats & problems

Most wild cat populations are declining and their habitats are shrinking. As human settlements expand and more land is taken for agriculture, prey becomes more and more scarce. This forces cats to kill domestic livestock, which infuriates farmers who then take measures to protect their stock. And so the vicious circle continues.

Wild cats are also illegally hunted for their skins or for trophies and it is this international trade, which peaked in the 1960s and '70s, that has been the biggest cause of the massive decline in most cat species, even though the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) bans trade in many of them. A relatively small legal trade also remains.


What WWF is doing

WWF's work to conserve wild cats in their natural surroundings is urgent and includes supporting many national parks and reserves with money, staff, equipment or expertise.

We also try to stem illegal trade in cats by campaigning for better enforcement of wildlife trade laws, and by funding TRAFFIC, our highly effective wildlife trade monitoring organisation. We also hold training courses for customs officers to increase their expertise in the search for skins and other illegal mementoes, and we conduct public awareness campaigns.