A previous version of this article incorrectly attributed a comment to Jeannie Hayward. The article also incorrectly indicated that Richard Mckibbin currently works as conservationist and researcher at the Ingwe Leopard Project (Lydenburg) and the Leopard Identification Project at the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. He was previously involved with them. We apologise for these errors.
There has been speculation surrounding a possible increase in Cape leopard sightings in the Cape Winelands region, since the start of the national lockdown. This is according to Jeannie Hayward, communications manager at The Cape Leopard Trust, who says the public may be sensationalising these images.
Images of leopards recorded on trap cameras in the region are neither new nor strange, said Hayward.
However, due to the lockdown and the subsequent decrease in human activity on the mountain slopes of Franschhoek, Stellenbosch and Somerset West, leopards may have dared to leave their normal territories more frequently, said Hayward.
According to Hayward, estates and private individuals may also be sharing such images more frequently on social media, which has caused a hype as people are becoming more aware of the wildlife surrounding urban areas.
“Perhaps we could all use this time of lockdown to reflect on how we perceive the wild spaces around us and how we should conduct ourselves in these spaces,” said Hayward in an article which first appeared on The Cape Leopard Trust’s website.
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According to Evan Kortjé, Lourensford Wine Estate’s nature conservation field ranger, he checked camera traps on the mountain slope around the Lourensford Wine Estate about once every three weeks. Before the lockdown, Kortjé would see one image of a leopard roughly once every three months. Now, Kortjé sees at least one image every time he goes up the mountain bordering the estate to check the trap cameras.
Field ranger Evan Kortjé saw this Cape leopard, roaming around Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West, via camera trap. According to Kortjé, seeing these big cats makes his job that much more worthwhile. PHOTO: Lourensford Wine Twitter account.
Once normal activity resumes
The presence of leopards will increase on their territory fringes during the lockdown but this does not necessarily mean that there will be an increase in sightings of the animal, according to Richard Mckibbin, conservationist and a previous researcher at the Ingwe Leopard Project (Lydenburg) and the Leopard Identification Project at the iSimangaliso Wetland Park.
Leopards are shy animals and try to avoid humans, especially Cape leopards, which have a history of persecution, said Mckibbin.
“Leopards do not stick strictly to defined borders and are prone to wander (particularly males) in search of extending their range or for prey,” Mckibbin said. So, the decrease in human activity during the lockdown may see leopards stray from their borders, he said. However, when normal activity resumes, the leopards will retreat to their previous haunts, said Mckibbin.