Big cat conservation: status, threats and what helps

Conservation status of each big cat

Figures are taken from IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group summaries; see each species page for detail. A new global jaguar assessment is expected around 2027.

What are the biggest threats to big cats?

1. Habitat loss and fragmentation. Farms, plantations, roads and settlements break habitat into islands too small for viable populations, and cut the corridors cats use to move between them.
2. Prey depletion. Snaring and hunting for bushmeat, and competition with livestock, empty landscapes of the animals big cats eat, even inside protected areas.
3. Conflict with people. When cats kill livestock, or occasionally people, they are often shot, trapped or poisoned in retaliation. This is a leading threat to lions, jaguars, snow leopards and cheetahs.
4. Poaching and illegal trade. Tiger skins and bones are in demand, and as tigers have become scarce, trade has shifted to lion, leopard and jaguar parts. Cheetah cubs are taken for the illegal pet trade, particularly in the Horn of Africa.
5. Small, isolated populations. Groups such as the Asiatic lions in Gir or the Amur leopards face inbreeding and the risk that one disease outbreak or disaster could wipe them out.

What actually helps big cats?

• Well managed protected areas with enough rangers and funding. India's Project Tiger, launched in 1973, created a network of tiger reserves, and the IUCN's Green Status work finds tigers would be far worse off without such efforts.
• Wildlife corridors that connect populations so animals can disperse and breed between them.
• Reducing conflict with predator proof livestock enclosures (corrals and bomas), herding and guarding, livestock insurance and compensation schemes, and vaccination programmes that keep herds healthier.
• Restoring prey by tackling snaring and overhunting.
• Anti poaching and anti trafficking work along trade routes, plus reducing consumer demand.
• Community based conservation so that people who live alongside big cats benefit from them, for example through tourism income or jobs.
• Reintroductions and translocations where habitat is ready, such as plans to return tigers to Kazakhstan and Cambodia and India's cheetah project at Kuno National Park.

Is trade in big cats illegal?

International commercial trade in tigers, leopards, jaguars, cheetahs and snow leopards is banned under Appendix I of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Asiatic lions are on Appendix I; African lions are on Appendix II, which allows strictly regulated trade. Many range countries also ban hunting and domestic trade, though enforcement varies.

How can you help big cats?

• Support established conservation organisations that publish their results.
• Never buy products made from wild cats, including skins, teeth, claws, bone wine or "medicines".
• Avoid attractions that offer cub petting, walking with lions or photos with big cats; conservation groups warn these can feed the captive breeding and parts trade.
• If you travel to see big cats, choose operators that keep their distance, follow park rules and support local communities.
• Share accurate information. Correcting myths, like the idea that tigers live in Africa, helps people care about the real animals.