CONSERVATION & ZOOLOGY

The Project Survival's Cat Haven is a privately founded education and conservation organization which has been open to the public since May of 1998. It houses numerous wild cat species of which the rarest is the Amur leopard (panthera pardus orientalis). It must be said that it is not the goal of the Cat Haven to establish a collection of wild cats simply for its own sake, but to house cats for purposeful education and limited breeding. This means that the facility must act as a springboard to engage people's support in range country conservation. To achieve this the staff  created Project Survival, Cat Conservation Group in 1997, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization which acts as a fundraising vehicle to support  wild cat specialists working in situ. Since its inception in 1997 Project Survival has obtained grants, equipment and funding for projects in South Africa, Brazil, Paraguay, Thailand, Far East Russia, Botswana and the Himalayas .

The Cat Haven participates in the International Species Inventory System (ISIS) and works with studbook keepers. The staff are individual members of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association (AZA) as well as the American Association of ZooKeepers (AAZK).  They attend annual meetings of the AZA, the Paraguayan Conservation Action Partnership (formerly the Fauna Interest Group) and the Felid Taxon Advisory Group.

The Cat Haven is not a rescue facility. Resident cats have been carefully chosen to be part of the educational and limited breeding programs. This principally takes the form of guided tours with trained docents (the cats are separated from the public in natural habitat exhibits). Additional in-door activities are provided for school field trips in a well-equipped education center. The Cat Haven also runs an outreach program, delivering lectures off-site. These may, on occasion, be accompanied by visiting cat ambassadors. Again, the public does not come into contact with the cats.

Plans exist to develop limited captive breeding programs where there is a clear need from the standpoint of conservation. The Cat Haven takes a particular interest in jaguars which are seen in relatively few U.S. zoos. Of those currently held in captivity in this country only three are of known-origin. Both the Cat Haven and Project Survival are involved in the development of major long-term support for jaguar conservation. (For more information the 'Protect the Jaguar' endowment program, please review the Project Survival page).

For further information, please contact the office at (559) 338-3216.