Panthera Corporation, also called Panthera, is a nonprofit group that works to protect wild cats and the environments they live in worldwide. Established in 2006, Panthera focuses on conserving the 40 species of wild cats and the large ecosystems they depend on. The group's team of biologists, data scientists, law enforcement experts, and wild cat supporters studies and safeguards seven big cat species: cheetahs, jaguars, leopards, lions, pumas, snow leopards, and tigers. Panthera also develops specific conservation plans for small cat species that are at high risk or often overlooked, such as fishing cats, ocelots, and Andean cats. The organization operates offices in New York City and Europe, as well as in Mesoamerica, South America, Africa, and Asia.

Programs and grants

Panthera works with local and international nonprofit groups, scientific organizations, businesses, and government groups to create and carry out plans to protect animals in their natural habitats. The organization supports the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University, which offers a special training program in international wildlife practice. Panthera also provides financial help through several grant programs to support people working in wildlife conservation. These programs include the Kaplan Graduate Awards, the Research and Conservation Grants, the Small Cat Action Fund, the Sabin Snow Leopard Grant Program, and the Winston Cobb Memorial Fellowships.

Founders and leadership

Panthera was co-founded in 2006 by American scientist Alan Rabinowitz and American entrepreneur Thomas S. Kaplan. Kaplan served as Chairman of Panthera's Board of Trustees until 2021, when Jonathan Ayers took over this role. Kaplan is currently Chairman of The Global Alliance for Wild Cats. Rabinowitz was the first President and CEO of Panthera, serving from 2001 until 2017, when he was replaced by French scientist Fred Launay. Dr. Rabinowitz helped create the world's first jaguar preserve in 1986 in Belize and played a key role in developing the Jaguar Corridor, which connects jaguar populations from Mexico to Argentina.

In 2014, Kaplan and his wife, Daphne Recanati Kaplan, promised to give $20 million over 10 years to support Panthera. The couple was joined by H.H. Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Jho Low, and Hemendra Kothari, each of whom also pledged $20 million to help the organization.

John Goodrich leads Panthera's Tiger Program and is the Chief Scientist. Kim Young-Overton is Director of the Cheetah Program, and Gareth Mann is Director of the Leopard Program. Byron Weckworth is Director of the Snow Leopard Program, Wai-Ming Wong is Director of the Small Cats Program, and Mark Elbroch is Director of the Puma Program. Howard Quigley joined Panthera in 2009 and is currently Director of the Jaguar Program.

• Jonathan Ayers, board chair and former chairman and CEO of IDEXX Laboratories
• Frederic Launay, Ph.D., President and CEO of Panthera and former presidential advisor of IUCN
• Thomas S. Kaplan, Ph.D., founder and Global Alliance chair
• Ross J. Beaty, C.M., benefactor of the Beaty Biodiversity Museum
• Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb, KBE, CMG, DSO
• Duncan McFarland, director of New Profit Inc.
• Hon. Claudia A. McMurray
• H.E. Razan Khalifa Al Mubarak
• HH Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al-Saud
• Robert Quartermain
• Eira Thomas
• Celina Chien

Projects

In South America, Mesoamerica, and Mexico, Panthera is creating a path that connects different countries to help protect jaguars. Jaguars need these paths to move across the continent to avoid inbreeding and extinction. In August 2010, in Belize, Panthera worked with the government to create the Labouring Creek Jaguar Corridor Wildlife Sanctuary, which covers more than 7,000 acres (28 km²). This project is part of Panthera’s Jaguar Corridor Initiative. In Costa Rica, Panthera is studying jaguar movement routes and encouraging leaders and developers to protect these paths. They also help communities reduce conflicts between people and jaguars. Panthera works in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, as well as Belize and Costa Rica.

In early 2010, Panthera signed an agreement with the Colombian government to protect the area where jaguar paths from Central and South America meet. In Brazil, Panthera manages Fazenda Jofre Velho, a key research site in the Pantanal. They help local ranchers find safe ways to protect their cattle instead of killing jaguars.

