Leopards of Hermanus (and
beyond…) (Article 2)
In
the good old bad old days, mankind had very little regard for the natural
wonders that the planet had and would wantonly plunder its resources without a
moments thought as to what damage we were causing. Thankfully in these much
more enlightened times, humans have realised that we have to actively save and
conserve these dwindling splendours or they will be lost forever.
From
the 1960’s many successful campaigners have pushed the boundaries, by highly
informing humanity of the plight of many species, which has in turn made us all
think a lot harder about helping to save the planet from our own destructive
powers, by turning bad into good – from Sir David Attenborough and his amazing BBC nature documentaries; Jane Goodall
(Chimpanzees); Dian Fossey (Gorillas); Jacques-Yves
Cousteau (Oceans); WWF (Pandas, Dolphins and Whales); Greenpeace (stopping
pollution, nuclear and actively pursuing Whaling fleets in their ships); many
helping to save the Rhinos and Elephants; TV channels like BBC, Discovery,
Animal Planet and National Geographic and now-a-days 1000’s of international
conservation NGO’s, charities, UN organisations and local heroes.
Following on from our last article; Hermanus and the
Overberg region has it’s own resident Leopards, which are being studied more
and more closely by the Cape Leopard Trust (called the Boland Leopard Project).
What their research has shown is that each male Leopard has a huge individual
territory, which never over-lap with another male; while female Leopards occupy
much smaller ranges that over-lap the boundaries of 1, 2 or 3 males ranges,
therefore meaning that in reality there are fewer Leopards roaming freely than
was first thought. Before this research information was known, farmers used to
think that there were many more Leopards occupying tiny ranges.
Due to human expansion into the once remote and
isolated regions, there have been many Human-Wildlife conflicts – especially
between Farmers of cattle, sheep, goats and poultry and the carnivore cat
species of Lions, Cheetah, Leopard, Hyena and the smaller Jackal and Caracal
The Cape Leopard Trust (and a number of other
conservation organisations) are doing their utmost to stop these Farmer verses
Cat conflicts, with many recent success stories.
Thanks to the large amount of research conduct by
the Cape Leopard Trust, via GPS collars and camera traps, they are now able to
accurately know how many Leopards there are and where they venture to. This
important data obviously shows when and if Leopards are going onto Farming land
where there are livestock.
One highly reassuring piece of data regarding the
Cederberg Leopards is that 80% of their diet is made up from just 2 of the 30
wild prey species – Klipspringers and Dassies
These cats were once shoot, poisoned or gin-trapped
by farmers, but thanks to the Cape Leopard Trust’s hard work over the last
decade, they have actively engaged farmers with much important information,
dispelling the myths with hard facts and implementing many novel and simple
ways to co-exist.
These include – Leopard proof kraals. For small
kraals, then the simple and effective way is to place chicken wire over the
kraal; for larger kraals, then fencing that is over 2.5metres high and has an
outward facing lip, is more than adequate to stop a Leopard from entering.
Electrifying the fences also helps.
Throat protectors / collars for each sheep or goat
are plastic, cheap, easy to fit and highly effective.
Anatolian shepherd dogs are also an excellent way to
protect flocks. These amazing dogs are actively breed by conservation
organisations and given away free to farmers. However for the maximum
protection of any flock it is best to have a human Shepherd who stays with the
animals, protecting them during the day, while the Anatolian shepherd dog
protects them at night. This combination has an excellent success rate.
To supplement many farmers incomes they have started
to diversify their revenue streams, with Tourism being the major player, as
farmers have realised correctly that city dwellers love to escape the concrete
jungle and to explore the open spaces of the countryside. The more eco-friendly
the better, so conservation of wildlife has also taken centre stage, which has
allowed many farmers to actively embrace the ideas put forward by the Cape
Leopard Trust and others, by safe-guarding the Leopard and the many wild
creatures that share our region.
Long may positive and inventive ideas continue to
allow co-existence of humans and wildlife.
For more info on the Boland Leopard Project, please
go to - http://capeleopard.org.za/research/leopard/boland
Authored by Percy Tours – www.percytours.com
/ 072 062 8500
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Until next time, cheers,
Percy at Percy Tours, Hermanus, South Africa.
www.percytours.com
Designer Tours (& transfers) of Hermanus, Cape Town and the whole Western Cape region.
