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| Photo: Gil Ros |
Forget the black cat costume clich茅, this year trick-or-treaters sporting lynx masks or leopard spots are prowling for treats with a purpose.
National Geographic鈥檚 is encouraging kids to get involved in conservation this Halloween. Trick-or-treaters are collecting money to support conservation, education and public awareness projects, and economic incentive efforts that protect declining big cats (lions and tigers and leopards, oh my!) the world over.
The project鈥檚 website has posted some fantastic big cat (easily adaptable for Halloween partiers of all ages) as well as a Cat-O-Lantern craft, all great ways to get people talking about protecting our planet鈥檚 impressive felines.
These animals need more help now than ever before. There are now more tigers in captivity than in the wild, lions have declined by more than 90% in the last fifty years, and cheetahs have disappeared from more than 75% of their home range.
Want to help out? Don鈥檛 be stingy with visiting trick-or-treaters and you can visit the Big Cats Initiative website to learn more and make a donation. You can also download a , or grab a collection box at Pottery Barn Kids, participating schools, or National Geographic鈥檚 DC headquarters.
You can learn more about the plight of big cats in some of our previous posts on , , and .