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Panthera's 2017 Annual Report Panthera 2017 Annual Report 2017 ANNUAL REPORT — 1 “EVERYTHING AROUND YOU JUST STOPS” The hot wind smelled of wild grass and sage, alarm birds shrieked, and the cats made noise sparingly to avoid detection by hyenas. So recalls our partner photographer Patrick Meier of his encounter with a leopard and her cub in northern Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Tipped off by a guide, he spotted the cub first—50 meters up a jackalberry tree—and waited for the mother to return from a hunting trip. When in earshot, the mother briefly beckoned for her cub with high chirps. After several attempts to descend from her treetop hideaway, the cub called back with a hoarse meow. Once reunited on the ground, the duo groomed, cuddled, and played, the cub stalking and ambushing “anything that moved in the wind.” “Eventually,” Meier said, “she walked toward me, toward the camera, without any provocation. She looked right at me. It was one of those moments when time and everything around you just stops. You can’t think of anything else. I took a few photographs and just put the camera down.” 2 — 2017 ANNUAL REPORT Panthera 2017 Annual Report 2017 ANNUAL REPORT — 1 2 — 2017 ANNUAL REPORT A female jaguar rests in a tree in the southern Brazilian Pantanal. Contents 03 04 06 08 Panthera's Transforming Meet Champions Mission Conservation Dr. Fred Launay for Big Cats by Thomas S. Kaplan, Ph.D. 10 32 36 42 Program Journey of What Makes Investing in Highlights the Jaguar Wild Cats Tick the Future of by Luke Hunter, Ph.D. Conservation 45 46 48 50 2017 Financial An Extraordinary Panthera's 2017 Scientific Summary Commitment Reach Publications 52 56 Board, Staff, and Conservation Council Listings and Coexistence by Allison Devlin 2017 ANNUAL REPORT — 3 4 — 2017 ANNUAL REPORT A 22-month-old female lion in Zambia's Kafue National Park Panthera's Mission Panthera’s mission is to ensure a future for wild cats and the vast landscapes on which they depend. Our vision is a world where wild cats thrive in healthy, natural, and developed landscapes that sustain people and biodiversity. 2017 ANNUAL REPORT — 3 Transforming Conservation A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN When we founded Panthera over a decade ago, the overarching results-oriented approach is not only reversing the debilitating trigger was the realization that, if we were to solve the urgent “shrinking pie” phenomenon that pre-existed and catalyzed our crises facing big cats, a completely new approach was required: organization’s inception, but is indeed creating a “bigger pie” for laser focused, fearless, out-of-the box in its thinking, and, species conservation. especially, collaborative in spirit. In short, our goal was—and remains—to transform wildlife conservation as we know it to In 2017, in an initiative led by our latest board member, Nicole save big cats and their landscapes. Mollo, we proudly welcomed Madame He Qiaonyu, Founder and Chairman of Beijing Oriental Landscape and Ecology Co. Nowhere has our brand of leadership been more apparent than Ltd., to the Global Alliance for Wild Cats. Her Beijing Qiaonyu in our groundbreaking marriage of science, technology, and law Foundation (BQF) has a breathtakingly bold vision to change the enforcement expertise to fight the scourge of wildlife poaching. trajectory of threatened species in China and around the world. As Conservation Council member General David Petraeus puts That BQF chose Panthera as its first international partner is a it so well, “Panthera is ‘walking point’ for the organizations that huge statement—and a great honor. To borrow from a chengyu, are fighting the war on wildlife, tackling poaching with uniquely or Chinese idiom, ours was certainly a match made by Heaven impressive tactics, technology, and determination. It clearly is and arranged by Earth. Together, our two organizations are the organization to support in the fight against the poaching of already developing innovative programs to study and conserve big cats.” snow leopards in China and will expand to engage the next generation of scientists in the recovery of African lions and other We have gained that reputation because, as the only NGO solely threatened big cats over the next decade. dedicated to the survival of the world’s wild cats, we actually know what it takes to save cats. The wider world sees that too. On the other side of the globe, Panthera Board Member Ross When the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation transferred their Beaty and his family’s investment of CAD $5 million over 10 years Save the Tiger Fund over to Panthera, it was because, as they comprised the largest gift ever to Panthera’s Jaguar Corridor acknowledged, “Panthera knows how to save tigers.” Initiative, the world’s most ambitious carnivore conservation program. Created by Dr. Alan Rabinowitz to secure the path of Fortunately, when given the opportunity to show our stuff, we