Pic of the week: Cape Leopard….camera trap
Cape Leopard Trust Camera Trap
This is the closest I’ve come to seeing a Leopard in the Cape… While riding in the Palmiet river valley on Sunday I came across this camera trap, a vital piece of equipment for the Cape Leopard Trust’s research on this very elusive predator. Cape Leopard (the smaller cousin of the larger bushveld variety), is extremely shy and practically impossible to see, hence the use of camera traps. Here’s an excerpt from the Cape Leopard Trust’s website on camera trapping:
How do you find such a secretive animal in such a vast and untamed area? The short and general answer is: You don’t! Cape Leopards are notoriously shy and elusive; extremely few people have been lucky enough to see one – and when they do it is usually only a short glimpse. Fortunately, there is a solution – digital cameras, containing an infrared sensor triggered by motion and heat (referred to as a “camera trap”). Camera-trapping has proved to be a very effective way of estimating the numbers of elusive and nocturnal animals such as large carnivores (e.g. tigers in India). It is a non-invasive and comparatively affordable option, since it does not require the capture, handling, or immobilisation of animals. Photographs of leopards are an exceptionally useful tool, since each leopard has a distinctive spot pattern – almost like our fingerprints – by which it can be identified. Camera traps can be deployed singly, but ideally a camera station should consist of two cameras opposite each other. Such double stations are used to compile “leopard identikits” – photos of both an individual’s left and right flanks – which are crucial in estimating the number of individuals in an area. [more here]
The thought that leopards roam the Kogelberg certainly gives the area a distinct charm. Apart from the infamous “Betty’s Bay Leopard” of the 1980′s, which was well known for being decidedly un-elusive and its penchant for African Penguins, the only recent local reports I’m aware of are unconfirmed sightings from Hangklip. Does anyone else perhaps know of other sightings from the area?
Do visit the Cape Leopard Trust website, it’s a fascinating project.
David Winter
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