‘Corridors of Hope’, painted for @bazart_ngo @ipaf_festival_sa in Salt River, Cape Town 🇿🇦

For me, this Cape leopard is a symbol of hope, as people are waking up to innovative ways of approaching conservation that are less about fencing off wildlife in nature reserves, and more about adapting our world to allow animals and humans to safely and peacefully co-exist. We humans are not above nature, we are part of it.

With our constant expansion, humans continue to take over land that once belonged to wild animals. Because of this, many animals including leopards are facing an uncertain future as they’re forced into ever smaller areas leading to inbreeding that has a negative impact on their genetics, health and resilience. Cape leopards are perhaps the most at risk, as they have territories 10 times larger than a savannah leopard which can extend up to 1,000km (621 miles)!

Wildlife corridors that connect reserves to other protected areas are a new solution to encourage gene flow by allowing animals to roam within larger territories. The corridors come in the form of tunnels, and bridges over roads, unused public and private lands, and are already successfully being used in India, Canada and the US. Private land owners are also following suit by dropping their fences and legally dedicating their land to conservation which is a massive step in the right direction!