UNI's beloved mascot, "TC", fully supports National Geographic’s Big Cats Initiative! Big Cats is an action committed to saving lions, tigers, panthers (like "TC"), leopards, jaguars, and other big cats in the wild. The goal of the initiative is the long-term survival of big cats by reducing threats, such as poaching and snaring, keeping the peace between cats and local farmers, and community outreach and engagement. Various projects that make up the Big Cats Initiative include “Conserving Snow Leopards in Pakistan”, “Carnivore Research and Conservation”, and “Combating Lion Snaring and Poaching”. The Big Cats Initiative is a great resource when teaching students about conservation and/or human-environment interaction, and can also be used as a class fundraising project to show students that they can make a difference in the world. For more examples on how to use the Big Cats Initiative in the classroom, click here.