Leopard Research
This page outlines AfriCat’s long-term leopard research on Okonjima, beginning in the early 1990s with livestock conflict mitigation and developing into structured monitoring through collaring, baited sites and camera traps. It describes Okonjima’s role in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism’s Predator Research Program, early density estimates, and the establishment of monitoring systems that supported the creation of the Okonjima Nature Reserve. The summary covers collaring developments, the introduction of digital data collection, camera trap density studies, and AfriCat’s combined use of VHF, GPS UHF and GPS LoRa collars. It reports the presence of 39 identified leopard in late 2024 and explains the Farmers Carnivore Project, which began in 2024 to support coexistence with Leopard on neighbouring farms.
Leopard research on Okonjima first started in the early 1990s in order to try to find ways of reducing loss of livestock to predators. In order to better understand their sociology and feeding practices, baiting sites were set up with innovative means of understanding when leopards came to take the bait and capture pictures to identify individuals.
In 1998, Okonjima became a study site in the Predator Research Program of the then Ministry of Environment and Tourism. The program aimed to determine the population demography and limiting factors of Namibian large carnivores and Okonjima was chosen as a study site for leopards on commercial farmland, taking advantage of AfriCat’s interest and expertise in working with leopards. The three-year project radio-collared 8 leopards and generated data on mortality rates, sex ratio, average age, home range sizes and overlap and density. Density at the time was recorded as 5.56 leopards per 100km2.
Regular collaring and record keeping on leopards in Okonjima started in 2000 at the time the first fenced Reserve was created. In preparation for the creation of the 220km2 (22,000 hectare) ONR in 2011, a greater number of leopards were fitted with VHF collars enabling the leopards to be found by telemetry receivers. Sightings were manually recorded by a paper-based system from 2013 until 2018, when recording was shifted to a phone-based app – EpiCollect.
In 2014 a baited camera trap system was established which provided complementary data on uncollared leopards in the Reserve. Between mid 2015 and mid 2016 a spatially explicit capture-recapture camera trap density study was undertaken which generated the first reliable leopard population estimate for an enclosed reserve in Namibia.
The results were published in 2019 and reported a density of 14.5 leopards per 100km2. This was the highest recorded density of leopards in Namibia at the time. A baited camera trap system was re-established in 2022 and has been expanded to be complemented also by grid, fenceline and corridor camera traps. A detailed leopard identification guide is maintained to assist in the identification of all leopards captured by the cameras. At any point in time there are also a number of “unidentified” leopards for which we do not have sufficient images for positive identification.
To further complement the physical and camera trap sightings, a small number of GPS UHF (ultra high frequency) collars were fitted in 2019 and 2020. With the establishment of the LoRa system in 2023 we switched to fitting GPS LoRa collars. Today (2025) two thirds of all resident leopards in the ONR have either a VHF only or VHF and GPS collar.
All the data from physical sightings, camera taps and GPS locations is combined to provide information on the presence, movement and home ranges of leopards in and around the ONR, including ‘new’ leopards to the area, some of which find their way into the ONR. In the final quarter of 2024, AfriCat recorded the presence of 39 leopards categorized as internal and external residents and potential residents. This includes adults, sub-adults and juveniles but excludes “unidentified” individuals.
In 2024 a “Farmers Carnivore Project” was started with farms adjacent to the ONR. The objective of the project is to assist neighboring livestock farms to co-exist with leopards. As of early 2025, three leopards (two males and one female) on neighboring farms are collared with GPS LoRa collars. Information on the whereabouts of the leopards is shared with the farmers weekly to assist them in protecting their livestock and to monitor the movement of leopards on farmland.
One Month of Leopard Spatial Use and Territory Dynamics
The animation shows one month of real movement data from collared leopard, demonstrating how each individual uses its territory and how different leopard interact spatially within the Reserve.
Comparing Movement Patterns of Two Carnivores
This EarthRanger sequence maps one month of movement from a leopard and a brown hyena, illustrating species-specific ranging behaviour, overlap zones and the spatial relationships between two carnivores living in the same enclosed ecosystem.
Collaborative Papers
Research in enclosed reserves is essential to understand wildlife ecology and ensure sustainable populations. A study in a protected reserve recorded the highest leopard density in Namibia, showing the importance of small fenced areas for threatened species.
To assess the density and population size of leopards (Panthera pardus) in the Okonjima
Nature Reserve using photographic capture-recapture sampling and provide scientific data on
their demography as well as spatial and temporal distribution patterns.