Understanding the movements and threats to Hoedspruit's 140 leopards
Leopards are survivors. They are highly adaptable to change, opportunistic regarding food resources (empowered by a relaxed approach to sustenance), and have vast home ranges. Their natural tendency towards secrecy allows them to remain undetected and unseen even when ever-present. But with urbanisation enveloping even some of the most rural areas in South Africa, safe spaces for leopards are shrinking. In the bushveld town of Hoedspruit, a formerly rural area that has seen rapid expansion over the past few years, leopards are struggling to slip past the modern world unscathed. Enter the Ingwe Research Program, an initiative determined to untangle the fate of Hoedspruit’s leopards and their precarious coexistence with humans.
A spotted mystery: Hoedspruit’s leopards
It’s no surprise to most residents of Hoedspruit that they share their backyards with these elusive big cats. And there’s a good chance that any leopards spotted in Hoedpsruit are already known to the Ingwe Research Program.
The program aims to study leopard distribution in a 325km2 area, including non-protected areas between two conservation areas: Greater Kruger in the east and the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve in the west. Through research, the program is assessing the spatial distribution of leopards through environmental characteristics and anthropogenic factors to understand how they influence leopards’ habitat use and movements.
So far, 140 leopards from Hoedspruit have been fully identified by the program, but many still have temporary IDs and require more pictures to complete a unique identikit.
What is the secret to Ingwe’s ability to gather such detailed information? The people of Hoedspruit themselves. Thanks to the program’s focus on collaborating with reserves, lodges, wildlife estates and ordinary citizens, Ingwe has a comprehensive overview of the movements of Hoedspruit’s leopards. Ingwe has been gathering data on leopards in the area since 2022.
“Over 380 citizen scientists have shared their leopard sightings with the NPC. Citizen science is an invaluable tool for species conservation,” says Marine Servonnat, executive director of the Ingwe Research Program.
With such a collaborative network, Ingwe can understand leopards’ movements and numbers at a much larger scale.
Citizen scientists, including residents, tourists and safari guides, can document leopard sightings via a conservation mobile app known as SMART. These contributions feed into the African Carnivore Wildbook (ACW), an AI-powered platform that matches leopard spot patterns, providing researchers with invaluable movement data. ACW facilitates analysis from 11,000+ images already received from over 7,000 unique sightings.
In addition to the 140 leopards identified in Hoedspruit, the program has also identified 65 leopards from Greater Kruger (some of which you may have come across on a Greater Kruger safari), which form part of the research that will analyse population trends in various reserves with different characteristics situated inside and outside of formally protected areas.
This information, coupled with the information from non-protected areas, helps track changes in species populations and identify trends that may indicate threats or conservation successes.
Seen to be believed
The researchers have also come across some fascinating tales in their findings.
One leopard, the “Wild Dog Dam male”, bewildered researchers due to his wanderlust. First sighted in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, he meandered 30km west to Excellence Game Farm, only to backtrack 25km east within two hours. A month later, he appeared another 25km south in Olifants West Nature Reserve, leaving researchers scratching their heads – and marvelling at the incredible power of shared data.
“If this information was not compiled under one project and the data not shared, one could think these were three different male leopards. This is very important to help streamline the number of individuals in the area and understand how the leopards move,” says Servonnat.
The data has also allayed fears when well-known leopards have disappeared. Tlanga, a leopard born in the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate in early 2020, dispersed in 2023 and vanished for seven months before popping up as a relaxed new resident in Kapama Game Reserve.
Then there’s Ntsakelo, also born in Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate. Ntsakelo was a particularly bold young male who thought nothing of sauntering through human-dominated spaces until he, too, mysteriously disappeared for four months – leaving researchers nervously checking roadkill reports. Thankfully, he resurfaced on a citrus farm, looking none the worse for wear.
These stories form the heart of Ingwe’s scientific mission: to understand where leopards go and how they navigate human-dominated landscapes.
A road runs through it: the perils of Hoedspruit’s R40
Most pressingly, Ingwe is trying to solve a dilemma on behalf of Hoedspruit’s leopards: how to keep them from becoming casualties of progress.
Hoedspruit’s R40 provincial road is a lifeline connecting local communities, towns and reserves. Unfortunately, it’s also a death trap for wildlife. Seven leopards were killed in just 10 months in 2024 due to collisions with cars on the region’s roads, including the R40, alongside countless hyenas, jackals, and wild dogs. One leopard was killed by a train in the same period.
The Road Ecology Project, spearheaded by Ingwe in partnership with sponsor AirNav Systems, aims to turn this tide. Through this initiative, researchers are methodically identifying roadkill hotspots, assessing underpasses and culverts, and using a citizen science network to track leopard crossings. Armed with this data, the program will implement tangible solutions – including reinforced culverts, enhanced crossing points, and new signage to prevent further deaths.
The bigger picture: protecting Hoedspruit’s leopards
Ingwe’s work goes beyond keeping leopards off roads. The program is a conservation think tank exploring how leopards move through non-protected areas, how human-wildlife coexistence can be improved, and how to create ecological corridors between South Africa’s great wilderness spaces, improving connectivity and the safe dispersal of wildlife.
The program is helping to reduce a research gap as 85% of leopard research in South Africa takes place inside protected areas, even though leopards mainly occur outside of protected areas.
The challenge, of course, is funding. High-tech camera traps, fuel, trained researchers, and long-term monitoring require support.
Ultimately, the fate of Hoedspruit’s leopards isn’t just in the hands of researchers – it’s in the hands of residents, travellers, and conservation enthusiasts who value a world where these magnificent cats still roam free.
The Ingwe Research Program offers multiple ways to contribute – from becoming a citizen scientist and logging leopard sightings to donating, sponsoring equipment or projects, or raising awareness – there are many ways that ordinary people can help.
Because a world without leopards? Now, that would be truly unthinkable.
Want to go on a leopard-seeking safari? Browse our African safaris on offer here. Or alternatively, browse our Greater Kruger safaris here.
Watch a video on where the leopards of Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate go when they leave the estate, produced by Villiers Steyn:
Further reading
- Want to spot leopards on your next safari? Here are the top destinations for seeing this elusive member of the Big 5
- Leopards: These breathtakingly beautiful, charismatic, powerful & mysterious creatures are the top request on safari. Learn about them here.
- There’s a leopard in my garden: Read about the leopards of the Hoedspruit Wildlife Estate.
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