THE ISIBAYA LEOPARD PROJECT

Habitat loss and human encroachment on wildlife land is a problem on the forefront of Conservation efforts across Africa.

Nearly all rural farmers, regardless of the size of their operation, suffer from livestock loss due to predation by both leopard and spotted hyena. In turn, these farmers are using any means possible to reduce the impact of predation, frequently resorting to the use of poison, snares, and gin traps to deal with the “problem animals”.

These methods are indiscriminate and often unintended victims such as antelope will find themselves in snares and poison not only kills the intended culprit but also any other scavenging predator such as other leopards, Hyena, small cats, and even predatory birds that might feed of the poisoned carcass. Poison has a ripple effect too, in that any predator that dies of poisoning can be eaten by another scavenger who in turn dies and so on until the poison is sufficiently diluted as to no longer be harmful. »

Leopard Conservation Project

The Isibaya Leopard Project is a new and innovative approach to tackling human-wildlife conflict in Zimbabwe that has set out to remove the need for farmers to retaliate against wildlife in order to preserve their herds. “ISIBAYA” which is IsiNdebele for a kraal or cattle pen but also implies the “wellness and size of the herd” in that kraal. As the name implies, the project’s core initiative is to protect the community’s wealth by raising a herd of cattle from which any farmers’ livestock killed by predators will be replaced. By finding a workable solution, like the replacement of livestock, Isibaya aims to minimize the expanding rural community’s effects on predators by protecting the farmers’ livelihood and consequently eliminating the desperate measures used to stop the predators, ultimately conserving the leopard and other wild animals in the area.

Isibaya was established by professional hunters Garth Adams and Vaughan Wilson who have witnessed the escalating humanwildlife conflict in the Mangwe district over the past 10 years. Their aim is to promote the conservation and protection of leopards in this area through the provision of alternative solutions to local farmers who usually perceive the leopard as a pest

”“Isibaya was established by professional hunters Garth Adams and Vaughan Wilson who have witnessed the escalating humanwildlife conflict in the Mangwe district over the past 10 years.

to their livestock. This particular region of Zimbabwe is littered with rocky outcrops that make an ideal habitat where the elusive leopard can hide in caves and hunt Rock Rabbit and small game such as baboon and Steinbeck that also call these hills home. Some of the solutions Isibaya are proposing to the local villagers are to distance the location of the livestock pen from the rocky outcrops and put them closer to the home so that in the event of an attack the owner will be easily awoken. Isibaya

Above: Sarah Adams looks over the Isibaya replacement sheep and goat flock. Left: Garth Adams hands over a replacement calf to a grateful elderly lady. Below: A dead cattle raiding leopard snared by the hind quarters.

Leopard Conservation Project

has also found that scarecrows planted between the hills and the livestock pen is also effective.

Educating the community about the importance of the survival of wild game as a food source for leopards is essential if they wish to keep their livestock safe, therefore Isibaya has enforced a strict disqualification from the project for anyone caught poaching, that particular villager will not be reimbursed for any further livestock loss.

Camera traps are being used on livestock kills to build a database of the problem leopard in the area, every leopard is distinguishable by its spots, and it hasn’t taken long to identify the main culprits and the necessary steps are being taken to apply for permits to move these problem cats to areas with fewer leopard and livestock.

The project recently received a generous grant of $10,000 from the Houston Safari Club Foundation which is being used to further the steps in applying for permits to translocate problem cats as well as building the Isibaya reimbursement herd. A recent visit to the area by the Houston Safari Club Foundation sponsored TV show host of “This Is Africa” Andy Buchanan revealed a promising report of satisfied villagers and a big reduction in poisoning cases in the area.

Isibaya aims to be a self-sustainable conservation project within five years by building a herd of cattle, sheep, and goats large enough to support the project’s operating costs without having to rely indefinitely on the generosity of hunter donations. The Isibaya herd will provide the animals required to run the livestock reimbursement project, provides enough surplus calves to local businesses every year to cover the annual operating costs. Any additional profits generated by the project’s herds will be fed back into the community; either by sharing the profits between the Rural District Council and the community, or channeling it towards the development of additional community incomegenerating projects such as fish farms and bailing initiatives. ★

Above: The Isibaya leopard project team from left to right: Garth Adams, Sarah Adams, Joe Sharp and Vaughan Whitehead.