Saving the World's Big Cats

National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert, who have worked on conservation efforts in Africa for over 25 years, appeared on the Today Show this morning to announce the launch of the Big Cats Initiative, a campaign to rally public support for protecting lions, leopards, and other large feline species in the wild. "In 50 years," said Beverly, "we've gone from 450,000 lions down to 20,000. That is drastic, so we have to take action."

To learn more about the effort, and how you can help, visit National Geographic's Blog Wild. And read more about the Joubert's efforts with the Maasailand Preservation Trust here. Donate to the Big Cats Initiative here.