About Our Mission

Dedicated to protecting leopards and their habitats for future generations in South Africa.

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About Us

Dedicated to the conservation and monitoring of South Africa's leopards.

Our NGO is committed to protecting leopards and their habitats in South Africa. Through research, community engagement, and advocacy, we strive to ensure a sustainable future for these majestic animals.

Our History

The history of Ingwe

Will and Carol Fox are originally from North Yorkshire where they met and married in 1982. In 2003, they happened to briefly meet the then Manager of the INGWE Leopard Project. It was while hearing about the issues facing leopards that a desire to make a bigger contribution to wildlife conservation was re-ignited. As Carol says “a light came on, and we knew that our next adventure would be working to conserve Leopards”.

They relocated to South Africa in 2004 to work in leopard research. Over the following years they lived in the African bush developing their understanding of African wildlife especially big cat conservation. Will has led hundreds of safaris in Africa and elsewhere, and has appeared in, directed and managed WildEarth Media, producing LIVE wildlife safari TV shows from the African bush. Probably his biggest contributions to big cat conservation has been in capturing big cats for research projects or to relocate cats that were in danger

Along the way they founded the Leutla Conservancy (a protected area of like-minded landowners), they were instrumental in creating Kudu Private Nature Reserve in 2012 (the first such protected area to be demarcated since 1994), rebuilt rural schools and formed a South African non-profit organisation Protecting African Wildlife (PAW) Conservation Trust. Will was the founding Chairman o f PAW, and together Will and Carol steered PAW to become an established contributor to wildlife conservation and community education.

Carol and Will created On Track Safaris in 2007 with two aims: First to offer a unique and fresh safari experience that went beyond the run of the mill safaris on offer elsewhere. But also (and as importantly), to help fund their work in conservation. As Will says, “Conservation and tourism must work hand in hand. If we don’t conserve wildlife now, there will be nothing for tourists to see in the future. The reality is that conservation must be sustainable and that’s where tourism funding comes in. It’s a privilege for Carol and I to be able to enable our guests the opportunity to enjoy our unique wildlife safaris, while at the same time contributing towards wildlife conservation”.

In 2014 they created the On Track Foundation, a UK charity that receives the net profits from On Track Safaris and under the management of its board of trustees funds wildlife conservation and education programs in Africa and India.

“Conservation and tourism must work hand in hand. If we don’t conserve wildlife now, there will be nothing for tourists to see in the future.” — Will Fox

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Will Fox
Carol Fox
Hancho Olivier
Our Team

Our Team

Meet the passionate individuals behind our mission.

Marine Servonnat
Executive Director

After 4 years working in conservation followed by 3 years as a Camp Manager in the Okavango Delta in Botswana, the idea was born to create a bridge between those two fields. She took over Ingwe in November 2022 and transformed it into a citizen science project.

Tom Lautenbach
Chairman

Tom is the lead drone pilot and project manager for the Davies Lab at Harvard University, where he has been instrumental in both gathering and processing data for large landscape ecology projects across Africa.

Elwenn le Magoarou
Secretary

Elwenn holds an MSc in Dynamics and Conservation of Biodiversity from France. She has notably contributed to research and conservation efforts in South Africa's Greater Kruger area and now lead biomonitoring initiatives as Biomonitoring Manager for the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation in Ivory Coast.

Dr Tara Pirie
Treasurer

Tara trained as a Zoologist and moved to South Africa to become a Safari Guide. She later completed a PhD focusing on leopard and carnivore conservation while working for Ingwe Leopard Research.

Paul Allin
Vice Chair

Following a passion for nature and a desire to conserve our natural heritage Paul moved to South Africa 7 years ago and has been working in nature reserves ever since.

Purpose & Mission

Purpose & Mission

Empowering people to support wildlife conservation.

Our Mission
Through innovative science programs, we engage citizen scientists in wildlife monitoring, transforming data into meaningful actions for leopard conservation. This empowers communities, fosters coexistence with wildlife, and ultimately secures a future where leopards, and other wildlife they share their habitat with can thrive in South Africa.
Our Purpose
To ignite a passion for conservation by empowering people in South Africa to become stewards of African wildlife and their ecosystems, with the leopard as a flagship species, through empirical research.
Our Projects

Current Projects

Take a look at some of our current projects

Occupancy modeling

This research aims to study leopard distribution in the Hoedspruit area, situated in the Greater Kruger in Limpopo, South Africa. We are assessing the spatial distribution of leopards in relation to environmental characteristics and anthropogenic factors to understand how they influence leopards' habitat use and movements.

Road Ecology

We aim to conduct a comprehensive survey to identify high-risk areas where wildlife, particularly leopards, frequently cross roads and are most vulnerable to accidents. By pinpointing these hotspots, we can develop targeted, effective strategies to mitigate collisions and protect both animals and people

Socio-Ecological Survey

This research will contribute significantly to promoting and improving human-wildlife coexistence within South African wildlife estates. It has the potential to shape management practices and create a safer and more harmonious environment for both humans and leopards.

Camera Traps Survey

This research aims to study leopard density in non-protected areas situated in between two conservation areas: the Greater Kruger National Park in the east and the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve in the west. This project will help create and secure key ecological corridors in in order to increase connectivity and safe dispersal of wildlife. Besides, it will help reduce a research gap as 85% of the leopard research in South Africa is taking place inside protected areas although leopards mostly occur outside.

Density Survey

This research aims to assess how citizen science data can be used to estimate the density of leopards. We wish to provide density estimates and analyze population trends in an area covering a range of reserves with different characteristics, situated in and outside formally protected areas, in order to help reduce a research bias.