Saving Leopards One Puppy at a Time

As a group of undergraduate students at Canisius College majoring in Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, we were given the opportunity to travel to Lajuma Research Centre in South Africa with our professor Dr. Susan Margulis to study animal behavior this past summer. Here we experienced human animal conflict that Americans don't often see, or even know to exist. We learned that the South African leopard population is dwindling, and a big part of this problem deals with farmers being fearful of leopards killing their cattle. These poor, frustrated farmers shoot any leopard that comes in contact with their properties. If we want to conserve leopards, we must find a way to solve this problem. One effective way of doing this is providing the farmers with what are known as cattle guarding dogs. These dogs are raised with the cattle and their presence acts as a deterrent to the leopards. Our team is trying to raise money in order to provide a South African farmer with a cattle-guarding dog. The money we raise through our efforts will provide the farmer with an Anatolian Shepard dog, vet expenses, training, and food for 1 year.  The Primate Predator Project within Lajuma Research Centre will place the dog.  

We are so excited to fight extinction and promote conservation of such a beautiful species, and we hope you can help us do so!  The Primate Predator Project is an organization that would oversee this project, and if you'd like more information about them, please refer to the following link:

https://www.facebook.com/Primate-and-Predator-Project-168026853274442/

 

Thank you for your consideration!!