Leopard photographed in West Coast National Park – first confirmed in 170 years
A camera trap has captured the first confirmed leopard in West Coast National Park in 170 years, indicating the species’ natural return to South Africa’s West Coast. The image emerged from a collaborative monitoring effort by the Landmark Leopard and Predator Project, SANParks, the University of the Western Cape, Saldanha Bay Municipality and private landowners, active across the corridor between Cape Town and the Berg River.
Conservationists attribute the recovery to expanded protected areas, improved land use, stronger environmental legislation and growing community tolerance, alongside years of work to restore ecological corridors across the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape. The sighting underscores the value of long‑term partnerships and signals strengthening ecosystem health – a positive development for nature‑based tourism, even as leopards remain elusive.
Source: South African National Parks
