Partners
Network of conservationists and researchers
Cindy Hurtado 🇵🇪
Co-coordinator of the PCWG and Founder of the Peruvian Desert Cat Project
Biography
PhD in Forest Resources Management from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and Mesocarnivore Specialist for the Government of British Columbia. Her research focuses on the ecology and conservation of large mammals, with an emphasis on carnivores. She has experience in project management, fundraising, and the collection and analysis of ecological data. For her doctoral thesis, she assessed the persistence and connectivity of carnivores in the dry forests of southern Ecuador and northern Peru. She has published her studies in several peer-reviewed journals
Alvaro García 🇵🇪
Co-coordinator of the PCWG and Founder of the Peruvian Desert Cat Project
Biography
Biologist from the National University of Piura, Peru, and MSc in Ecology and Conservation from the State University of Santa Cruz, Brazil. He is the founder and Principal Investigator of the Sustainable Biodiversity Research Center – BioS, where he develops and manages projects focused on the ecology and conservation of large mammals. He has experience with a wide range of techniques for mammal assessment, including the use of camera traps, mist nets, capture and immobilization, telemetry, and censuses. Additionally, he has experience in environmental education, fundraising, and project management. He has published his research in peer-reviewed journals.
Cristian Barros 🇪🇨
Founder and President of Japu Foundation
Biography
Biologist with a Specialization in Sustainability and Conservation Planning, with extensive research experience in terrestrial ecosystems. To date, he has authored seven scientific articles and co-authored two, as well as written one book and edited another. His expertise includes camera trapping, spatial analysis, the use of SMART, and the implementation of conservation and sustainability projects. He is the founder and president of the JAPU Foundation, with strong skills in leadership, project management, and international collaboration.
Pedro Heredia 🇵🇪
Founder of the Milpuj Privade Conservation Area
Biography
Industrial Engineer from Lima, residing in the Amazonas Region since 2001. He is a recognized Environmental Leader, founder and manager of the Milpuj Conservation Area, as well as Founder and Director of RED AMA, the largest network of voluntary conservation in the Amazonas Region of Peru.
From 2011 to 2015, he worked as an environmental consultant for the Peruvian Amazon Research Institute (IIAP) and the NGO Nature and Culture International (NCI), participating in the creation of new Conservation Areas, sustainable productive projects, and eco-friendly businesses.
Currently, he is involved in tourism, biological research, ecosystem restoration, and the consolidation of RED AMA.
Merinia Mendoza 🇵🇪
Founder of the Quechua Women for Conservation
Biography
Biologist with a M. Sc in Environmental Management and Biodiversity from the National University of San Cristóbal de Huamanga, Ayacucho, Peru. She is the founder of the Quechua Women for Conservation Group, an organization that empowers Andean women in feline conservation. Passionate and dedicated to wildlife, she has a strong interest in mammals and the conservation of Andean felids. She has experience using radio collars for telemetry and camera traps, as well as in environmental education. Her expertise includes studies on small, medium, and large mammals, focusing on both taxonomy and ecology. She is skilled in using applications like Epicollect5 and programs like QGIS for improved wildlife data management. Additionally, she can engage with Quechua-speaking communities to promote wildlife conservation.
Gabriel Llerena 🇵🇪
Founder of Pro-Carnivoros
Biography
Conservation biologist from the National University of San Agustín Arequipa, Peru, with specialized studies at the University of Oxford, UK, and currently pursuing a master’s degree at the National University of San Antonio de Abad del Cusco, Peru. He has experience in the design, planning, and execution of biodiversity research and conservation projects at both national and international levels. He works as an independent consultant on biodiversity-related topics, environmental impact assessments, biological monitoring, and conservation planning. His areas of interest include human-wildlife conflict, conservation areas, illegal wildlife trade, population ecology of high Andean ecosystems, and sustainable development.
