00:00In the Cape province, this researcher checks 23 camera traps, which show that over the past two years, the leopard
00:06population is on the rise.
00:08So yeah, we're going to extract the SD card and check on the computer. What are those 141 images?
00:17It is, yeah, thousands of photos and videos to go through.
00:21And then it gives us a really clear idea how the leopard is interacting with the landscape compared to food
00:28availability,
00:29compared to vegetation, compared to human or roads.
00:34The Cape leopard, smaller than its savannah cousin, had nearly disappeared from the region 170 years ago.
00:41Now the predator is returning.
00:43This NGO rescues leopards caught in traps set by farmers to protect their livestock.
00:48So far, nearly 100 animals have been saved.
00:51Rescue efforts allow a chance to carry out genetic tests and fit a GPS color to track leopard families.
00:59The research program was launched by a former doctor who set out to answer one question.
01:04Where did these leopards come from?
01:06They were unable to wipe them out in the higher mountains of the Western Cape.
01:12And we believe that they've recolonized from there.
01:16In fact, we were extremely worried about genetic inbreeding because they survived, in the end, from a very small population.
01:26For these conservationists, the next challenge is educating communities to help protect this endangered predator.
01:34Children are a key part of conservation.
01:41We also tell them that, you know, if we as human beings either would destroy or not look after our
01:49environments,
01:50then eventually it will impact on the leopards being the top predator that we find within this biome.
01:55Today, fewer than a thousand leopards are believed to remain in the mountains of the Cape,
02:00still a fragile population for the long-term survival of the species.
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