01Captive image · Zoo-EV volunteer
One family. A world of difference.
40 Wild Cats.
One World.
Meet the remarkable cats who share our planet—and discover why every one of them matters.
Begin exploringSnow leopard · Wild image
01 / 07
The world you thought you knew
Most people can name five wild cats. There are eight times that many waiting to be discovered.
Lions and tigers may be famous. But the wild cat family also includes tiny desert hunters, wetland specialists, cloud-forest acrobats, and mountain ghosts.
Zoo-EV brings their stories together—clearly, truthfully, and with the belief that wonder is where participation begins.
Captive images · Zoo-EV volunteer
40/41
A living scientific story
So… are there really 40 wild cats?
“40 Wild Cats” is our enduring public framework—not a claim that every authority uses the same total.
Start somewhere unexpected
Meet the cats
01Captive image · Zoo-EV volunteer
02Captive image · Zoo-EV volunteer
03Captive image · Zoo-EV volunteerUse the complete Species Explorer to filter all 41 entries by region, habitat, size, conservation status, and behavior—then open any cat’s full story.
04 / 07
The conservation funding gap
Fame follows seven cats.
Funding follows fame.
7The familiar seven33The overlooked thirty-three
Captive photography · Zoo-EV volunteer
7
The familiar sevenTiger · Lion · Leopard · Cheetah · Jaguar · Snow leopard · Puma
33
The overlooked thirty-threeSmaller, elusive species competing for visibility, baseline research, and sustained conservation support.
Conservation attention is not distributed evenly across the wild-cat family. The most recognizable species dominate documentaries, tourism, campaigns, and public awareness. Many of the others remain out of sight—and out of funding.
The 7 / 33 comparison is Zoo-EV’s awareness framework—not a claim that conservation funding divides in that exact ratio. A future funding analysis will publish its methods and sources alongside its findings.
05 / 07
More than cats
Protect the cat.
Protect the world around it.
Wild cats need functioning landscapes: intact habitat, healthy prey populations, clean water, and room to move. Protecting those conditions can benefit entire communities of plants, animals, and people.
The cat may be the reason someone first pays attention. The living system around it is the larger story.
HabitatConnected landscapes instead of isolated fragments.
WildlifeProtection that reaches far beyond a single species.
PeopleCoexistence grounded in local knowledge and livelihoods.
Photography · Zoo-EV volunteer
06 / 07
From discovery to significance
“People protect what they have first been given the chance to know.”
Stories lead with the animal, reveal the larger reality, and leave the reader with agency—not despair.
Read the storiesPallas’s cat · Captive image · Zoo-EV volunteer
What Zoo-EV does
Turn overlooked cats into visible conservation priorities.
How the work takes shape
01RevealIntroduce people to the cats almost no one knows.
02ConnectShow why their survival matters to habitats, wildlife, and communities.
03SupportDirect participation toward research, coexistence, habitat, and local conservation capacity.
04ReportBring results, evidence, and the people doing the work back into view.
07 / 07
40 Wild Cats. One Mission.
There is a place for you in this story.
Learn. Share. Support field conservation. Help more people meet the wild cats they never knew existed.
Participate with a gift Give fee-free through PayPal Giving Fund See every way to participate
The direct option is the simplest route. PayPal Giving Fund avoids transaction fees but opens a separate PayPal-hosted charity page.
Puma · Captive image · Zoo-EV volunteer