• Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
S.P.E.C.I.E.S.
  • Who We Are
    • Our Mission
    • Why Carnivores?
    • People
    • Where We Work
  • What We Do
    • California Carnivores
    • Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project
    • Trinidad Ocelot Project
    • Cameras4Conservation
    • ConservationFIT
    • Snow Leopards in Api Nampa
    • Sri Lankan Carnivore Project
    • Project Neofelis
  • Stories
    • Activities & Events
    • News
    • Perspectives
    • Meet The Carnivores
    • Project Updates
  • Get Involved
    • Support Us
    • Newsletter
    • Opportunities
    • Partners
    • Contact
  • Shop
  • Donate
  • 0Shopping Cart

Conservation FIT

Carnivores are among the most challenging species to survey in their natural habitat.  Cryptic behavior, low population densities, and frequently nocturnal activity patterns are among the biggest obstacles to monitoring.  Technological advances in noninvasive sampling, such as camera-traps and genetics, have proven remarkably effective on carnivores.  However, these approaches are frequently not a core part of government-sponsored, long-term survey efforts for many nations where they are most needed.  A lack of specialized scientific capacity for processing samples and analyzing data, high equipment and service costs, and a general lack of long-term equipment longevity in the field often present obstacles to self-sustaining programs of this nature in developing countries.

Tracks of a large male jaguar walking along a road in the Mbaracayu Biosphere Reserve of eastern Paraguay. This protected area contains the largest continuous track of Upper Parana Atlantic Forest in the country, of which the reddish-brown soil depicted here is typical.

Old tracks of a juvenile jaguar in the northern Dry Gran Chaco. These were found alongside the tracks of its mother in a very remote part of northern Paraguay.

In contrast, the use of track surveys and transects, which are low cost and relatively easy to implement, have historically been scientifically unreliable in assessing long-term trends in the conservation status of carnivores.  This has largely been due to an inability to confidently differentiate among the individual animals leaving tracks behind.  However, the recent development of a technique relying on digital imaging may be changing all of that.  Use of an approach called FIT (Footprint Identification Technique), a novel, algorithm-based method, is showing promise in confidently distinguishing among individuals.  Specifically, the method relies on the natural variation in the size and shape of the footpad of a species. When used in combination with the latest tools for characterizing population trends, this can have tremendous implications for the development of widespread, cost-effective standards for monitoring threatened and endangered carnivores.

Maned wolf tracks in hardened mud on Humid Chaco river bank. Maned wolf tracks have an amazing symmetry to them and are very distinctive from the tracks of both smaller foxes and larger or similar-sized domestic dogs.

Tracks of a fishing cat on the banks of a Beel in the Haor region of Sylhet, Bangladesh. Unlike nearly all other felids, the tracks of fishing cats quite frequently display the claws (not here) in a manner more characteristic of dogs.

Project Goals

To effectively implement this approach, it is first necessary to develop a reference collection of foot measurements from several dozen individuals of a species.  

In full partnership with WildTrack, the goal of the program is to begin assembly of reference collections for several high priority carnivore species, including cheetahs, African wild dogs, jaguars, snow leopards, and Amur leopards.  We are now partnering with a number of zoological institutions and captive husbandry facilities to develop these reference collections and test their accuracy in the field on free-ranging populations.  We are also hosting workshops for zoo staff, wildlife managers, and conservation biologists on how to properly record data for assembling reference collections, and use these databases to monitor wildlife populations in a feasible, cost-effective manner.

Share this story
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Google+
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on Linkedin
  • Share on Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
  • California Carnivores
  • Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project
  • Trinidad Ocelot Project
  • Cameras4Conservation
  • ConservationFIT
  • Sri Lankan Carnivore Project
  • Snow Leopards in Api Nampa
  • Project Neofelis

Carnigram

Instagram did not return a 200.

Latest news

  • cats of the canopyCats of the CanopyNovember 20, 2017 - 8:53 pm

    As the smallest of the big cats, clouded leopards have fallen through the cracks of mainstream conservation efforts. Because they have been overshadowed by other charismatic Asian megafauna, very little is known about their status on local or even regional scales. However, it is precisely their unique ecological and evolutionary characteristics that make clouded leopards […]

  • Can Taiwan’s Formosan clouded leopard claw its way back from extinction?November 20, 2017 - 8:32 pm

    Today, 2 species of clouded leopard roam throughout Asia: Neofelis nebulosa (clouded leopard), and Neofelis diardi (the Sunda clouded leopard). These species are rarely glimpsed in the wild, and are now at risk of extinction. Indeed, only 4 years ago, a third type of clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa brachyura (the Formosan clouded leopard), was declared […]

  • A little cat goes a long waySeptember 19, 2017 - 7:53 pm

    Jaguarundis have the second-greatest north-south distribution of any wild cat in the Americas. They have historically been known to range from Argentina all the way to Arizona. However, as no one has ever photographed a wild jaguarundi  in Arizona, the question remains – are they actually there? “The jaguarundi, for me, represents a big mystery,” says Giordano. […]

Categories

  • a
  • Activities & Events
  • In The Spotlight
  • Meet The Carnivores
  • Newsletter Archive
  • Perspectives
  • Project Updates
  • Publications
  • Resources
  • SPECIES in the news
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • June 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • September 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • April 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • October 2015
  • January 2012
  • November 2010

INFO

  • Home
  • What We Do
  • Where We Work
  • Stories

PROJECTS

  • Chaco Jaguar Conservation Project
  • Trinidad Ocelot Project
  • Cameras4Conservation
  • ConservationFIT

STORIES

  • News
  • The Carnivores
  • Updates

CONTACT

  • Donate
  • Contact
  • Get Involved
Friends: Editing service
© Copyright - S.P.E.C.I.E.S. All rights reserved / Photos are © SPECIES, our partners, or part of the creative commons
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
Scroll to top