Patricio Muñoz 🇨🇱
Co-Founder of Con Garra
Biography
Sociologist and co-founder of Fundación Con Garra, a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and implementing strategies to mitigate threats affecting the seven native wild cat species found in Chile (Leopardus colocola, Leopardus garleppi, Leopardus geoffroyi, Leopardus guigna, Leopardus jacobita, Leopardus pajeros, and Puma concolor). His work has focused on fostering human–wild cat coexistence, leading conservation efforts throughout the country. He is a member of the Pampas Cat Working Group, Geoffroy’s Cat Working Group, and Guiña Working Group. He also serves as a mentor for the Green List certification system for Protected and Conserved Areas in Chile (Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park)
Carlos Castro 🇨🇱
Founder of Colocolo Project
Biography
Veterinarian from the University of Concepción with a M.Sc in Ecology from the Austral University of Chile. Currently working as an environmental consultant in Chile, specializing in wildlife. He has published over 10 scientific articles on various vertebrate taxa, with a particular interest in mammals. He currently leads the Colocolo Project in the Maule Region, Chile, which aims to gather basic ecological information on the colocolo cat and support its conservation by mitigating human-carnivore conflicts through guidance and support in Mapuche hen production. Passionate about music, especially power metal.
Mauro Lucherini 🇦🇷
Principal Investigator of INBIOSUR, Universidad Nacional del Sur
Biography
Ph.D. in Animal Biology from the Università di Siena, Italy, co-founder of the Andean Cat Alliance and of the Mammal Behavioral Ecology Group (National University of the South, Argentina). His research focuses on carnivore conservation biology and human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Over the past 35 years, he has worked with 11 Neotropical carnivore species and authored or co-authored more than 80 scientific articles.
Soledad Albanese 🇦🇷
Founder of Felinos de Tierras Secas Project
Biography
She is a Research Assistant of CONICET. Biologist from the University of Buenos Aires, with research focused on the population ecology of mammals in arid regions. During my Ph.D. and postdoctoral studies, I investigated the ecological and reproductive strategies influencing the population dynamics of the long-tailed fat-tailed opossum, a small desert marsupial. Currently, I work with small marsupials and felids, aiming to identify both human-induced and natural factors affecting their ecology in extreme and human-altered environments. Our projects contribute to species conservation and the mitigation of human activities’ impact on their natural habitat. Additionally, I am a member of the Geoffroy’s Cat Working Group and participate in the management of the Ñacuñan Biosphere Reserve, a protected area in Mendoza, Argentina.
Thamara Fariñas 🇦🇷
Founder of the Gatos Bravos Project
Biography
Originally from Costa Rica, she has been based in Argentina since 2010. She completed her undergraduate studies at the National University of La Plata, Buenos Aires, and later earned her PhD in the province of La Rioja, where she currently works. Since 2017, her research has focused on the wildlife of this province, and since 2023, it has been specifically dedicated to the study of distribution, diversity, and conservation of carnivores, particularly native wild cats. She is currently a member of the Geoffroy’s Cat and Pampas Cat Working Group, and serves as the regional delegate for Argentina for the Wild Felid Monitor (WFA).
Paola Nogales 🇧🇴
Founder of the Bolivian Feline Research Program - PIF
Biography
She is an Associate Researcher at the National Museum of Natural History of Bolivia.
Biologist working with Neotropical felids, from the large jaguar (Panthera onca) to the small oncilla (Leopardus tigrinus). Her work focuses on implementing conservation actions, such as promoting behavior change, encouraging coexistence between human activities and wild cats (conflict mitigation), and using genetics as a tool to enhance conservation efforts.
Viviana Albarracín 🇧🇴
Founder of the Jukumari Conservation Program
Biography
Research Assistant a the National Museum of Natural History. Environmental and Ecology Engineer with a Master’s degree in Ecology and Conservation and a Diploma in Geographic Information Systems Applied to the Environment. Her main area of interest and projects have focused on the research and conservation of the Andean bear and other related species whose habitats are heavily impacted by human activities, such us small wild cats. Throughout her career, she has been involved in Protected Area Management and has participated in projects on monitoring, environmental outreach, perception, valuation of communities’ ecological knowledge, and human interactions with the Andean bear, puma, and the Andean deer “Taruka”, among others
Flavia Tirelli 🇧🇷
Coordinator of the Geoffrey's Cat Working Group
Biography
Biologist from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, with a Master’s degree in Animal Biology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and a PhD in Zoology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, including a sandwich doctorate at the University of Oxford. She has experience in the ecology and conservation of carnivorous mammals, especially felids. Flávia is a member of the Instituto Pro-Carnívoros, the Instituto Curicaca, and the Small Felid Action Plan. She also serves as the taxon coordinator (Felidae) for assessing the conservation status of Brazilian carnivores (CENAP-ICMBio). She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Brazilian Society of Mastozoology (2021–2024) and the IUCN Cat Specialist Group.
