The Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) is a small but impactful environmental NGO and non-profit based in the Western Cape.
Our vision is a South Africa where leopards thrive for the benefit of nature and society. This vision was borne from the conviction that robust landscapes, able to support top predators like leopards, are infinitely better off than those that cannot. We believe this to be true not only from a purely ecological perspective, but also from cultural and anthropological standpoints.
Why leopards?
Leopards are a keystone species that play a crucial role in maintaining the structure of their ecological communities. As apex predators, they have a major effect on the functioning and diversity of their environment. Without them, the ecosystem where they occur would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether.
Simultaneously they are a flagship species with symbolic and cultural value to society. Leopards are well-known, charismatic, and iconic, and can be used to promote awareness and rally support for the protection of their whole ecosystem. Conservation efforts focused on the persistence of leopard populations (which include preserving their habitat and prey species) also benefit other species and ecosystem processes, making them an umbrella species for wider biodiversity conservation.
The leopard is the last big predator and last member of the Big 5 to still roam free in the Western Cape. The species faces multiple threats, including loss, change, and fragmentation of limited habitat; vulnerability of their prey due to poaching and environmental change; and high levels of conflict with people.
Our Mission
The Cape Leopard Trust’s mission is to protect leopards and leopard landscapes, and support coexistence between humans and wildlife, through collaborative research, conservation, education and strategic communications. We follow an integrated approach where these pillars are being collectively harnessed towards the holistic goal of ensuring the continued persistence of leopards in the province and beyond.
The Cape Leopard Trust’s journey began in 2004 with one man and a purpose to understand and protect a highly persecuted big cat. Since then, we have evolved into a focused and specialised organisation, at the forefront of innovative scientific research, creative environmental education, and applied conservation. Today we consist of a core team of permanent staff and post-graduate students, supported by a Board of Trustees and Scientific Advisory Board.
Our Theory of Change
From humble beginnings, the CLT has earned a reputation as a respected conservation group working across the Western Cape and beyond, managing projects with local and international partners, and contributing to leopard management policy, advocating for these wide-ranging cats that survive in only a fraction of their historical range.
Our Cape Leopard Trust Theory of Change maps the how and why of our desired outcomes, serving as a blueprint for planning, implementing, and evaluating our projects.
A pdf version of our Theory of Change can be accessed HERE.
Our Model for Success
The CLT prides itself on being a small organisation with a big vision that we work tirelessly to accomplish with the help of countless supporters. Collaborations and partnerships with like-minded organisations, healthy relationships with private landowners and transparent relations with funders, donors and sponsors have shaped our ethos, and we will continue to build on this strong foundation into the future. Our Model for Success depicts what we consider to be the guiding principles that enable our organisation to make meaningful contributions and maintain a positive team spirit.
Our impacts
The Cape Leopard Trust strives to make impactful contributions that translates into real-world benefits for nature and people. Some examples include:
- ~15 000 square kilometres camera trapped
- 59 peer-reviewed papers published
- 20 post-graduate dissertations enabled
- 66 snare awareness outreaches held
- >250 conflict calls supported since 2019
- >90 000 learners reached since 2013
- >10 000 children’s books distributed
- 208 wilderness camps hosted since 2013
- 572 eco-club sessions presented
- 29 teacher workshops held
- 64 environmental education and career exhibitions held
