Luke Hunter
Encyclopedia
Luke Hunter is an Australia
n biologist
and is the President of Panthera Corporation
, a New York
-based conservation
charity he helped to create in 2006 which is dedicated to the range-wide conservation of the world’s wild cat species.
Prior to that, he headed the Great Cats Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society
, and held positions at universities in Australia and South Africa
. Hunter has worked on the ecology and conservation
of carnivores in Africa
since 1992. His doctorate and post-doctoral research developed methods to re-establish populations of cheetah
s and lion
s in areas where they had been extirpated from Southern Africa. His current projects include assessing the effects of sport hunting and illegal persecution on leopard
s outside protected areas, developing a conservation strategy for lions across their African range, and the first intensive study of Persian leopard
s, striped hyaenas, wolves and the last surviving Asiatic cheetahs in Iran
. Hunter has contributed to 80 scientific papers and popular articles, and has written five books. He is working on his sixth book; A Field Guide to Carnivores of the World.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
and is the President of Panthera Corporation
Panthera Corporation
Panthera Corporation is a charity organization devoted to preserving big cats and their ecosystems around the globe. Founded in 2006, Panthera focuses its efforts on conservation of the world’s largest, most imperiled cats—tigers, lions, jaguars and snow leopards—while also developing conservation...
, a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
charity he helped to create in 2006 which is dedicated to the range-wide conservation of the world’s wild cat species.
Prior to that, he headed the Great Cats Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
, and held positions at universities in Australia and South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Hunter has worked on the ecology and conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
of carnivores in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
since 1992. His doctorate and post-doctoral research developed methods to re-establish populations of cheetah
Cheetah
The cheetah is a large-sized feline inhabiting most of Africa and parts of the Middle East. The cheetah is the only extant member of the genus Acinonyx, most notable for modifications in the species' paws...
s and lion
Lion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s in areas where they had been extirpated from Southern Africa. His current projects include assessing the effects of sport hunting and illegal persecution on leopard
Leopard
The leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera, the other three being the tiger, lion, and jaguar. The leopard was once distributed across eastern and southern Asia and Africa, from Siberia to South Africa, but its...
s outside protected areas, developing a conservation strategy for lions across their African range, and the first intensive study of Persian leopard
Persian Leopard
The Persian leopard , also called Caucasian leopard, is the largest leopard subspecies, and is native to eastern Turkey, the Caucasus mountains, northern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, and parts of western Afghanistan...
s, striped hyaenas, wolves and the last surviving Asiatic cheetahs in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Hunter has contributed to 80 scientific papers and popular articles, and has written five books. He is working on his sixth book; A Field Guide to Carnivores of the World.