Meet Some of the Studied Leopards

OVERBERG    DE HOOP    LANGEBERG    HEX RIVER   GARDEN ROUTE    BAVIAANSKLOOF    GREATER ADDO

HERMANUS MALE Weight: 33kg     Status: collared  June 2011

DE HOOP FEMALE Weight: 22kg      Status: Collared March 2011 Trapped in cage set for caracal this was rescued on a farm near the Potberg section of DeHoop National Park. She was released inside the reserve and is now being monitored in this island of indigenous habitat bordering intensive livestock farming areas.

WORCESTER MALE Weight: 32kg       Status: collared Nov 2010,  killed September 2011 A local farmer with Cape Nature Conservation contacted the foundation to rescue this cat after calves were lost. Participating in the Leopard Friendly farming initiative the leopard still roams this property and the land owners are proud to have him there. It is extremely sad to note that within hours of this male's first map being sent to a local that it found its way onto a hunting site at www.jaracal.com (since removed). These leopards need protection.

HEIDELBERG MALE Weight: 35kg  Status: Collared June 2010 Rescued from an old empty reservoir in stormy conditions this leopard has been fascinating to watch a he keeps to narrow belts of indigenous and wattle forests in the foothills. He had followed a baboon into the old reservoir and was unable to jump out the 5 meter walls. Workers on the farm just outside the Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve heard the cat growling. Cape Nature Conservation was contacted and they called out Landmark's team.

WILDERNESS FEMALE Weight: 23 kg    Status: Collared  2009 Collared in September 2009, and neighbouring M6 this female is fairly old. We estimate she is about 10 years or older. She is an important leopard to the research and her movements will contribute significantly to the regional and national study we are undertaking on this elusive and protected species. She occupies an interesting territory on plantation edge using mostly indigenous forest in the kloof and valleys. Three generations of cubs have been monitored, a neighbouring female and two males in the greater area.

RHEENENDAL MALE Weight: 45 kg    Status: Collared 2009 This male leopard was collared on 11 March 2009 and was a breakthrough for the research and conservation work we do. He was the first cat collared in the forest biome, which only makes up some 2% of SA’s landscape. The Forest is shrinking constantly due to the increasing human population and subsequent development. Leopards and other species in this biome are in desperate need of conservation action. We are monitoring the two females in his range, one sub adult as well as a neighbouring male.

KANGO FEMALE Weight: 21 kg    Status: Collared 2007 This female was captured in September 2007 and is the neighbour to F1. They do not step toe into each others territory. She had a sub-adult with her (JM1) until about September 2008, when she was found with M1, probably mating. In June 2009 we found her with two cubs of about 6 months old. The next generation of this important and fruitful female continues. The first cub was captured at 18 months of age, but too young to be GPS collared. Very little is known about how far these young adults go in search of their own territory.

ZUMA MALE Weight: 41kg    Status: Collared 2007    Deceased: November 2010 This male (picture above) was dominant over a  vast area of the Baviaanskloof for the 3 years that we monitored him. He was shot by  local farmer in November 2010 even though he was offered compensation for his livestock losses. Mr Dawid Smith had livestock protection collars which had greatly reduced his losses but over time they were not used any more and Mr Smith started night hunting and culling predators again on his farm Kleinpoort in the Baviaanskloof. Zuma's range extended some 600km², giving him the largest area used by the collared leopards to date. He had two females within his range (see F1 and F2). He travels up to 23km in one day!

M3 - DIEP VLEI KLOOF MALE Weight: 38kg    Status Collared 2008 This male was captured in June 2008. He occupies the depth of the Baviaanskloof Mountains and was very difficult to find during monitoring. He occupied a range neighbouring with Zuma. With two males collared at the same time we collected invaluable data on the territorial relationship between them.

KLEINPOORT FEMALE Weight: 21 kg   Age: Adult   Status: Collared  This female was captured in August 2007. We collected 5 months data from her before she somehow removed her collar. We now keep track of her by using camera traps. Cub spoor where found next to hers in 2009. We will continue to follow her movements.

M2   COCKSCOMB Weight: 48kg   Age: Adult   Status: Collared This beautiful male leopard illustrates the resilience of these cats in the wild. He was lucky to escape and survive the effects of a gin trap (see pic on the right). He was collared in June 2007. His range extended some 120km² and we picked up one female within his range. Sadly he did not escape death and was killed by a farmer in October 2008. He was one of the first cats collared and he has provided us with an immense amount of information which will be used to ensure his unfortunate fate will not be the fate of other leopards in his area. The Landmark team was fortunate enough to witness his mating with a female in May 2008. An extraordinary event to witness! Mating continued for 15 hours and occurred every 12 minutes. His cubs will without a doubt carry on his strength. Unfortunately, a farmer shot this male in October 2008. Subsequently a male (see Cockscomb M2) has taken over his entire range. This resilient animal was caught in a steel gin trap. The second picture shows how the animal was lucky to survive as the entire paw was broken off!

F5: COCKSCOMB F1 (KWAZENGA) Weight: 21kg    Status: Collared 2009 Collared on the 7th January 2009, this gorgeous cat roams a large portion of the Cockscomb Mountains. This healthy, adult female makes tracking very difficult for researchers and always offers challenges to obtain her data. It is always a thrill locating her. Her collar was removed when we recaptured her in May 2011.

M4     KAZUKO MALE Weight: 36kg   Status: Collared  This male was the first leopard we collared in December 2006. The farmer on whose property he was captured, refused to release him on site, and so he was relocated to Addo National Park. We consequently kept a close eye on his movements and he decided to remain in the National Park. He has been sighted on several occasions at a lodge near-by. The importance of this cat was extremely high as he was translocated and educated all involved regarding the movements he subsequently made. He was released into an area where pre-release surveys where undertaken to establish leopard presence, and we found no evidence of leopards before his release.

F3    KAZUKO FEMALE Weight: 21 kg   Age: Adult   Status: Collared. Rescued from a gin trap.  F3 was a cat rescued from a gin trap in November 2007. She was fortunate to only suffer tissue damage and the Landmark Foundation reacted quickly enough to ensure her release into the wild. She was released into the safe environment of Addo National Park.