The lions, leopards, and cheetahs could be thanking you right now

Join our Big Cats Initiative.

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Dear Friend Of National Geographic, Lions, leopards, cheetahs, and other big cats are being protected from extinction today thanks to caring National Geographic supporters. Friend Of National Geographic, I hope you will consider joining us in our important work to save these magnificent big cats by making your tax-deductible contribution online today. This special partnership has made a real difference in reducing the threats to big cats and halting the decline of big cat populations. In fact, because of the generosity of people like you, the pilot big cat conservation programs undertaken by our grantees are now being extended across Africa and into Asia, and will potentially save many more wild cats. For instance, the work of our Big Cats Initiative grantees in the field shows that stopping retaliatory killings – which occur when a herder kills a lion or other big cat after an attack on his livestock – is one of the surest ways to ensure a vital future for these threatened felines. Your gift today will help us save big cats by: Building more protective corrals to keep livestock safe through the night. Some areas call these bomas, living walls, or kraals. The latest effort is underway in the Zambezi Region of Namibia, where one of our grantees hopes to build 29 more "living-wall" kraals with local manketti trees. These sustainable, lion-proof enclosures combine environmentally appropriate trees with strong fencing. They keep an entire herd safe all night. Your contribution helps provide the materials, and local community members provide the labor. As long as the herds are safe, so are the local lions. Growing the guardian dog program. Pilot projects in Namibia have shown just how effective well-trained dogs can be in stopping big cat predation when cows and goats are grazing. With your help, our grantees are using dogs to do this work in East Africa. Our partners start training the dogs as puppies, and then work with a local herder family to learn to properly care for and continue the puppy's training that includes spending every moment with the herd. In instances where we have partnered with our grantees to initiate one or both of these efforts, big cat killings have dropped significantly – in some areas, to zero. Friend Of National Geographic, please help provide more kraals, dogs, and other low-cost, sustainable efforts to save lions and other big cats. Make your special gift online today. Your generosity will also help our grantees expand the innovative Lion Guardian program into the Pawaga area of the Ruaha region in Tanzania as well as in communities north of Tarangire National Park. Lion Guardians protect big cats against the other big threat they face – poachers. Young warriors from local tribes, some of whom once hunted big cats themselves, now use their training and tracking abilities to save them by locating poachers and notifying the authorities. They also work with the local herders to alert them to big cats near their herds. These brave individuals are not only on the front lines of protecting lions and other big cats, but they also become lion ambassadors back in their villages. They help educate their community about the value big cats have to them. Friend Of National Geographic, you can help reverse the course that had lions and other big cats heading toward extinction. I hope you'll do what you can to help bring these proven programs into regions where big cats roam. Please make as generous a donation as you possibly can today. Every dollar you give really helps. Our window is now, not only to save lions today, but also to help restore big cat populations across multiple continents for the future. Friend Of National Geographic, please act now. On behalf of the lions, leopards, cheetahs, and other big cats that you will save, THANK YOU! Sincerely, Sarah Festa Stallings Director, Annual Giving P.S. Please show what lions, cheetahs, leopards, and other big cats mean to you by making your tax-deductible gift online now. Thank you! Photos by Michael Nichols Did you know? The National Geographic Society is a nonprofit organization that relies on the generous contributions of individuals to help us inspire people to care about the planet. All donations support National Geographic's core programs, including scientific research expeditions, education initiatives, public programs, and the exploration behind stories in National Geographic magazine, on the National Geographic Channel, and other media. Through our work, we help others learn and care about our world, and take action to protect it. Your donation helps us expand our efforts to fund the world's top and emerging scientists, explorers, photographers, and storytellers to discover long-sought answers about our past and solutions to guide our future. The National Geographic Society is a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt organization. You are receiving this email because ignoble.experiment@arconati.us is signed up to receive National Geographic communications. If you prefer not to receive emails from us, please unsubscribe. To ensure that you receive your National Geographic emails, please add ngs@e.nationalgeographic.com to your address book now. Learn how. Contact Us | About Us | NGS Customer Service | Privacy Policy National Geographic | 1145 17th Street N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20036 Copyright © 2015 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.