Article
Mobile phone technology came to the aid of an injured leopard when South Africa’s Vodacom overnight strengthened cellular coverage in the area into which the animal had been released, thereby enabling her rehabilitation to be effectively managed. The female leopard had been rescued in late September 2007 from a gin trap (a pair of jaws that spring together when triggered by an animal) on a farm near Steytlerville in the Eastern Cape. After treatment and collaring with GPS collar which used a cellphone network to transmit location data, the animal was taken to Kuzuko in the northern part of Addo National Park, and released on 29 September. This article highlights the growing influence of mobile tracking in wildlife conservation work.