Camera-trap images from a section of Kafue National Park in Zambia show conservation efforts are paying off: Populations of leopards, wild dogs and lions are all growing, Mongabay contributor Ryan Truscott reported in July.
Truscott interviewed Chisomo M’hango, trainee field ecologist at Musekese Conservation (MC), a nonprofit monitoring wildlife in the Musekese-Lumbeya section of the park.
“We started our camera trapping efforts in 2022 to establish baseline estimates of leopard populations. We are now at a stage where we have enough data to be able to start looking into what variables are creating such an environment for leopards to thrive in,” M’hango told Truscott.
In 2024, camera traps identified 95 individual leopards (Panthera pardus). With nine leopards per 100 square kilometers (about 23 per 100 square miles) in some parts of the study site, the area has among the highest densities of the big cat in Southern Africa.
To effectively identify and differentiate the leopards, MC uses pairs of camera traps just 3 meters (10 feet) apart.
M’hango said the flash cameras have very good resolution, which allows them to get good photos of both sides of the animals.
“We identify them from their whiskers and their rosettes. Each leopard has a unique pattern of whisker spots and rosettes on its body, so you cannot mistake it,” she said.
African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) numbers in the area have also increased, from just one male and one female previously.
“They bred, and because obviously when their pups grew up and later dispersed into their own packs, we’re now monitoring three different packs,” M’hango said.
She added they identified a new pack this year based on camera-trap data.
“It’s just a pack of five, but the males in that pack are the biggest wild dogs I’ve seen in Kafue, so it would be very good if they’re able to multiply; it means we’ll have a very good breed of wild dogs,” the ecologist said.
Unfortunately, wild dogs often fall victim to lions (Panthera leo) and hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), as well as snares and roads. “So, when you see their numbers multiplying like that, it’s a good story,” M’hango said.
Some members of the newest pack were recently caught in snares but were rescued and released by local nonprofit Zambian Carnivore Program.
The lion population in Musekese-Lumbeya isn’t as robust, with a density of less than two per 100 km2 (5 per 100 mi2). M’hango said there isn’t enough suitable prey for lions in the area because of intensive poaching.
“However, numbers of lions are increasing, showing that the intensive resource protection by Musekese Conservation, Greater Kafue Landscape Limited” — a partnership between Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the NGO African Parks — “and other partners are working,” she said.
Read the full interview here.
Banner image of a leopard spotted on camera trap in the Musekese-Lumbeya section of Kafue National Park. Image courtesy of Musekese Conservation.
