Farmer shoots 'eyes in the night', kills collared leopard

A farmer shot and killed a leopard that was collared for research in the Boesmanland area in the Northern Cape earlier this month.

According to the Landmark Foundation, the group that collared the leopard, “We were informed that the farmer and his son were out on Friday, hunting at night and they saw eyes in the night and shot at it, killing this magnificent female leopard. They claim it was an accident.”

“How can it be acceptable to shoot at eyes in the night when you do not know the victim you are about to kill?” The Landmark Foundation asked.

The leopard was the 48th one to die under similar circumstances in the  Landmark Foundation's area of operations in the last ten years.

The foundation was established to respond to human-wildlife conflicts on farms across South Africa, and offers farmers compensation for any livestock they lose to collared predators.

These losses are verified through GPS coordinates tracking the animals, helping prevent persecutions.