Wildlife Updates

4/1/2022

Loisaba Cements Reputation as Leopard Viewing Destination - Including Elusive Black Leopard

Over 80% of guests are now reporting leopard sightings while on safari on Kenya's Loisaba Conservancy, including encounters with the famously elusive black leopard! Researchers in the region now believe that there could be up to six black leopards, including one cub roaming the diverse eco-systems in the area.

Ambrose Letoluai, a former guide at Loisaba Tented Camp, is a leopard scientist and researcher who started working with the San Diego Zoo in 2016, after being introduced to the team by the Loisaba Conservancy. He was one of the first to confirm the spectacular sightings of black leopards in Laikipia and, with his team, has recently published a scientific paper on black leopard presence on the Laikipia Plateau.

Along with being a research consultant for Mpala Research Centre and Loisaba Conservancy, Ambrose has been instrumental in two important projects to help save the leopards and support livelihoods in the communities. He co-founded Chui Mamas (which means Leopard women) whose mission is to help empower women and girls in the local community to attain the highest possible standards of living by engaging in income-generating activities, as well as help teach locals about the importance of leopard conservation. He also founded the Wildlife Conservation Resource Centre, where local children have access to wildlife literature and participate in his Wildlife Kids program, which organizes game-viewing excursions into the Loisaba conservancy.

Cheetah Relocation

Etosha Heights is not only one of the largest private reserves in Namibia (encompassing approximately nearly 150,000-acres and sharing its northern boundary with Etosha National Park) but its wildlife management and recent conservation endeavors have created an environment that make it an ideal location for cheetah conservation.

It is into this environment that the Natural Selections Foundation supported the release of two male cheetah, rescued from Kalahari farmland. The release took place on February 16^th and was co-facilitated with the Cheetah Conservation Foundation (CCF) who rescued the cheetah, the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF), Etosha Heights Private Reserve, and Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism.

For video footage of the release please click here. 

The NUST Biodiversity Research Centre has appointed a student who will monitor the cheetah's daily movements to ensure the relocation is successful and gain an understanding of their preferred prey and habitat use. This work forms part of an ongoing long-term conservation research program at Etosha Heights and Etosha National Park that collects data on interactions between predators and prey.

This interdisciplinary conservation project is a testament that collective efforts can secure the future of cheetah and other wildlife in Africa. 

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