As one of the most adaptable cat species on the planet, leopards rarely attract much in the way of conservation concern, but that may be their undoing. In South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, leopards are protected in reserves but are fair game when they leave the park boundaries; it's legal for farmers to trap them or for trophy hunters to shoot them.

As leopard populations become increasingly surrounded by farms and other human expansion, authorities are concerned about the number of leopards which are being killed. In collaboration with local partners that include Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, hunting organizations and local landowners, we are working to reduce the illegal killing of leopards, and ensure that legal trophy hunting of leopards is biologically sustainable.