Leopard Research - Conservation Camera Traps

Through the past few months much excitement has passed through the research team. On our Leopard Conservation project we have been hard at work tracking and monitoring the movements of these elusive cats. With help from our donors we have been able to purchase 9 additional cameras for our leopard survey which have been put up into the field in hopes of capturing our mysterious rosette animals.

Not so elusive any more… The radio crackled with the news that there was potentially a leopard with cubs on Buffaloland. After this information the research team was ecstatic in hopes that this would be new cubs of our resident female Ncila Wo Lea, FBL1. And indeed it is! We finally have confirmation that she does have another set of cubs which she is denning on Buffaloland. This year has been ups and downs with us following the Ncila through our camera traps as she has pushed her past cubs away, been followed by a new male, potentially mating, becoming pregnant, and now raising her cubs in her well known territory.

After initially finding tracks of a female and a tiny infant we knew that she was indeed denning in the area so we waited on baited breathe for confirmation that this was Ncila from our camera traps. Just a few weeks later we captured Ncila on one of the camera traps walking up and down from her den site, which confirmed that she really was the mother of these new cubs. Having caught her on these cameras has allowed us to expand our knowledge of the leopard family history and dynamics within the whole reserve. As we move forward and expand the reach of our survey we will be able to track not on Ncila but her new cubs as well for years to come thanks to the wonderful donations from all of our many benefactors.

We couldn’t do this impactful work without the support from our Global Giving donors. From the entire African Impact Kruger team we cannot thank you enough for your help in acquiring more camera traps, allowing us to study these elusive cats who we hope to continue to shine light on for many years into the future. With your continued support we hope to work together to ensure the survival of not only Ncila and her cubs but Leopards across the region.