Wild Animal News

Of the nearly 40 species of wild cats the African Golden Cat (Caracal aurata) is one of the least known. But according to the Marshall University website that is changing:

“College of Science graduate student Mary Zarilla has documented the first recorded occurrence of the African golden cat (Caracal aurata) in the Toro-Semliki Wildlife Reserve—marking the first sighting of the species in northwestern Uganda

Zarilla captured a daytime image of the endangered cat using a camera trap she deployed in the park in July 2025. The African golden cat is often described as the least known wild cat in Africa, with few studies conducted on the elusive species. Zarilla is co-advised by Dr. Anne Axel and Dr. Kimberly Dingess.”

Meanwhile, as CNN reports:

“Mwezi Mugerwa, who is passionate about the species, has embarked on work to survey the breed.

Thanks to a partnership with the African Golden Cat Conservation Alliance, which brings together 46 conservationists across 19 countries, Mwezi Mugerwa was able to launch his survey.”

Mugerwa used artificial intelligence.

“This is really important, because we are now able to talk about numbers and density,” the researcher told CNN as reported on the website Wamiz.

He explains that thanks to AI, it is now possible for “the cats to be differentiated individually, which would be almost impossible due to their small size and their distinctive features”

Along similar lines a researcher in Sumatra is helping research endangered tigers there by collecting DNA from paw prints to differentiate individuals.

The golden cat is closely related to the Caracal (Caracal caracal) and the serval (Leptailurus serval). Golden cat numbers are essentially unknown. Their range may be expanding but numbers may be declining.

The cats are medium sized, up to about 30 pounds. They are good climbers usually found in rainforest or other dense forest. They live up to about 10,000 feet in elevation. Little is known about their behavior. They are elusive and it appears kittens mature quickly. They eat animals as large as small antelope but most often consume smaller prey. Their main threats are habitat destruction and hunting. Hunting is officially prohibited in much of their range.

Scientists think there is one on every block, perhaps 20 million in the United States. Now the ever present urban raccoon (P.i.lotor) may be showing signs of splitting from its wild cousin. Or perhaps not.

Wild raccoons and urban raccoons appear to be diverging. A new study says the urban dwellers are starting to show signs they are on the road to self domestication. It’s not expected to be a fast process.

Cats (Felis catus) and dogs (Canis familiaris) both self domesticated over millennia. Their wild ancestors detected benefits from human association and subtle changes in appearance, diet and temperament resulted. They led to closer association and eventual pet status.

A recent study says urban raccoons may be taking first steps along that path.

University of Arkansas biologist Raffaela Lesch co-authored the study which involved studying 20,000 photos of raccoons from across the country. According to their findings urban raccoons have snouts 3.5 percent shorter than wild relatives. No one seems to be sure exactly how self-domestication occurs. There is a neurological theory under debate. It is a theory about changes in neural development leading to domestication. But it could be as simple as proximity. An animal habituated to humans and their food waste may need less space for a sensory array. Urban raccoons have less need to hunt. Once humans are used to them there is less fear and the two animals may begin to bond. In the meantime don’t try to hug them. They are still wild.

On the other hand the changes may be illusory. The study may be flawed and not taking account of variations in subspecies. Subspecies may have significant variation in snouts. It may also depend too heavily on photos not real life studies of actual raccoons. that is least one opinion being floated on Instagram.

Speaking of Instagram if AI is not the culprit one could suspect domestication is well underway. Even a casual visit yields many videos of raccoons in close and apparently friendly interaction with people.

It appears raccoons are likely candidates for eventual self domestication. They are eating leftovers we give them. They are eating pet food. Perhaps it is important that they observe our interactions with pets. They are in very close proximity. Often living in or under our houses. If domestication is occurring it will not be soon.

As has been noted here wolves are a hot button conservation issue. Wolf defenders and wolf hunters square off regularly in courtrooms and legislative halls.

As the state’s hunting season opens Montana conservationists and hunting interests are squaring off over changes in Montana hunting laws.

According to the Daily Montanan a central issue is a decision to permit the killing of 558 wolves in this hunting season. The dispute is whether that is too high a number. Conservationists believe the population estimates over state the number of Montana wolves.

According to the newspaper the court battle is long standing.

“The conservation groups, WildEarth Guardians, the Earth and Land Institute, Footloose Montana, and the Gallatin Wildlife Association are asking First Judicial District Court Judge Christopher Abbott for a preliminary injunction to stop the 2025-2026 wolf hunting regulations from going into effect. 

Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission, which sets policy and regulations for the department, are the defendants in the suit, which is attached to a legal battle stretching back to 2022 over state wolf laws. The Outdoor Heritage Coalition and Montana Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife are intervenors due to a similar lawsuit they brought against the state, but arguing wolf hunting regulations are too lenient.”

Wolves are an apex predator and there is little question they kill livestock. Defenders say the numbers of livestock killed are not particularly great. Opponents say , in effect “That is easy for you to say” and point to costs in time and effort to protect stock and navigate state rules for remediation. Of course there are hunters who want a trophy. France estimates its wolf population at 580. They estimate depredations at 12000, which is quite possibly low, wolves often leave little behind. At 21 kills per capita potential losses are significant.

Wolves (Canis lupus) were once abundant in the contiguous United States. They were also abundant in much of Eurasia. Centuries of persecution eliminated them in the United States with a few exceptions including Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In the late 20th Century attitudes started to change. Wolves were introduced into Yellowstone National Park. Others came down from Canada. Intense court battles have resulted from the reintroduction efforts. Wolves are now found in an increasing number of states. Some wolf defenders want to increase their range further. Colorado recently introduced wolves into the state. Authorities track them closely as the reintroduction was hotly contested.

India is home to many of the world’s wildcats and how to preserve them in a challenging world is a key issue. India has 15 of the approximately 37 cat species. More than any other single country. The country has mounted strong conservation efforts. Recently the focus has been on Indian leopards (Panthera pardus fusca).

India has about 14,000 leopards but the big cats face enormous challenges as India modernizes and urbanizes. According to The Times of India the problem is reaching Prime Minister Marendra Modi’s desk.

According to the paper:

“After multiple incidents of leopard attacks across the state, including the recent killing of a leopard that caused the death of three in Pune, conservationist group NatConnect Foundation appealed to the Prime Minister by launching an online petition that drew support from more than 630 citizens, including ecologists, educators, and biodiversity volunteers, reflecting rising public anxiety around frequent leopard encounters.”

NatConnect director B N Kumar said the root issue lay in the fragmentation of forests and disruption of traditional wildlife corridors. Expanding settlements, highways, quarrying zones, and tourism projects steadily encroached on leopard habitat, forcing the animals to move across farms, village peripheries, and even highways. “Leopards are not straying into human spaces by choice. Their landscape is shrinking around them,” Kumar said. He added that reactionary measures such as capturing or relocating leopards often worsened the situation. “

Prime Minister Modi has taken serious interest in Indian wildlife. India is home to about 70 percent of the world’s wild tigers. Leopards and other wild cats are receiving increased protection. The country has also embarked on a controversial project to reintroduce cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) into the country.

According to the paper that had an unexpected result when a leopard died after what was called an “encounter” with a cheetah. But balancing the needs of different animals is difficult. For example, India’s extraordinary success in increasing tiger numbers has had mixed impacts. Efforts to landscape wildlands to make the land more attractive to tigers backfired. The efforts made the land less favorable for leopards. Whatever policy changes the prime minister implements will be controversial.

Leopards are probably fifth among the big cats in size. Tigers (Panthera tigris ) are the largest cats followed by lions (Panthera leo). Jaguars (Panthera onca) leopards and mountain lions are the next three. Leopards and mountain lions (Puma concolor) are smaller than all but the smallest jaguars. Leopards and mountain lions overlap in size. The biggest mountain lions (puma councolor) are larger than the biggest leopard.

India has been determined to solve habitat problems even to the point of moving villages to accommodate tigers. But issues of human leopard interaction are not easily solved. Many conservationists are now questioning top Down conservation. That is where a government imposes rules. The newer style is more bottom up. It focuses on the benefits people and leopards can get from each other and builds a partnership. Partnerships between wild animals and people are most successful. One key example is eco tourism. The more tourists come to see leopards the more the local community benefits.

Another example is retraining people to hold jobs that benefit humans and animals. Snow leopards (Panthera Uncia) are benefitting in some parts of their range by a unique program. Encouraging herders to switch to raising honey is a powerful tool. The herders get a new lucrative business. Losses of domestic animals drop. Both sides benefit.

Norway’s arctic fox rebound appears to be pulling the predator back from the verge f extinction. It is also proving the value of innovative conservation efforts, according to recent reports.

