Leopards are arguably the most charismatic of South Africa’s big five and always provoke fear, and demand respect when spoken about. In certain circles leopards are also regarded with disdain and treated like vermin. This is a historic attitude which thankfully is changing fast as even farmers now recognise the value of these magnificent cats and are co-operating to conserve both the animals and their environment.
Are there leopards in the Klein Karoo? This question is often asked while various rumour based answers are offered. Now, thanks to the Cape Leopard Trust, speculative answers are no longer necessary. Commenting on the newly launched CapeLeopard Trust Gouritz Region Study, Gareth Mann comments, “With support from the WWF’s Green Trust we launched a broad-scale camera trap survey of a 3000 sqkm area of the Little Karoo in March this year. It’s still too early to draw any strong conclusions from the camera trap survey, but we should have a much better idea of how many leopards are actually present in the area by this time next year.
The project is the first detailed study of the leopards in the Gouritz region, (more specifically, the Little Karoo). The aims of the project are to assess the size and density of the leopard population in the region, identify important habitat and terrain types that the leopards need, as well as potential movement corridors between those ‘core’ habitat areas”.
The Klein Karoo Gouritz Leopard Study has already delivered positive results with leopards being photographed in the Rooiberg area as well as the mountains around Calitzdorp. This is very exciting news for the Klein Karoo and has further positive spin-offs as Gareth explains, “Our other major research activity is the capturing and collaring of leopards. Last year we collared 3 male leopards in the Rooiberg area, and I hope to collar at least 3 more. This provides us with valuable
information on the leopards home range size and the types of habitat and terrain that they prefer using. We can also use data from the collars to find sites of leopards kills to see what they’ve been eating! The collars are also a great tool
for educating landowners about the leopards – most of them can’t believe the huge distances that they cover. (these can be quite incredible). The camera trap survey also provides a huge amount of information on general animal diversity, which can also be used to guide future conservation management.”
Leopards in the Klein Karoo are a reality. Watch this space for more news and developments as Karoo Places.com stays in touch with Gareth Mann and The Cape Leopard Trust.
Pictures of Leopards in the mountains around Calitzdorp – courtesy of Cape Leopard Trust
Further reading: Bush Warriors, Africa Safari Blog, Dear Kitty. Some blog, Leopard’s Leap
