5 Rand The Big Five Series I - Leopard

The Big Five series launched by the South African Mint positioned itself against a crowded field of wildlife bullion programs, but the leopard issue carries particular local weight — the leopard is the rarest of the Big Five in the wild, increasingly absent from game reserves outside protected areas due to habitat pressure and poaching. South Africa's leopard population is estimated at under 5,000 individuals, a number that has declined sharply since the 1990s.

KM#730 belongs to the first series iteration before the program expanded its format offerings.