Vulpes lagopus was almost extinct 20 years ago. Numbers were under 100 and falling. Today there are an estimated 300 of the foxes. An exciting increase but about 10 percent of what conservationists hope for.

Norwegian conservationists began a captive breeding program. Reared arctic foxes are released into the wild. So far the plan is working. Feeding stations also help. Dog food can tide the foxes over in times of scarcity and when lemming populations are low.

Vulpes Vulpes crucigera or the European red fox is the principal enemy. An arctic fox is about the size of a cat and not a match for its aggressive cousin.

Lemmings, Lemmus lemmus are small highly social rodents found in the Arctic. Many people believe they commit mass suicides by jumping off cliffs.. That is a myth propagated by a Walt Disney documentary titled white wilderness.

The octopus is an amazing animal and under a good deal of scientific scrutiny. Recently a possible example of octopus teamwork has emerged as researchers believe the cephalopods team up with fish to hunt.

According to an article on ChipChick on MSN the discovery was made in the Red Sea and researchers believe that the eight legged creatures use fish to help them find prey. They also apparently shoo away fish that will not participate in the hunt.

Evidently the fish can find potential prey hiding in areas they can’t reach and they can signal the octopus which can reach the prey. According to Smithsonian magazine:

“With the octopus leading the charge, fish scout for hidden prey and signal where to capture a smaller fish or mollusk. But if freeloading fish are hovering around, looking to benefit from the hunt without contributing, the octopus punches them away, according to new research.

“The octopus basically works as the decider of the group,” Eduardo Sampaio, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior and lead author of the study, told  Nature News’ Helena Kudiabor.

The study, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, brought a new type of collective behavior to light. Octopuses, often thought of as solitary creatures, led a group of various species of fish and discerned which ones were and weren’t helping.”

The octopus is a far more complex animal than has been thought. There is evidence that they have an active dream state, which surprises neurologists.

Every 60 minutes or so, the animals underwent rapid changes of skin colour lasting about one minute, together with changes in breathing rate, as well as body and eye movements.

When the team tapped on the tanks and watched how the animals responded, they found the octopuses showed different reactions depending on whether they were awake, in the quiet stage of sleep, or in the active stage.”

Nature can be reached here.

It is still impossible to know exactly what is going on. There are other explanations, such as fine-tuning their coloration. But the parallels with human sleep are interesting. As with the researchers who thought octopus dreams may be night mares, the researchers feel no certain answers have been found.

In the previous research an octopus showed behavior that could be consistent coming out of a bad dream.

Pallas” Cat, sometimes dubbed the “original grumpy cat” due to its unusual appearance, appears to be alive and well in Iran. Pallas cat kittens have recently been photographed, a hopeful sign, according to Iran Front Page.

According to Iran Front page:

“According to the head of Kerman’s Department of Environment, one of the local environmental volunteers succeeded in observing two Pallas’s cat cubs in the mountainous area of Rabor County, capturing an image of one of them.

Due to the considerable distance between the two cubs, photographing the second one was not possible.

“Officials sa”y this rare sighting suggests a potential increase in the local population of this vulnerable species, which is known for its reclusive nature and declining numbers across its native range in Central Asia and parts of the Iranian plateau.”

“The Pallas’s cat (Otocolobus manul), also known as the manul, is listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN due to habitat loss, prey depletion, and other environmental pressures. The species is extremely difficult to monitor due to its solitary behavior and elusive presence.

Conservation experts in Iran consider repeated sightings of the animal in Kerman a positive indicator and are calling for heightened protection measures to safeguard its habitat and support possible population recovery in the region.”

Pallas cats (Otocolobus manul) are native to Central Asia. They live in fragmented populations in, Russia, China, Iran and Mongolia. The Indian subcontinent and several other central and South Asian countries have populations as well, The cats are about two feet long and under 10 pounds in weight.

Since the cats are reclusive and thought to be rare, numbers and exact habitat are conjectural. Recent discovery of the cats on the slopes of Mt. Everest were of great interest to scientists.

The cat was named after naturalist Peter Simon Pallas who first described it. It is frequently known as a manul. This cat has attracted considerable public and scientific attention. Much conservation effort has been awarded to it. The recent completion of the cat’s genome is expected to greatly improve conservation success. About 60 zoos worldwide are involved in breeding and conservation efforts

Project Cheetah is about two years old and appears to have the green light despite several setbacks and serious criticism. The goal is to reintroduce cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) to India more than 70 years after they were driven to extinction in that country. The effort follows in the footsteps of the much more successful Project Tiger which since 1973 has steadily brought Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris) from the verge of extinction. India now has about 3,500 tigers, roughly 75 percent of the world’s wild population.