the jaguar from Mexico to Northern Argentina, the Corridor has have proven them right. Our renowned Tigers Forever Protocol, broken the mold for landscape-wide conservation. Ross and for example, has transformed Manas National Park in India from Trisha Beaty’s vision and leadership in the jaguar range states a war-torn land once stripped of its wildlife into a tiger haven. will nurture conservation leaders in Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, By increasing and intensively training patrols, and integrating Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia and intelligence efforts with programs that answer the needs of help build the jaguar strongholds that will secure the future of local people, Panthera and our partners have doubled the this key umbrella species. tiger population in Manas since we first started monitoring the population in 2011. These are the methods and results that will 2017 was also marked by remarkable and exciting transformation save this resplendent species, proven models that are within Panthera. After a global search for a new leader to grow proving fungible, and that we are now exporting to protect Panthera’s reach and impact, we found the perfect candidate cheetahs, leopards, and lions in Africa. In 2017, Panthera indeed in our own midst. Panthera Board Member Dr. Frédéric Launay broke ground on new law enforcement and community-building joined in November as President and CEO, and we could not be initiatives in some of the most heavily poached but highest- more fortunate. Fred’s roots in the field and passionate belief potential landscapes in Southern, Central, and West Africa. in the intrinsic value of species, combined with his strategic instincts and far-reaching relationships in the global community, Nature needs more wins to keep up the momentum. For make him the ideal standard-bearer for our ambitious vision. philanthropists are like investors; they go where capital is welcome, and they stay where it is well treated. And to show Fred takes over a globally admired organization poised for rapid a return on investment means evincing the kinds of wins we growth thanks to the work of his predecessor, and my brother-in- are providing in Manas. Not surprisingly, perhaps, Panthera’s arms, Dr. Alan Rabinowitz. As our Chief Scientist, Alan is already 4 — 2017 ANNUAL REPORT A sub-adult female tiger emerges from the bushes in India’s Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. harnessing the knowledge and relationships developed across his legendary career to compel governments and investors to prioritize protecting wild cats. Panthera, and every person who has been captivated by the grace and mystery of the world’s big cats, owes a colossal debt to Alan, a man who is justifiably as iconic as the species he has spent his life saving. Taking their cues from Alan, and the management and staff that define the gold standard in our space, Panthera’s new and unique legion of influencers, the Conservation Council—co- chaired by the brilliantly charismatic activists Glenn Close and Jane Alexander—is elevating Panthera’s stature globally by raising awareness of wild cat conservation to new and diverse audiences. The Conservation Council members, more than 70 luminaries known for the ineffable contributions they’ve made to the worlds of business, law enforcement, government, fashion, media, entertainment, tourism, the military, and the arts, are invaluable guiding authorities and inspirations as Panthera continues to revolutionize species conservation. I must admit that there have been moments when, witnessing the alacrity with which humankind seems bent on destroying the planet, it has been difficult for me to remain positive about the future of our magnificent cats. But I can say today with a full heart that my optimism that Panthera can accomplish its mission of changing the trajectory of cat conservation has never been greater. Our large and growing coalition of wild cat advocates is enabling us and our expanding cadre of allies to build on our successes and—steadily but surely—recover wild cats in the vast landscapes where they must surely prevail. In this quest, we’re proud to have the counsel and confidence of great environmentalists like the wonderful Glenn Close, and her co- Chair of the Conservation Council, Jane Alexander, who said, “If there is a future for great cats, it is in the hands of Panthera and its partners globally.” As I thank all of those who have joined us in this noble mission— and given the future of cat conservation more hope than ever before—I most humbly agree. THOMAS S. KAPLAN, Ph.D. Founder, Chairman of the Board 2017 ANNUAL REPORT — 5 There was a changing of the guard at Panthera in November: Noted species conservationist Dr. Frédéric Launay became Meet President and Chief Executive Officer, succeeding Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, who held the CEO role since he co-founded Panthera Dr.
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