Creative Panthera Project
Panthera is working with church group (African Congregational Church) in Southern Africa, to replace church attire made from authentic leopard fur with thousands of synthetic alternatives to save leopard lives.
The project (Furs for Life) will provide jobs to women.
Rev. N.S. Hlomuka, President of the African Congregational Church said last month, “we are aware that the growing human population and the growing numbers of our Church members could have a negative impact on leopard numbers. Our partnership with Panthera allows us to keep the tradition and beauty of leopard skins, all the while saving the leopards that God created.”
Leopards, lions, jaguars, tigers and snow leopards, are ‘big cats’ in the Panthera genus.
Conserving leopards
According to the Cape Leopard Trust, Leopards are the most versatile and adaptable of this group.
They occur in lush forests, open savanna, rocky deserts, rugged mountains and dense bushveld.
The Trust said in a statement, that a whooping 75% of their historical distribution was lost over the years, mainly due to habitat destruction. “Where they still occur, their distribution range is increasingly fragmented by continued development. Other main threats include the depletion of their prey base, direct conflict with people, unsustainable trophy hunting and poaching for body parts and skins.”
Leopards are classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Modern leopards occur in Africa and Asia and they have always been absent from the Americas, Antarctica and Australia.
In total, leopards occur in 63 countries, but this is only a fraction of the area they once roamed. Not all leopards in the world are the same.
They play a vital role in the ecosystem, of regulating herbivore numbers through predation, and those of smaller medium-sized carnivores through competition and dominance.
The Trust said one effective method of conserving this species, is to focus on the continued survival of leopard populations (which include preserving their habitat and prey species). In addition, leopards have a major effect on the health of environments.
Without them, the ecosystem where they occur, would be dramatically different or cease to function altogether.
In South Africa, leopards are found throughout the country except for the greater Karoo basin. They are found in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Northern Cape, North West, Limpopo, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.
“Big cats”
They generate an estimated $200 million for the continent per annum, through eco-tourism activities. This figure does not include cats in captivity and those trophy hunted for their skin. (figure by Niarra Travel & WWF).
Last month, a couple from South Africa were attacked by a leopard in Botswana. Pilot Gavin Allderman and his wife Jill, were attacked by a leopard, suspected to be sick.
Can you differentiate a Cape Leopard from a Kalahari one?
Cover Pic: Panthera
Kalahari Leopard Project & Shutterstock