Humans and large carnivores have a long and complex history (Ghosal, 2018). The biggest threat to leopards are anthropogenic, meaning it stems from human activity (IUCN Leopard, 2020). Some of these human caused threats are habitat loss, direct killing or poaching, prey depletion, and other forms of human conflict (Dhungana et. al, 2019; Panthera Leopard, 2020). In southern Africa 800 leopards are killed every year for their fur and there are fewer than 5,000 leopards that remain in South Africa alone (Panthera Leopard, 2020). No one knows the actual number of leopards that remain in the wild, although some people believe that since leopards have always lived in the area, humans should stop acting surprised when they see one and just accept that they are in their natural home range (Ghosal, 2018).
Humans have taken over the role of ‘super predator’ within animal communities around the world (Smith et al., 2017). Humans have been known to kill terrestrial carnivores nine times higher than natural predators (Smith et al., 2017). With this power humans can change and use it for good. Panthera started the #LeopardSpotted movement to encourage people to bring attention when they wear leopard print by posting it to social media to remind others that only leopards need to wear leopard fur (Panthera Leopard Spotted, 2020). They created a faux fur replacement program where they work with local communities to provide them with faux fur garments that can be used in traditional ceremonies resulting in a decline in the demand for real leopard fur ((Panthera Leopard Spotted, 2020).
The Cape Leopard Trust focuses on research, conservation, and education (CLT, 2020). They want to promote the conservation of biological diversity (CLT, 2020). The Cape Leopard Trust focuses on long-term solutions to establish sustainable strategies for human-wildlife conflict based on scientific fact rather than emotional conjecture (CLT Human-Wildlife Conflict, 2020). They take into account the challenges farmers face and understand that each case is unique in finding a solution that works best for all stakeholders and parties involved (CLT Human-Wildlife Conflict, 2020). In addition to using hard science they also focus on community involvement through training and empowering the local community and farmers to minimize depredation of livestock (CLT Human-Wildlife Conflict, 2020). They know human-wildlife conflict cannot and will not be solved overnight, but attempts can be made to reduce the number of animals being injured or killed (CLT Human-Wildlife Conflict, 2020).
*Leopard in main photo is a male living in Kenya, taken by Helene Hoffman. Visit her Flickr page to view more beautiful photographs.
Literature Cited
Cape Leopard Trust (2020). Cape Leopard Trust. https://capeleopard.org.za/
Cape Leopard Trust. (2020). Human-wildlife conflict.
Ghosal, S. (2018). Heterogeneity in perceptions of large carnivores. Large Carnivore
Conservation and Management, 132–146. doi: 10.4324/9781315175454-7
Hoffman, H. (2019, February 7). Leopard standing on a limb [Photograph]. Flickr.
International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. (2020). Leopard: Pathera pardus.
Panthera. (2020). Leopard. https://www.panthera.org/cat/leopard
Panthera. (2020). #Leopard spotted. https://www.leopardspotted.org/
Smith, J.A., Suraci, J.P., Clinchy, M., Crawford, A., Roberts, D., Zanette, L.Y., Wilmers,
C.C. (2017). Fear of the human ‘super predator’reduces feeding time in large carnivores.
Proc. R. Soc. B 284: 20170433. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.0433
The Cape Leopard Trust. (2019, October 24). For the love of leopards- a CLT short film [Video].
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