More than just a car brand – Ford's Wildlife Foundation helps protect SA's precious leopards

News24

5 hours ago

The Cape Leopard Trust was founded in 2004.
The Ford Wildlife Foundation was established in 2014.
Ford provides the Cape Leopard Trust team with Ranger bakkies to continue their work.
Aside from its range of local bakkies and SUVs that fly the flag high in terms of monthly sales in South Africa, Ford is also actively involved in a couple of initiatives locally like the READ Educational Trust (since its inception in 1998) and the (Ford) Wildlife Foundation.
The latter was established in 2014 and currently supports 28 projects across SA and another in Mozambique. For more than 30 years, Ford South Africa has actively participated in wildlife and ecosystem conservation efforts in SA and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The Ford Wildlife Foundation (FWF) is unique in its partnership with organisations. These organisations are selected by Ford and the FWF board and receive the full-time use of locally assembled Rangers for a period of two years.
The greater good
The automaker has supported the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) in its leopard conservation work. They are a non-governmental, not-for-profit, public benefit organisation founded in 2004 that facilitates and promotes the conservation of biological diversity, focusing on the leopard as a flagship species.
Rob Till/Ford SA
The team is small and close-knit, guided by a board of trustees and a scientific advisory board, and supported by brand ambassadors.
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Essential to capturing images of the leopards in the area is the CLT's research team's camera trap - a motion- and heat-sensitive digital camera that monitors wildlife day and night, which is essential for studying leopards in the Cape region.
'Researching leopards in the Cape is especially challenging due to the leopard's elusive nature and the demanding landscapes we work in. Fieldwork requires careful planning, rugged equipment, and reliable mobility,' said Dr Katy Williams, Research and Conservation Director at the CLT.
Rob Till/Ford SA
Additionally, the Boland Mountain Complex (BMC) is one of the CLT's priority long-term monitoring sites, with the current survey spanning approximately 2 500km² and involving 90 paired camera trap stations.
With that in mind, Ford provided the CLT team with Ranger bakkies, which enabled them to reach the more rugged and mountainous regions needed to capture data—it would have been very challenging to do otherwise.
'At Ford, we believe in enabling real-world conservation efforts through practical support. The Cape Leopard Trust's work is not only scientifically robust but community-focused, and their team is often working in difficult terrain under tough conditions,' says Lynda du Plessis, manager of the Ford Wildlife Foundation.
Rob Till/Ford SA
Rangers for the job
Bakkies are known for their ruggedness, and in this instance, they not only have the mechanical capability but also sufficient load space to transport equipment and reach remote field sites that are otherwise inaccessible.
The double-cab bakkie derivatives were the XL (priced from R620 000), XLT (priced from R681 500), and Wildtrak X (priced from R1 070 500). The XL has a single turbodiesel 2.0-litre engine that produces 125kW and 405Nm. It is also available in 4x2 or 4x4 configuration and can be paired with either a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.
The XLT also does duty with the same 2.0-litre unit as the XL and is also available in bi-turbo trim as well. The bi-turbo makes 154kW and 500Nm. The single turbo versions use six-speed automatic transmissions, while the bi-turbo garners the 10-speed automatic. The Wildtrak X is only available with the 2.0-litre Bi-Turbo and full-time 4 4-wheel drive.