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It was the morning of the 13th July when we received a call from Hennie Spamer (Driehoek farm - Cederberg). A leopard had taken one of his kid goats, right from its pen in the farm yard. We went over to see if either of the collared leopards who range over Driehoek was near the farmhouses. We found that the female leopard, Spot (F10) was right there, only 250m away. 

An apex predator in the rugged Western Cape region of South Africa, the little researched and undeservedly vilified Cape leopard is an “umbrella species” whose conservation effectively helps to preserve smaller, lower profile predators.

Long believed to be a robustly populated species that routinely preyed upon local livestock, Cape Leopard Trust’s research revealed that this wide ranging species was routinely removed with little or no consideration to the impact on its ecosystem.

Cape Leopard Trust is championing the cause of predator preservation – a lean yet dynamic, impactful organization that has implemented conservation strategies, research projects and tourism initiatives including environmental education program.

The grade 4 – 6 children of Dwarsrivier Primêr were ready and waiting on the 7th May. On our previous outing, we’d taken a walk from the school up the valley and had paid special attention to the ‘suikerbekkies’ - sugarbirds and sunbirds. The children had noticed how these birds were always found on the ‘suikerbossies’ (a type of protea that stands quite tall, with flowers filled with sweet nectar).

We have been vainly hoping to download GPS collar data from ‘Lizzy’, the female leopard (F5). Lizzy lives in the most inaccessible region of all the collared leopards in the Cederberg. When she was first collared, her home range was accessible, but she has since shifted her range into an extremely rugged part of the eastern Cederberg. Despite checking for the signal daily, there has been no sign of her. Furthermore, her collar was not functioning properly, so that when we were able to communicate with it, we struggled to get a GPS download.

Quinton in the last throes of writing his PHD 
Need one say more?

Quinton aims to submit his PHD in August, after which, he promises, he will reply more promptly to emails!

Report by Elizabeth Martins

Three months since its inception and what is happening with the Education Project? Much of the groundwork has now been done in order to ensure that the Education and Outreach Programme has a solid foundation with the correct legal and safety measures in place.

We now have satellite phones, first aid certificates, public driver’s permits, indemnity forms, indemnity forms, indemnity forms... A very special thank you goes to Sharon McCallum and Jean Badenhorst for dedicating so much time and effort in putting together appropriate indemnity forms in both English and Afrikaans. I am sincerely grateful.  Sharon has also spent a considerable time acting as our “Legal Beagle” sorting out Trust issues and many more. Thank You Sharon!

Report by Ben-Jon Dreyer

Looking back a year, the CLT had just started exploring the massive Namaqualand granite outcrops for possible signs of leopard in this harsh, arid environment.  Uncertain of what we would discover we stepped out into this wilderness, relying on experiences from our other study areas, luck and ‘Koringkriek’ (our trustworthy Toyota) not to let us down.