SPOTS ON THE LINE: Roads versus roams — can culverts save Greater Kruger’s leopards on deadly R40 highway
The charismatic cats are slipping through tunnels snaking alongside the national park. Africa Geographic’s new documentary, Spots on the Line, tracks researchers using cameras and dogs to understand how wildlife moves through them – and if the answer to collisions on the road above has been beneath our wheels all along.
The documentary Spots on the Line explores how wildlife, specifically leopards, navigate the R40 highway that runs through South Africa's Kruger National Park. The road poses a significant threat to these big cats, with nine known leopard deaths occurring on the region's roads between May 2024 and August 2026, with seven incidents on the R40 itself.
In response to this issue, the Road Ecology Project, run by the Ingwe Research Programme, is investigating the use of culverts, underground passages designed to move water beneath roads, as a potential solution to reduce wildlife road deaths.
The study aims to determine how animals navigate road layouts, why they choose certain tunnels, and what could encourage more wildlife to use culverts instead of crossing the road. Researchers have found that various species, including porcupines, leopards, genets, and warthogs, have already been using the culverts, with porcupines using them more than 40 times per week.
Additionally, leopards were recorded using the passages multiple times a week. However, not all species utilize the culverts, and wet season use appears to decrease.
The project is gathering data to develop a wishlist for suitable culverts for wildlife, considering factors such as passage size, location, surroundings, and maintenance. The researchers also aim to identify dangerous crossing points by analyzing patterns and using conservation detection dogs trained to identify leopard scat. Ultimately, the goal is to create safer infrastructure beneath the busy artery to protect wildlife movement across the R40 highway.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
