These organizations were selected as the most suitable starting points for anyone who wants to go deeper — students, teachers, and enthusiasts alike. Each is a recognized authority on wild cats, wildlife, or conservation. Felids & Friends is not affiliated with any of them; the links below are offered purely as educational references, chosen because they publish reliable, well-sourced information and do the real, long-term work of studying and protecting animals. If a single page here sparks a lasting curiosity, these are the places that will feed it for years.
Wild Cat Science & Conservation
- IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group — the global scientific authority on all wild cat species. Its site hosts detailed profiles of every wild cat on Earth, from the familiar lion and tiger to obscure small cats most people have never heard of, along with the assessments that guide conservation worldwide.
- Felid Taxon Advisory Group (AZA) — coordinates the professional care and study of wild cats in accredited zoos and institutions across North America, setting husbandry standards and managing cooperative breeding for threatened species.
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — the definitive, continually updated record of each species' conservation status, from Least Concern to Critically Endangered. It is the single best place to check how any animal is faring in the wild.
Species & Regional Groups
- Snow Leopard Trust — community-based conservation for the elusive snow leopard of High Asia, working directly with the herding communities who share the cat's mountain range.
- Cheetah Conservation Fund — research, education, and habitat protection for the world's fastest land animal, a cat facing a genetic bottleneck and shrinking range.
- Florida Panther Society — long-running advocacy for one of North America's rarest cats, and a good local starting point for the wildlife closest to this site's Florida roots.
Broader Wildlife Reference
- Mammal Species of the World — a standard taxonomic reference for mammals, useful for settling questions about how species are classified and named.
- Your state or regional wildlife agency — the authority for local species, regulations, injured-wildlife hotlines, and practical advice on coexisting with the wild neighbors near you. When in doubt about a wild animal in your area, start there.
Keep Exploring
New to the site? Begin with Dija Know? for quick felid facts, dig into Big Cats vs Little Cats for the biology, or read about the animals that lived here on the Residents page. The more you learn, the more the wild world rewards your attention — and the more reason you'll have to help keep it wild.