A leopard roams the West Coast National Park. Image: Landmark Foundation

For the first time in 170 years, a leopard has been sighted in the West Coast National Park, marking a historic milestone for biodiversity conservation in South Africa. 

A photograph was captured via a remote camera trap, set up as part of a scientific survey by the Landmark Foundation, a local conservation NGO - in collaboration with SANParks, the University of the Western Cape (UWC), and other key landowner collaborators - to better understand leopard and biodiversity trends in the region. This confirms that the iconic predator has naturally returned to a region from which it was wiped out in the mid-1800s. Its reappearance signals a remarkable recovery of biodiversity in the country’s coastal systems.

Dr Jeannine McManus is the principal investigator and a Research Fellow in UWC’s Biodiversity and Conservation Biology Department. She said: “Leopards are South Africa’s last free-roaming top carnivores outside of protected areas. With only 9% of the country formally protected, most biodiversity exists on outside protected areas, largely often on production landscapes, areas dominated by agriculture and development. Their wide roaming behaviour and ability to occupy diverse habitats makes leopards ecologically vital as umbrella species, and conserving them helps safeguard entire ecosystems.” 

She added that South Africa’s ambitious goal to expand protected areas to 30% by 2030 will require the participation of private landowners and science-driven strategies. This leopard’s return to the West Coast National Park signals that policy changes and conservation partnerships are starting to work.

“Leopards mainly exist outside of protected areas, which makes them vitally important ecologically. If we can mitigate human-wildlife conflict and promote coexistence, we can protect not just leopards but biodiversity as a whole,” said Dr McManus.

Through collaboration with the Landmark Foundation, UWC researchers study landscape connectivity and ecological processes, using leopards as indicators of biodiversity health. “Our role is to ensure an evidence-based approach,” said Dr McManus. “We conduct research that can be peer-reviewed, feed into policy, and guide practical conservation actions on the ground. This partnership allows us to scale successful methods and influence governance.”

The return of the leopard to this part of the Western Cape is a positive sign that extends beyond biodiversity. Dr McManus said: “This research has value beyond biodiversity, it connects to global challenges like climate change and humanity’s future, making it worth investigating.”