“Cheetahs for the breeding centre being built in Gujarat’s Bunni grasslands will also be brought from Kenya, the director general of the International Big Cat Alliance, S P Yadav said,” According to The New Indian Express. Kenyan cheetahs are a new aspect of the program.

Sadly, eight adults have died, igniting criticism of the program. The cats are all still in enclosures and not free roaming, prompting more criticism. But the cats are breeding well and project organizers remain hopeful.

Cheetahs are the fastest of land mammals and were once common in India and other parts of Asia. They have been nearly extirpated from Asia, as a remnant population remains in Iran. They were annihilated in India in the 1950’s.

In Africa about 7,000 remain. They are under threat from poaching, stealing of cubs for the exotic pet trade and habitat loss.

As part of the first-ever intercontinental translocation of the big cats, 20 cheetahs have been brought to the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh so far: 8 from Namibia in September 2022 and 12 from South Africa in February 2023

The criticism of the project has recently met with robust pushback as scientists debate the project and its potential success.

President Donald J. Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East may turn out to be important for critically endangered Arabian leopards. Trump and Saudi officials agreed to a visit by two Arabian leopards to the Smithsonian National Zoo, according to news reports

USA Today said the agreement to bring the leopards to the United States was on the list of trade agreements and other topics discussed by Trump with Crown PrinceMohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

“We are honored to collaborate with the Royal Commission for AlUla to protect the critically endangered Arabian leopard,” said Brandie Smith, director of the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. “Saving the world’s most vulnerable species takes global cooperation, scientific rigor and innovation—and that’s what we do best.”

The royal commission referenced by Smith is a government sponsored effort to upgrade a region of Saudi Arabia into an ecotourist and conservation destination.

he leopards once roamed the entire Arabian Peninsula but today are mostly confined to Oman. the estimated worldwide number is about 200. Some live in Yemen. Warfare and photos of dead leopards make it extremely difficult to know their status. They may be functionally extinct in Saudi Arabia. There are believed to be less than 50 in the kingdom. It is possible there may be about 8 in Israel. Arabian Leopards (panthera pardus nimr) are shy and secretive. Males top out around 75 pounds and females about 50. By contrast, the largest Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) can reach 130 pounds. Persian leopards are also endangered. Iran and Russia both have conservation programs in place. Persian leopards may number fewer than 1,000 in the wild.

Saudi Arabia has established a scholarship and study program to train people to manage the rigors of management of the cats.

leopards are under siege throughout the world. The two largest populations are in Africa and India. There are thought to number about 13,000 in India. Africa probably has considerably more but the number is uncertain. Some estimates place the number of Afrcan leopards at over 500,000 but many are skeptical.

Today there are no known Wisconsin cougars. However the recent discovery of mountain lion kittens in Michigan suggests the return of the big cats may be inevitable.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) employees verified the existence of two kittens in that state in March. The two were estimated to be up to 9 weeks old.

Outdoor Life says Michigan has not had cougars in a century. Including the two kittens just mentioned there have been 10 sightings this year, the website says. The Wisconsin Deartment of Natural Resources says there are no Wisconsin cougars today.

But suggestions are that Michigan cougars are breeding and the number of sightings is increasing. Spilling over into neighboring Wisconsin is considered highly likely if not “inevitable”

Cougars (Puma concolor) have the longest north- south range of any cat on Earth. They are found from Canada deep into Argentina in South America. In general they are slightly smaller than Jaguars (Panthera onca). Jaguars range from Mexico south at least into Brazil. There are efforts to reintroduce Jaguars into the United States. At one time they ranged across the southern United States.

In the United States mountain lions are benefitting from increased conservation efforts. Many of those efforts are centered around avoiding traffic collisions with the cats. The Liberty Canyon project in the Santa Monica Mountains is nearing completion. It will provide an overcrossing over the 101Freeway.

Jaguars are benefitting from similar efforts in South America. They are also being transplanted into areas from which they were displaced,

Mountain lions are resilient and are adept at living close to humans. The example f P-22 and other Santa Monica Mountains cats shows they can adept well to human presence although there can be conflict.