We’re still talking all things leopard but this time we chat with a real life citizen scientist. Owen Grobler lives on a wildlife estate in Hoedspruit, South Africa. As a new resident to the estate, Owen was driven to learn more about the peri urban leopards that were sighted in the area. Five years later what began as a passion project, has turned into so much more. A wildlife photographer by trade, Owen started following, recording and photographing the elusive big cats who called this disturbed landscape home. In conjunction with the publication of his book, “Searching for Spots”, over time the importance of co-habitation became more and more evident. More recently the future of the resident leopards is in the spot light and Owen is determined to go to bat for their safety and conservation.

In this podcast, hear about Owen’s personal encounters with wild leopards in a built up area and what that means for the leopards, and for the residents. The connection to any wild animal is special and in this case, Owen shares the painstaking lengths to which he has gone to photograph them.

We are also joined by conservation ecologist and project manager Marine from Ingwe Leopard Research who expands on the important role, people like Owen play in the study and conservation of leopards. The various links mentioned in the podcast are below: Owen’s Book: https://www.searchingforspots.com/ Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/searchingforspots/ Ingwe Crowd Funding https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/ingwe-leopard-research Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ingwe_leopard_research/