Born and raised in Melbourne , Luke Hunter is the Executive Director of the New-York based Panthera Foundation, formed in 2006 to conserve the world's 36 species of wild cats. Prior to that, he spent 5 years with the Wildlife Conservation Society heading their Great Cats Program . Hunter has conducted fieldwork on large cats in Africa since 1992, focusing on efforts to restore species to areas of their former range. His doctorate examined the behavior and ecology of reintroduced cheetahs and lions in South Africa , and evaluated the effectiveness of reintroduction as a tool to re-establish populations of large cats. His current projects include assessing the effects of sport hunting and illegal persecution on leopards outside protected areas, developing a conservation strategy for the African lion across its continental range, and the first intensive study of wolves, striped hyaenas, Persian leopards and the last surviving Asiatic cheetahs in Iran . Hunter has contributed to 80 scientific papers and popular articles, and has written five books including two titles on cheetahs and one on the 10 species of cats in Africa . He is working on his 6th book, a field guide to all the carnivore species of the world.

Dinner is open to all interested in the conservation of the big cats of the world and conservation.

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