The mission of the Ruaha Carnivore Project is to achieve successful human-carnivore coexistence by empowering local communities, and to develop effective strategies for long term carnivore conservation. We aim to reduce the costs and improve the benefits associated with wildlife, particularly carnivores, on village land, and directly engage and empower local people in conservation. We are also collecting the first detailed data on large carnivore conservation in this landscape, as this has been highlighted as a priority in regional and national carnivore conservation action plans. Our ecological research has led to the first scientific data and publications on Ruaha’s carnivore populations, and has provided vital information for future conservation planning.