Tadeu de Oliveira 🇧🇷
Coordinator of the Tiger Cat Conservation Initiative
Biography
PhD in Wildlife Management from the University of Florida, USA, Professor at the State University of Maranhão, Brazil, and researcher at the Instituto Pró-Carnívoros. His main interests are the ecology, conservation, and natural history of felids, other carnivores, and endangered species. He currently leads a long-term, continent-wide conservation program for small Neotropical wild cats: the Wild Cats Americas Conservation Program, which carries out conservation actions, population monitoring, status assessments, and studies to better understand their ecology and natural history.
Marina Favarini 🇧🇷
Founder of the Felinos do Pampa Project
Biography
Biologist with a Master’s degree in Zoology from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She is currently pursuing a PhD in the Graduate Program in Animal Biology at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, working in the Laboratory of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology of Birds and Mammals (BIMA-Lab). She is a member of Instituto Pró-Carnívoros and also part of the Geoffroy’s Cat Working Group, the Tiger Cat Conservation Initiative (TCCI), and the Ocelot Working Group. She is one of the founders of the Pampa Felinos Project, where she coordinates conservation and research efforts focused on small wild cats and their habitat in the Pampa biome.
Felipe Peters 
Founder of the Felinos do Pampa Project
Biography
Biologist from the Lutheran University of Brazil, currently a doctoral student in the Graduate Program in Animal Biology at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He currently works in the Laboratory of Evolution, Systematics, and Ecology of Birds and Mammals (BIMA-Lab). He is a member of Instituto Pró-Carnívoros, the Geoffroy’s Cat Working Group, the Tiger Cat Conservation Initiative (TCCI), and the Ocelot Working Group. He is one of the founders of the Pampa Felinos Project, where he coordinates conservation and research actions focused on small wild cats and their habitat in the Pampa biome.
Santiago Turcatti 🇺🇾
Co-coordinator and Founder of the Peruvian Desert Cat Project
Biography
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Chiara Correa 🇵🇾
Co-coordinator and Founder of the Peruvian Desert Cat Project
Biography
From a young age, Chiara showed a deep connection with nature. After years of volunteering, she studied Early Childhood Education in Paraguay. While traveling to indigenous and rural communities, she understood the severe ecological and cultural losses. She decided to study Biology at USFQ, specializing in Biodiversity and Conservation. For the past eight years, she has worked in NGOs, empowering youth in conservation, supporting community tourism, and collaborating in creating ecological corridors. She was the Chocó Lab manager at Canandé Reserve and Resident Biologist at Mashpi Lodge, where she learned about telemetry with pumas and long-term wildlife monitoring. Currently, she is pursuing a master’s in GIS at the University of Salzburg and leads biological monitoring and connectivity projects. She is a forest activist, and her free time is dedicated to orchids and nature photography.
Jim Sanderson 🇺🇸
Founder of the Small Wild Cat Conservaton Foundation
Biography
PhD Wildlife Conservation from the University of Florida, USA He is the founder and director of the Small Wild Cat Conservation Foundation, a member of the IUCN Cat Specialist Group, a review board member of the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, and a fellow of Wildlife Conservation Network. Jim’s mission is to ensure the survival of small wild cats and their natural habitats worldwide. This mission is achieved by working with local partners around the world to identify and mitigate threats to the world’s small wild cats. In 1996 Jim used radio-telemetry to better understand habitat fragmentation and landscape connectivity, and conservation issues of Guignas (Leopardus guigna) in Chile. Bolivian and Chilean colleagues and Jim captured and radio-collared the first Andean cat in May, 2004. He has written four books and published more than 120 peer-reviewed journal articles
Luis Roman
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Biography
PhD in Forest Resources Management from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and Mesocarnivore Specialist for the Government of British Columbia. Her research focuses on the ecology and conservation of large mammals, with an emphasis on carnivores. She has experience in project management, fundraising, and the collection and analysis of ecological data. For her doctoral thesis, she assessed the persistence and connectivity of carnivores in the dry forests of southern Ecuador and northern Peru. She has published her studies in several peer-reviewed journals