Uhifadhi Wa Chui- Leopard Conservation in Northern Kenya's Rangelands

Institutions: 
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (United States)

Principal Investigators: 
Dr. Nicholas Pilfold, npilfold@sdzwa.org
Dr. Kirstie Ruppert, kruppert@sdzwa.org

Project Manager: 
Laiyon Lenguya, leopards@loisaba.com
Ambrose Letoluai, coexistence.sdzwa@loisaba.com

Leopards in northern Kenya require conservation management. Conserving leopards in Kenya is not possible without a better understanding of the leopard population, ecology, and conflicts with humans and livestock as there have been few long-term research projects on leopards in the country. Uhifadhi wa Chui has three broad objectives: 1) determine population abundance, status and health of leopards and advance new monitoring techniques, 2) improve community coexistence with leopards by understanding perceptions and attitudes towards leopards and assisting livestock holders with management solutions to reduce livestock loss, and 3) broaden the understanding of leopard ecology through scientific study. The program aims to provide the necessary evidence to inform management decisions including the development of National Action Strategy for leopards. 

Publications: 

Chataigner, B., Pilfold, N. W., Lenguya, L., Besnard, A. G., & Gimenez, O. (2025). Unusual suspects: Detection probability covaries with vegetation productivity and rainfall for camera survey of African leopards (Panthera pardus pardus). Ecology and Evolution, 15(5), e71346.

Pilfold, N. W., Lenguya, L., Letoluai, A., Campbell, H., & Owen, M. A. (2024). When people are away the cats will play: African leopards alter visitation patterns at a safari guest lodge in association with the COVID-19 quietus on Loisaba Conservancy, Kenya. Global Ecology and Conservation, 56, e03348.

Ruppert, K. A., Lenguya, L., Letoluai, A., Limo, I., Owen, M. A., Pilfold, N. W., Wachira, P., & Glikman, J. A. (2022). Avoiding parachute science when addressing conflict over wildlife. Conservation Science and Practice, 4(5), e548.

Hoffmann, C. F., Pilfold, N. W., Ruppert, K. A., Letoluai, A., Lenguya, L., Limo, I., & Montgomery, R. A. (2022). The integral nature of encounter rate in predicting livestock depredation risk. Frontiers in Conservation Science, 3, 808043.

Pilfold, N. W., Letoluai, A., Ruppert, K., Glikman, J. A., Stacy-Dawes, J., O'Connor, D., & Owen, M. (2019). Confirmation of black leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) living in Laikipia County, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology, 57(2), 270-273.