Anita Wilkinson

Anita is the Senior Researcher at the Cape Leopard Trust. Her passion for nature and heart for the protection of animals and the landscapes they live in ignited at a very young age during family holidays to exquisite natural environments such as Kruger National Park, Etosha, the Drakensberg and the Eastern Cape coast.

The foundation for Anita’s career was laid during her tertiary education at Stellenbosch University. Fieldwork for her postgraduate studies regularly took her to the Cederberg and Tankwa regions to gather data. She investigated aggregation behaviour of Bibron’s Gecko in the Cederberg (BSc Hons Zoology), and then went on to evaluate the relevance of the Greater Cederberg Biodiversity Corridor for the long-term conservation of reptile diversity in the region (MSc Zoology).

Hereafter she worked at Homebrew Films for two years as a content researcher and production manager on the acclaimed SABC2 series ‘Shoreline’. However, she’s always had a deep-rooted passion for and fascination with felines, and longed to be involved in their conservation.

Anita joined the CLT team in March 2010 and, together with colleague Jeannie Hayward, coordinated the Boland Project. They conducted large-scale camera trap surveys to record mammal and leopard distribution, and she investigated the diet of leopards in the Boland Mountain Complex. She played a pivotal role in initiating the CLT’s snare research projects and awareness campaigns.

As Senior Researcher Anita is currently involved with the planning and execution of annual leopard population surveys, the management and curation of the CLT’s leopard database as well as the fulfilling task of mentoring various post-graduate students and volunteers who participate in CLT research projects.