Panthera: A Charity for all Manhattan Cool Cats Highlighted by the Wally Findlay Gallery to Whom You Know

Whom You Know recently covered the gallery opening at Wally Findlay gallery:
http://www.whomyouknow.com/2010/06/wally-findlay-gallery-to-celebrate.html


Of course, we know of Wally Findlay through our favorite restaurant, Swifty's.  It's not Who You Know, it's Whom You Know!  Through Wally Findlay, we learned of Panthera!  It is an excellent cause and is the world’s leading organization dedicated to the conservation of big cats. Founded in 2006 with the sole mission of conserving the Earth’s 36 species of wild cats, the organization is lead by renowned scientists who work on the frontlines of conservation throughout the world.  Panthera  CEO Alan Rabinowitz spoke at the gallery opening last week, and we loved what he had to say.  Here is an excerpt of his speech:

“As president of Panthera I am grateful and honored to have Panthera present in this historic gallery, sharing the spotlight with the remarkable man and artist Gustavo Novoa. I like many of you here are meeting him for the first time, but he has already touched me through his painting. For Henry Ward Beecher so aptly put it 'every artist dips his brush in his own soul and paints his own nature into his pictures'”

  

“The big cats are in desperate shape. No more so than the biggest of the all, the most majestic of them all, one I have spent that last 20 years following and searching for, trying to save and track down - the tiger. By the turn of the 20^th century we had 100,000 tigers or more on this planet. Right now there are less than 3,000 tigers in the wild. There are more than 13,000 tigers in captivity though, but less than 3000 wild tigers walking the face of this earth.”

“Tigers are in horrendous shape,  but Panthera is pulling out all stops to try to make sure that they don’t go extinct. The good news is that we know how to save them, and Panthera is working hard to make a difference.  Sadly, the other big cats are not doing that much better believe it or not, despite what you see on TV, see in the movies. Lions have vanished from over 80% of their historic range. Jaguars, which are doing fairly well, have lost 60% of their range. And Snow Leopards, one of the most elusive and gorgeous species to grace the Earth – well, maybe there’s only 5,000 left on the planet”

“But this [the Event] is an incredible nexus of the spiritual and the temporal here tonight, and I hope you can feel it as much as I feel it. [Gustavo Novoa] is an amazing man, but what it says, the art of what it says and what Panthera is trying to do in reality comes together here tonight."

“We cannot leave an earth for ourselves, for our children, for future generations without these most magnificent species. We have to try to keep them for the future; we absolutely have to”.

***

Applying a Unique Conservation Approach

Panthera develops, implements, and oversees range-wide species conservation strategies for the world’s largest, most imperiled cats – tigers, lions, jaguars and snow leopards.

• Panthera works through strategic partnerships with local and international NGO’s, scientific institutions, and local and national government agencies.
• The organization channels both monetary and intellectual resources efficiently and quickly to overcome the greatest hurdles to wild cat conservation.
• Where necessary, Panthera utilizes a unique approach in conserving species range-wide, as opposed to isolated sites, and does this by securing key habitat and vital corridors for threatened species.
• Panthera has changed the game in educating and training its partners in cat conservation, from renowned experts to promising students to local communities, farmers and herders.
• Panthera’s operating and overhead costs are guaranteed, meaning 100% of donations made to the organization go to the field, where they are needed most.

Achieving Results

Most recently, Panthera has made incredible strides in protecting tigers in Myanmar, securing a vital jaguar corridor in Colombia, protecting and increasing South Africa’s leopard population, and unraveling the mysteries of the elusive snow leopards of Mongolia.  
Despite this, big cats remain among the most threatened species on Earth. Panthera’s targeted initiatives to save the four species of endangered cats are making important strides in both developed and under-developed nations throughout the world.  


Tigers
Close to 100,000 tigers roamed the forests and grasslands of Asia 100 years ago. Today, fewer than 3,000 tigers survive in the wild.  Visit http://panthera.org/tiger_programs_projects.html to learn more about Panthera’s programs in India, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Loa PDR, Indonesia, Russia and China.  


Lions
One of the world’s most iconic carnivores, the African lion, is in jeopardy. Lions have vanished from over 80 percent of their historic range and continue to be persecuted. To learn more about Panthera’s work to address the threats facing lions throughout their African range, please visit http://panthera.org/lion_programs_projects.html.  


Jaguars
Ranging from Mexico through northern Argentina, the jaguar is the largest cat in the western hemisphere and the third largest cat in the world. Despite the large region that they call home, jaguar range has declined by more than 40 percent in the last 100 years. Panthera is making tremendous strides by working with local communities and heads of State to create the world’s most extensive genetic corridor for a species. To learn more, visit http://panthera.org/jaguar_programs_projects.html.  


Snow Leopards
One of the most elusive animals on the planet, the snow leopard is an iconic symbol of the mountains of central Asia. Today, only 3,500 – 7,000 snow leopards remain across twelve Asian range states. To learn more about Panthera’s work across snow leopard range, and the first ever long-term study of the species in Mongolia’s South Gobi province, visit http://panthera.org/snow_leopard_programs_projects.html.



Dr. Alan Rabinowitz, President and CEO of Panthera
Dr. Alan Rabinowitz graduated from the University of Tennessee in 1981 with an M.S. in zoology and a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology. He is currently the President and CEO of Panthera, a nonprofit organization devoted to saving the world’s wild cat species. Prior to Panthera, Rabinowitz served as Executive Director of the Science and Exploration Division for the Wildlife Conservation Society for nearly 30 years. Dr. Rabinowitz has traveled the world on behalf of wildlife conservation and has studied jaguars, clouded leopards, Asiatic leopards, tigers, Sumatran rhinos, bears, leopard cats, raccoons, and civets. His work in Belize resulted in the world's first jaguar sanctuary; his work in Taiwan resulted in the establishment of that country's largest protected area, its last piece of intact lowland forest; his work in Thailand generated the first field research on Indochinese tigers, Asiatic leopards, and leopard cats, in what was to become the region's first World Heritage Site; and his work in Myanmar has led to the creation of five new protected areas there: the country's first marine national park, the country's first and largest Himalayan national park, the country’s largest wildlife sanctuary, and the world’s largest tiger reserve. Dr. Rabinowitz has authored nearly eighty scientific and popular articles and six other books, including Jaguar: One Man’s Struggle to Establish the First Jaguar Preserve (1986/ 2000), Chasing the Dragon’s Tail: The Struggle to Save Thailand’s Wild Cats (1991/ 2002), Beyond the Last Village: A Journey of Discovery in Asia’s Forbidden Wilderness (2001), and, most recently, Life in the Valley of Death: The fight to save tigers in a land of guns, gold, and greed (2008). He has been profiled in The New York Times, Scientific American, Audubon, Men’s Journal, Outside, Explorer, The Jerusalem Report, and National Geographic Adventure Magazine, and is the subject of an acclaimed PBS/National Geographic television special, “In Search of the Jaguar.” Dr. Rabinowitz’s goal in life is to find and survey the world’s last wild places, with the intention of saving as much land in protected areas as he can and securing homes for some of the world’s most endangered large mammals. Dr. Rabinowitz’s most recent projects include creating biological and genetic corridors for jaguars and tigers.