The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) hereby invites qualified, experienced, and scientifically recognised prospective collaborators to submit Expressions of Interest (EOIs) to implement and support the South African Leopard Monitoring Project at a national scale.

1. Background and Context

Under the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (NEMBA), the Scientific Authority is mandated to advise the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) on matters relating to the sustainable use and trade of South Africa’s wildlife, including the annual determination of a hunting quota for leopard (Panthera pardus). This quota carries significant national and international implications, affecting:

• the sustainability of South Africa’s hunting industry,
• the integrity of South Africa’s leopard populations,
• South Africa’s reputational standing within the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and
• compliance obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Scientifically robust, long-term data on leopard population trends are therefore critical. Given the species’ current conservation crisis—driven by illegal poaching for the skin trade, retaliatory killing on farmlands, habitat loss, and other anthropogenic pressures—accurate trend information underpins national decision-making and informs the Leopard Recovery Strategy.

To fulfil these obligations, SANBI coordinates the South African Leopard Monitoring Project, a multi-year, multi-provincial camera-trap initiative that generates standardised and repeatable data on leopard population trends at key sites nationwide. The project focuses primarily on provinces where leopard hunting occurs (KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North West), while additional monitoring sites in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape ensure broader national coverage. Although occasional and historical leopard records occur in the Free State, Northern Cape and Gauteng, these provinces are not currently included in the project as long-term monitoring sites due to their low or uncertain status of leopard populations.

In addition to leopard monitoring, the national camera-trap system enables the tracking of 15 additional Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) and CITES-listed species, thereby strengthening SANBI’s broader biodiversity monitoring mandate.

2. SANBI’s network of partners approach

SANBI’s legislative mandate under NEMBA and associated national biodiversity frameworks is broad and multi-disciplinary. As no single institution can maintain the full range of specialist expertise required, SANBI operates under a Network of Partners model. This approach enables SANBI to draw on recognised experts, collaborators, scientific institutions, and conservation practitioners whose specialised skills strengthen national biodiversity outcomes.

For the South African Leopard Monitoring Project, the contribution of external experts is essential, as the Scientific Authority relies on the project’s outputs to support decision-making related to the sustainability of leopard hunting, national conservation interventions, and international reporting commitments.

3. Project objectives

Selected collaborators will be responsible for generating reliable, standardised population trend data for leopards across South Africa, thereby enabling the annual determination of the national leopard hunting quota and providing the Scientific Authority with scientifically defensible evidence to support decisions with CITES implications. In addition, the selected collaborators will contribute to the national Leopard Recovery Strategy by supplying trend data that helps assess the impact of conservation interventions.

4. Detailed scope of work

The selected collaborators will be responsible for implementing the national leopard monitoring project over the next three years (2026-2028). This includes:

4.1 Monitoring, design and implementation

• Designing a national sampling strategy for each monitoring year, in close consultation with SANBI, ensuring methodological standardisation and scientific defensibility.
• Deploying and maintaining camera-trap arrays at designated survey sites in:
  • KwaZulu-Natal
  • Limpopo
  • Mpumalanga
  • North West
  • Eastern Cape
  • Western Cape
• Ensuring strict adherence to standardised placement protocols, maintenance schedules, and data-collection procedures.

4.2 Data management and scientific analysis

• Processing all images through an established expert identification and analysis unit capable of handling high-volume, multi-species datasets.
• Producing complete, quality-controlled datasets for each monitoring cycle in the required formats for occupancy, capture–recapture, and multi-state models.
• Conducting rigorous scientific analyses of population trends, demographic change, spatial patterns, and conservation threats.
• Integrating monitoring data across years to support temporal trend analyses with high statistical power.

4.3 Reporting requirements

The following reports and deliverables will be required:

• Complete sets of monitoring data collected at all sites across all years, properly formatted for multi-state modelling.
• An Annual National Monitoring Report summarising:
  • site-level and national-level population metrics,
  • methodology and sampling effort,
  • analytical results and population trend findings and
  • implications for quota setting and conservation management.
• An Interim Monitoring Report for nine core sites, including:
  • methods,
  • preliminary results,
  • interim recommendations, and
  • identification of emerging threats or anomalies.
• GIS maps and shapefiles identifying eligible leopard hunting zones for submission to the Scientific Authority.
• Additional technical writings, supporting documents, or data products as required by SANBI.

5. Minimum qualification and capacity requirements

To ensure high-quality scientific outputs, prospective collaborators must demonstrate:

5.1 Scientific and technical expertise

• A team of internationally recognised, well-published scientists with expertise in:
  • leopard biology,
  • carnivore ecology,
  • conservation science,
  • population modelling, and
  • spatial ecology.
• A proven track record in large carnivore camera-trap monitoring and advanced analytical methods.

5.2 Operational and National Capacity

• Demonstrated ability to conduct field operations across a national footprint involving multiple provinces and remote sites.
• Logistical infrastructure to deploy and maintain camera traps at scale.
• The financial and administrative capacity to manage a large, multi-year budget.
• Clear indication of the organisation’s proposed budget and any financial or in-kind contributions toward the implementation of the project.

5.3 Data Processing and Analytical Capacity

• An established, competent image-analysis team capable of high-throughput species identification.
• Experience in preparing and analysing datasets for multi-state and capture–recapture models.
• Ability to deliver high-quality data products.

5.4 Compliance

• Valid institutional registration, tax clearance, and all research and environmental permits required to conduct field operations.

6. Submission requirements

The EOIs must include:

• An organisational profile, including national presence and operational capacity.
• A detailed record of relevant experience, especially in leopard or other large carnivore monitoring.
• CVs of key scientists, including publication lists.
• A description of image-analysis systems, data workflows, and analytical tools to be used.
• A proposed methodological approach to conducting the national monitoring.
• A detailed proposed budget, including all anticipated costs, as well as any financial and in-kind contributions the organisation is able to commit toward the project.
• At least three references from comparable large-scale ecological monitoring projects.
• Proof of:
  • institutional registration,
  • tax compliance, and
  • relevant permits and certificates (or at least the means of obtaining these).

7. Submission details

All EOIs must be submitted by 17:00 on 30^th January 2026 to:

E-mail: [email protected]

Subject line: EOI – South African Leopard Monitoring Project

SANBI reserves the right not to appoint any collaborator. If no response has been received within 60 days of the closing date, candidates may assume that their applications were unsuccessful.

8. Enquiries

For further information, please contact:

Avril-Castelle Subramoney
Senior Project Officer:  Scientific Authority
E-mail: [email protected]