South African farmers battling livestock losses to predators now have access to a new potential tool – and they can build it for free.
The Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) has released an open-access blueprint, build guide, video and field-evaluation report for the Mobi-kraal, a portable predator-proof enclosure designed to protect livestock at night.
The initiative aims to provide farmers with a practical alternative to predator removal in areas where livestock and wildlife share the landscape.
Protecting livestock without killing predators
Predators can cause significant economic losses when livestock becomes an easier target, particularly where wild prey is scarce or animals are left vulnerable overnight.
While livestock losses can lead to retaliation against predators, the Cape Leopard Trust says reducing or removing predator populations is neither a viable nor sustainable long-term solution.
Instead, securing livestock at night – when animals are particularly vulnerable – can significantly reduce the risk of attacks.
However, permanent kraals are not always practical for farmers, particularly smaller commercial and subsistence farmers or those operating across large or difficult landscapes.
The Mobi-kraal was developed in response to discussions with farmers in leopard conflict areas who wanted a flexible way of protecting their livestock.
Tested on farms across South Africa
The Cape Leopard Trust combined engineering expertise and ideas from farmers through a national Conservation Kraal Challenge competition before working with project partner Panthera to develop and test prototypes.
Four livestock farms in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Limpopo were selected to trial the kraals for approximately a year.
Each farm had experienced livestock depredation and had demonstrated a commitment to using non-lethal and sustainable mitigation methods.
A fifth Mobi-kraal was retained by the Cape Leopard Trust as an Immediate Response Kraal, allowing it to be deployed following livestock losses in the Western Cape.
The trials produced promising results.
The Mobi-kraal completely eliminated nighttime predation losses during active use.
Once farmers became familiar with assembling the structure, it could be dismantled, moved and rebuilt on level ground by at least three people in approximately an hour, depending on its size.
Its modular design also allows farmers to adapt the enclosure to different flock sizes.
More testing still needed
The trials showed that the structure was strong enough to withstand regular use and strong winds, while initial testing suggested that expanding the kraal did not compromise its structural stability.
However, the project has highlighted important limitations.
Testing was restricted to flocks of up to 25 sheep or goats. Further research is needed to determine how the structure performs with cattle or substantially larger herds.
Additional testing will also be required in areas where farmers face larger predators such as lions and spotted hyaenas.
The Cape Leopard Trust has therefore described the current design as a foundational tool that can be adapted to local conditions and further developed.
Blueprint available to farmers worldwide
The organisation is now making the complete Mobi-kraal blueprint, construction guide and other project resources freely available.
Farmers and conservation organisations can access the material at mobikraal.org and are encouraged to provide feedback if they build or modify the design.
The aim is for that feedback to help refine the design and potentially expand its use as part of the wider toolkit for reducing human-wildlife conflict.
