The People & Predators Fund was developed in response to increasing concerns over the threatened global status of large carnivore populations. Given the worldwide growth in human population and the associated conversion of habitat as human populations move into predominantly untouched wildernesses, carnivores are increasingly at risk. Yet, the decline in carnivore numbers has progressed with little recognition by the global community.

The Fund was specifically created to help provide new conservation solutions for Africa’s large carnivores. While most past conservation efforts focused on the creation of protected areas to safeguard wildlife from people and vice-versa, the People & Predators Fund grew out of the realization that most protected areas are not large enough to protect genetically viable large carnivore populations, and therefore, the survival of Africa’s large carnivores depends upon the people utilizing land outside protected areas.

The mission of the People & Predators Fund is to conserve the Earth's wild carnivores, protect their habitats, and to promote human development through innovative, multidisciplinary strategies that emphasize coexistence with the natural world.