Ingwe Research Program - conserving leopards in South Africa

Team fundraiser

Marine Servonnat and Elwenn Le Magoarou are organizing this fundraiser.

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Hello rosettes' lovers!

Did you know the spots on the leopards are called "rosettes" due to their unique shape and that each leopard's rosettes are unique, like our fingerprints?

I am Marine Servonnat, the Executive Director of Ingwe Research Program, a registered Non-Profit Company in South Africa.

I work with another 4 directors - Dr Tara Pirie, Paul Allin, Tom Lautenbach & Elwenn Le Magoarou - all providing unique set of skills to ensure that Ingwe Research Program is impactful and meaningful. Our website is currently under construction but their profiles are available on LinkedIn.

Quick history: Ingwe was a project of the On Track Foundation, a UK charity led by two wildlife conservationists - Will & Carol Fox - who are still supporting Ingwe.

Why does Ingwe exist? Our Purpose is to ignite a passion for conservation by empowering people in South Africa to become stewards of African wildlife and their ecosystems, with the leopard as a flagship species, through empirical research.

What is our mission? Through innovative science programs, we engage citizen scientists in wildlife monitoring, transforming data into meaningful actions for leopard conservation. This empowers communities, fosters coexistence with wildlife, and ultimately secures a future where leopards, and other wildlife they share their habitat with can thrive in South Africa.

Our accomplishments:

A collaborative network of 30+ nature reserves collecting data
300+ citizen scientists that have shared data on leopards
8000+ images of leopards shared and 5200+ unique sightings
80+ leopards with identity kits allowing us to follow their movements
A strong involvement of the community in wildlife research & conservation

Find out about the latest updates, discover maps and more by reading the newsletter: Click here.

Our current focus:

1 Master student currently working on 2 years of data to study leopard distribution and movements in the area
1 Master student currently developing a socio-ecological survey on human-wildlife coexistence
Reducing wildlife collisions on the roads after loosing 7 leopards in 8 months (meetings with relevant stakeholders, community consultation, road signs, reduce speed limits, etc...)
Finding a new release site for a female and her cubs after having had negative encounters with humans and partnering to sponsor a collar to monitor her.

Below is Mulhuri male, killed on the train tracks.

Photo credit: Virginia Quinn

And Rhulani female, killed on the road, both in August 2024. We need to stop these tragedies.

Photo credit: Elwenn Le Magoarou

Where will the funds go?

Operations: Ingwe Research Program has allowed to create massive awareness on the challenges leopard face in a wildlife heaven with a growing human population. Without this work, the slow disappearance of leopards would have gone un-noticed.
Road signs: Working with artists and designers who can use well-known leopards to create impactful signs to implement on the roads. We will move them regularly to avoid drivers' habituation.
Emergency funds: Have funds available immediately when a leopard is injured or needs to be relocated.
Increase engagement: Increase the number of citizen scientists & reserves involved but also to ensure long-term engagement of those already participating.
Awareness: Create awareness campaign to change people's perception and behaviour in order to allow leopards to disperse and move freely.
Develop a secured Ingwe mobile app to increase participation, to allow citizen scientists to track leopards movements in their own reserves, to have constant access to updated identity kits in order to identify leopard themselves and finally to have a community forum of engaged contributors.

We have worked on many different ways that should allow us to become financially viable in 2025 but just need a hand right now for the next few months in order to continue our work.

Will you be part of the solutions in conserving leopards in South Africa?

Donate & share this fundraising to your network and on social media to extend our reach. Small amounts multiplied by many donors can truly make a difference!