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Conservation

The Amur leopard Project

Amur leopard

The Amur leopard is one of the most endangered species of big cat in the world today. This Amur Leopard Conservation Support Programme has been set up to help these amazing big cats come back from the brink of extinction.

Breeding Programme

Tigers

The Big Cat Sanctuary allows for breeding a collection of big cats in conjunction with the European Rare Species Breeding Program. We are aiming to increase the generic diversity of cats with a view to reintroduction to the wild.

Sumatran Tiger Project

sumatran tiger

As well as providing a home for two of the most important breeding pairs in the European Breeding Programme, the Wildlife Heritage Foundation actively supports the conservation of this critically endangered animal in Sumatra.




About Conservation Projects

Wildlife Heritage Foundation is committed to the conservation of plants and animals throughout the world. We are involved with field conservation projects overseas and have plans to extend this work. We have established a breeding programme for big cats at our facility in Kent, UK.

The IUCN (World Conservation Union) monitors which plants and animals are endangered. Their Red Data List shows that 24% of all mammals and 12% of birds are under threat.

Why are animals and plants threatened?

  • Habitat destruction and fragmentation.
  • Over-consumption of resources by humans.
  • Pollution.
  • Illegal wildlife trade.
  • Global climate change.
  • Competition from species introduced by humans.

More than 12,000 species are known to be threatened with extinction. While we are still only scratching the surface in assessing all known species, we are confident this figure is an indicator of what is happening to global biological diversity

Achim Steiner, Former IUCN Director General.

Mark with tigers Wildlife Heritage Foundation (WHF) has already committed to work for the protection of the Amur Leopard, found in the Russian Far East. Only 30 individuals are thought to survive in the wild. Through support to charities and non-governmental organisations working in the field, WHF is helping ensure these rare cats do not decrease further in numbers. Given the very low wild population, protection of this species by captive breeding is vital whilst the details of a programme of re-introductions is established and importantly fully funded. At our Kent centre we hold animals from the European Endangered Species Programme (EEP), which is a European wide zoo based project to maintain genetically sound animals for possible future return to their home range area. We will establish at least one Amur Leopard breeding pair at our centre as part of our contribution to the EEP. We have co-operated with Novosibirsk Zoo in the Russian Federation in order that male leopards bred at their zoo are available to UK breeding centres.

With our colleagues at Paradise Wildlife Park (Hertfordshire, UK) we are supporting efforts in Africa to protect diminishing wild lion populations from diseases associated with the ever-increasing human population of that region. By funding vaccine programmes for domestic dogs we are helping reduce the incidents of canine distemper virus in the lion population. Current estimates are that the total African lion population may have been reduced to around 16,000 animals — a matter so serious that it has been suggested this animal should be accorded the highest level of legal protection at a series of international meetings in late 2004.