Leopards mark a comeback on South Africa’s West Coast

Seven leopards, including two cubs, have been recorded on South Africa’s West Coast, where people hunted the animals out of the region generations ago.

The cats have returned on their own, without a programme to release them there.

Their presence offers hope that leopards can regain some of the land they lost. But conservationists say it is too early to know whether this small population can survive in the long term.

Bool Smuts of the Landmark Foundation told South African radio station VOC that researchers had identified seven individual leopards. They believe the two cubs are around six months old.

The return has happened gradually. Smuts said the foundation began recording evidence of leopards in the wider coastal region around 2015 and confirmed their regular presence from 2021.

Then, in November 2025, South African National Parks announced a camera-trap photograph of a leopard inside West Coast National Park. The authority described it as the first confirmed sighting there in about 170 years.

Leopards had survived in less accessible mountain areas elsewhere in the Cape after hunters removed them from much of the coastal landscape.

Conservationists believe changes in how people use the land have helped them return. Protected areas have expanded, and efforts to connect wildlife habitats have given animals more room to move. Greater acceptance of predators among landowners may also have helped.

However, some farmers worry about the safety of their sheep and other animals. Conservation groups are working with them to reduce attacks and offer compensation to participating farmers who lose animals.

These efforts matter beyond the borders of national parks. Leopards travel through farmland and other privately owned areas, so their future also depends on the people living alongside them.

For now, researchers are watching whether the returning cats can establish a lasting population. The two cubs are an encouraging sign, but keeping the animals safe as they grow remains part of the work ahead.