Panthera’s puma projects in South America focus on Chile. They work with the Fundación Cerro Guido Conservación to find ways for pumas and sheep to live together peacefully, using methods like protective dogs, lights, and ecotourism.

Panthera protects pumas and small cats across the Americas. In the Northwest, their Olympic Cougar Project partners with six Indigenous tribes, led by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, to study pumas in Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Previously, Panthera’s puma work in the U.S. focused on Wyoming.

In the Northeast U.S., Panthera runs the New York Millfarm Bobcat Project to study bobcats in rural areas and create a monitoring plan for bobcat management in New York and other eastern states.

In Asia, Panthera’s Tigers Forever project plans a 5,000-mile (8,000 km) corridor for tigers from Bhutan to Myanmar, including land in India, Thailand, and Malaysia. It may also include Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Panthera works in India and has increased tiger numbers in Manas National Park. In August 2010, Myanmar expanded the Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve by 4,248 square miles (11,000 km²), the world’s largest tiger preserve. Panthera’s CEO, Alan Rabinowitz, helped bring together the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar government to make this expansion possible.

In Johor State, Malaysia, Panthera partners with the state government and the Wildlife Conservation Society to increase tiger numbers by 50% in ten years. In early 2010, Panthera cameras captured a rare spotted leopard in Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin National Parks, where only black leopards were previously believed to live.

Panthera protects wild cats in Thailand, including tigers and fishing cats, and studies small cats in Malaysian Borneo.

In August 2010, Myanmar expanded the Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve by 4,248 square miles (11,000 km²). Panthera’s CEO, Alan Rabinowitz, helped bring together the Kachin Independence Army and the Myanmar government to make this expansion possible.

In Johor State, Malaysia, Panthera works with the state government and the Wildlife Conservation Society to increase tiger numbers by 50% in ten years. In early 2010, Panthera cameras captured a rare spotted leopard in Taman Negara and Endau-Rompin National Parks, where only black leopards were previously believed to live.

Panthera’s Snow Leopard Program studies snow leopards in Mongolia and surveys new areas where they might live. They train herders to reduce livestock losses and protect snow leopards in Central Asia. Programs include rewarding Mongolian herders who avoid killing snow leopards for a year and vaccinating livestock in Pakistan.

Panthera’s Snow Leopard Program has studied snow leopards in Mongolia and surveyed new areas where they might live. They also protect snow leopards in Central Asia, including Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Panthera’s work in the Middle East focuses on the Arabian Peninsula. With support from the Royal Commission for AlUla, they focus on restoring leopards in Saudi Arabia.

Panthera works across Africa. In South Africa, the Sabi Sands protected area, near Kruger National Park, is a long-term leopard research site and one of Panthera’s key projects. This research helps local wildlife management and conservation policies.

In Zambia, Panthera’s projects focus on the Greater Kafue Ecosystem. They support 17 anti-poaching teams, two lion monitoring teams, and one leopard monitoring team in Kafue National Park and surrounding areas. Panthera’s Cheetah Program also GPS-collars cheetahs in the park. Panthera has projects in other parts of southern Africa, including Zimbabwe and Angola.

Since 2010, Panthera has worked with Gabon’s National Park Agency to monitor wildlife in Plateaux Batéké National Park, where a lone male lion was spotted on a camera trap. Panthera Gabon is conducting a countrywide leopard survey and helping the Gabonese government identify wildlife movement corridors.

Over the past decade, Panthera has partnered with Senegal’s government to improve park management and security in Niokolo-Koba National Park. They support rangers, rebuild park infrastructure, and monitor wildlife using GPS collars.

Panthera provides synthetic wild cat furs to communities in southern Africa instead of traditional furs. They work with the Barotse Royal Establishment in Zambia and the Shembe Church in South Africa. More than 18,500 synthetic capes have been given to the Shembe Church, and synthetic clothing was used during the Kuomboka Festival in Zambia in 2022.