Western South Africa Sees Leopards Returning to Ancestral Habitat After 170 Years

For an astonishing 170 years, there hasn’t been a leopard sighting on the western coast of South Africa.

That recently changed when South Africa National Parks (SANparks) published a camera trap photograph of a leopard in West Coast NP, showing how the elusive predator has recolonized an area where it has long been absent.

Conservationists have hailed the moment as a milestone for rewilding and conservation programs that have paved the way for the cat’s return.

Panthera pardus, is not considered Endangered, but rather Vulnerable, according to the IUCN. It had been extirpated by the mid-1800s as part of a decline in its range across the sub-Saharan regions over the decades.

Many entities have contributed to its return to the West Coast. SANparks, private landowners, the University of