According to Marine Servonnat of ILR, she took over the research project in November last year. The project is funded by the On Track Foundation, a UK-based charity, which is funded by On Track Safaris owned by wildlife conservationists, Will and Carol Fox. The project tracks and records the movement of leopards in reserves throughout South Africa.

Also read: Citizen research project focusses on leopards

“I have an MSc in research and conservation, managed research projects in Greece, the Philippines, and South Africa, and published in a peer-review journal,” Servonnat says. Servonnat has launched a reward-based crowdfunding campaign to support the research. The campaign will start on August 1, and she is aiming to raise £15,000. “The crowdfunding will help raise a third of our annual budget.

The other two-thirds are covered by Arid Wines and the On Track Foundation. “Once I have reached my goal, the money will be used to expand the current network of reserves to at least 30 to increase our understanding of leopard’s movements and numbers, enhance our data analysis capabilities to better conserve and engage with communities to understand and reduce human-wildlife conflicts.” For more information about the crowdfunding campaign, visit ontrackfoundation.com.