Conservation

The Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) is an environmental NGO and non-profit, founded in 2004 and based in the Western Cape, South Africa. Our mission is to protect leopards and leopard landscapes, and support coexistence between humans and wildlife, through collaborative research, conservation, education and strategic communications.

In tandem with pure scientific research, the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) also places a strong emphasis on people and on the practical application of our research findings. Conservation cannot be successful without conversation, and including people is integral to our actionable initiatives. Apart from sharing our findings with the scientific community and public, every effort is made to practically apply these findings to biodiversity conservation strategies that encourage coexistence between people and leopards.


Mitigating conflict between leopards and landowners

We recognise that farmer-predator conflict remains a highly emotive issue – both for those who lose livestock and those who are wholly opposed to destructive and indiscriminate methods of predator control. The interface between man and beast is a complex one – and adding to this complexity is that science and emotion often need to go hand in hand in finding solutions. By employing constructive solution-seeking strategies that include farmers and other affected parties, the CLT is committed to finding mitigating measures to the problems of human-wildlife conflicts in our study areas. We provide direct and indirect support to farmers who suffer stock losses, while using the opportunity to gather as much as possible data around these incidents. This outreach is complemented by our Farming with Nature workshops that promote holistic and sustainable farming practices (often held in partnership with other conservation entities), and an encompassing booklet focussed on human-wildlife conflict mitigation (download the booklet HERE).

The Mobi-kraal project ~ The CLT is committed to creating innovative and creative solutions to improve coexistence. Often, the most effective leopard-farmer conflict mitigation methods require changing the way livestock is managed, rather than trying to manage or control the predators. Predators are opportunistic hunters, and livestock are vulnerable to predation when they are readily available and easy to catch. One of the best ways to take livestock ‘off the menu’ is to place them in a predator-proof kraal overnight. After engaging with affected communities over many years, we recognised the need for an affordable and mobile kraal that can protect livestock and proactively prevent predation from occurring in the first place, and so the Mobi-kraal project was born. The aim of the Mobi-kraal was to develop, rigorously test, and share a freely available blueprint for a mobile kraal that is easy-to-use, predator-proof and scalable. This required a multi-stage, interdisciplinary and step-wise process and involved finding innovative perspectives and collaborating with many parties. Development of the Mobi-kraal is ongoing, and ultimately, this will be an important addition to the toolbox of proactive strategies that prevent livestock losses and will help enable farming alongside predators.

Tackling the snaring crisis head-on

Leading through action ~ The CLT has been instrumental in identifying illegal snare poaching as a major threat to biodiversity in the Western Cape. We conducted the first rigorous research into this problem in the province, which has produced a number of scientific papers. We have also produced numerous resources on the topic, all available from our Conservation Resources page.

We have spearheaded several initiatives to address the snaring crisis, including Snare Free, a multi-partnered Western Cape snare response plan with a dedicated hotline to report incidents of live animals caught in snares. We continue to be the implementing partner of Snare Free, providing assistance with snare patrols and training workshops, and aiming to conduct further research into long-term solutions.

Encouraging national dialogue about snaring

The CLT initiated and co-led the inaugural Snare Mitigation Symposium in 2023, a two-day national gathering that enabled experts to share specialised knowledge on the multifaceted aspects of snaring with a wide variety of stakeholders working across several sectors.

We also led on the establishment of the Snaring National Advisory Group (SNAG) – a collaborative, non-mandated network of organisations and individuals committed to addressing this urgent wildlife crisis across South Africa.

Safeguarding landscape connectivity

We’ve engaged in on-the-ground outreach within some of the predicted leopard movement pathways identified by our research. Protecting corridors isn’t just for the benefit of leopards, but for a whole ecosystem of smaller, often overlooked endemic fauna and flora. Engaging with landowners and collaborating with partner organisations is ultimately about more than securing ecological corridors – it is really about building bridges between people and nature. By fostering trust, shared knowledge and positive partnerships, we hope to demonstrate that conservation is a joint effort, where communication and connection are the most powerful tools for preserving nature.

  Conservation Pillar ~ Sustainable Development Goals

  • Goal 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
  • Goal 15 Life on Land
  • Goal 17 Partnerships for Goals

Help us achieve our Conservation goals and broaden our impact!

The Cape Leopard Trust is a non-governmental non-profit organisation fully reliant on financial support from the private and corporate sector. Much of our financial support comes from private donors, companies, charitable trusts, foundations, and businesses who support us in kind.

We are a registered Public Benefit Organisation, and donations made by companies or individuals are tax deductible and qualify for a Section 18A tax certificate.

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