A few days ago, as part of the Big Cats Initiative (a National Geographic project), we were surprised by the news that a documentary by well-known wild big cat researchers appealed to cat lovers to contribute to the preservation of their larger cousins.
What will we see in the documentary?
In their latest documentary, "Into the Wild: The Jouberts," Beverly and Dereck Joubert invite us to see the similarities between cats and their relatives.
To do this, they follow the wanderings and prowling of Smokey, the tabby (cat) of a neighbor of the Jouberts. They have filmed him as they do with big cats. The documentary shows Smokey doing everything cats do. Something extraordinarily similar, in their opinion, to what their feline cousins do: eating, grooming, sleeping, occasionally bothering their kin, marking territory, training through play, courting... In short, being adorable.
It also talks about the differences between them and lions. Indeed, size is the first thing that strikes you. Besides, they are not as social as lions, but more similar to leopards. As a curious note, they tell us that cats are the only felines that truly purr, something whose purpose is not scientifically well understood (although as ARISTOPARENTS we are sure they do it when they feel cozy).
When is the documentary broadcast?
The documentary is broadcast as part of Big Cat Month, Nat Geo Wild's special programming this month to warn that most big cat species are among the most threatened animals on the planet (in total, there are 38 species of felines in the world). In fact, they are in such a dramatic spiral of disappearance that if we hesitate today about the actions to take, we will be responsible for their extinction worldwide. There are barely 20,000 lions left on the planet. And it is very likely that in 20 years they will no longer exist in the wild.
Who are the authors?
They are a celebrated and media-savvy South African couple, specialists in studying and filming wild big cats in an astonishingly close way. Especially lions. In fact, they have spent 35 years researching and observing lions, leopards, and cheetahs in the bush and savanna of Botswana and Kenya.
Both are explorers-in-residence for National Geographic. And, as we said, in their latest work they have taken an astonishing turn to compare the behavior of these animals with their small cousins, cats. They suggest, with great poetry, that "in the soul of the cat there is a big cat."
And you might be asking... Why are we talking about this on ARISTOPET?
To begin with, because we believe that in the heart of every ARISTOPARENT there is a lover of Mother Nature and of all the animals that inhabit the face of the earth. And because we believe that this project, due to its affinity, can touch many of us.
Part of the Jouberts' dream is to involve ARISTOCAT owners in the defense of big cats. Something they hope the documentary will help with. As they say, "there are 600 million cats in the world; if their owners financially helped to save the big cats with whom they share so much—lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars—of which there are fewer than a million, it would be a decisive gesture."
So, if after reading this article you want to know more or discover how you can do your bit to protect our cats' older cousins, visit Big Cats Initiative.
