Leopards are among the most enchanting big cats in the world. Their beauty, raw power and elusiveness have fascinated humans through the ages. Our fascination with leopards is a double-edged sword for the big cat, however. The value we place on seeing this beautiful big cat draws tourists and provides funding for conservation. On the downside, the leopard’s beauty and power drives the illegal market for their skins and other body parts, which contributes to their decline in some parts of Africa. Being elusive also has upsides: leopards can live near and even in towns and cities without people realising it. The downside: it is difficult to determine how many there really are. This lack of information hinders effective conservation plans for the species. Besides counting them, we need to know if their numbers are increasing or decreasing, which parts of the country are most important for the species, and what are the worst threats to their survival. Without this information it is quite easy to believe there are so many leopards that we need not worry about them – until it is too late. While average farm sizes in Namibia range between 10-60 km2 depending on the region, male leopard territories cover 18-451 km2 (females occupy smaller areas of 9-224 km2 within male territories). This means that while farmers may think that they have “many” leopards on their individual properties, it is likely that they share these leopards with several neighbouring farms. When a leopard is killed on one farm its absence is likely to affect the leopard population in a much larger area, as leopards from neighbouring territories will probably move into the vacated territory. Studies covering several farms in one continuous landscape are therefore critical for obtaining detailed information about the health and growth of these local leopard populations over time. They don’t tell us how many leopards there are throughout Namibia, however. If we had endless human and financial resources we could conduct detailed studies that cover the whole country, but this is simply not possible. Recognising these limitations, scientists have developed increasingly accurate ways to estimate large carnivore populations using information collected from a variety of different sources including, but not limited to, detailed studies.