LEOPARD CAT RESCUE: Thai Wildlife Officers Prepare Orphaned Cubs for Wild...

The Khon Kaen rescue center in northeastern Thailand has seen leopard cat admissions spike from about 10 per year before 2023 to between 40 and 65 annually, with more than 60 arriving just in the first eight months of 2026. Staff point to three drivers: habitat fragmentation, agricultural burning (a common field-clearing practice that peaks January through April), and wider use of a government wildlife hotline that lets farmers report distressed cubs. The center rehabilitates orphaned and injured kittens for eventual forest release, but faces a real constraint—camera traps can track some released animals, yet staff have no reliable way to measure survival rates once the cats leave.