Banner image of a leopard spotted on camera trap in the Musekese-Lumbeya section of Kafue National Park. Image courtesy of Musekese Conservation.<\/p>\n
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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.<\/p>\n
Truscott interviewed Chisomo M\u2019hango, trainee field ecologist at Musekese Conservation (MC), a nonprofit monitoring wildlife in the Musekese-Lumbeya section\u00a0of the park.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d M\u2019hango told Truscott.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
To effectively identify and differentiate the leopards, MC uses pairs of camera traps just 3 meters (10 feet) apart.<\/p>\n
M\u2019hango said the flash cameras have very good resolution, which allows them to get good photos of both sides of the animals.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) numbers in the area have also increased, from just one male and one female previously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey bred, and because obviously when their pups grew up and later dispersed into their own packs, we\u2019re now monitoring three different packs,\u201d M\u2019hango said.<\/p>\n
She added they identified a new pack this year based on camera-trap data.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just a pack of five, but the males in that pack are the biggest wild dogs I\u2019ve seen in Kafue, so it would be very good if they\u2019re able to multiply; it means we\u2019ll have a very good breed of wild dogs,\u201d the ecologist said.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, wild dogs often fall victim to lions (Panthera leo) and hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), as well as snares and roads. \u201cSo, when you see their numbers multiplying like that, it\u2019s a good story,\u201d M\u2019hango said.<\/p>\n
Some members of the newest pack were recently caught in snares but were rescued and released by local nonprofit Zambian Carnivore Program.<\/p>\n
The lion population in Musekese-Lumbeya isn\u2019t as robust, with a density of less than two per 100 km2 (5 per 100 mi2). M\u2019hango said there isn\u2019t enough suitable prey for lions in the area because of intensive poaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, numbers of lions are increasing, showing that the intensive resource protection by Musekese Conservation, Greater Kafue Landscape Limited\u201d \u2014 a partnership between Zambia\u2019s Department of National Parks and Wildlife and the NGO African Parks \u2014 \u201cand other partners are working,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Read the full interview here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Banner image of a leopard spotted on camera trap in the Musekese-Lumbeya section of Kafue National Park. Image courtesy of Musekese Conservation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n