A team of women representing the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) are currently training for the Old Mutual Double Century road race in a campaign to raise R250 000 for the conservation of the leopard in the Western Cape. With just over 2 months left until the end of the fundraiser on their GivenGain page, the trust has raised R3 000.
The Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) runs regular large-scale camera trap surveys in the Boland Mountain Complex (BMC), with the aim of tracking leopard density and population trends, according to a blog post on the CLT’s website. In the BMC, leopards occur at a low density of fewer than two leopards per 100 square kilometers. PHOTO: Supplied/Cape Leopard Trust
According to the GivenGain page, R800 can finance a wildlife patrol team or rescue response, while R8 000 can fund a veterinary callout for injured or snared leopards or native prey species.
“We live in an incredible place, which is one of the most relevant biodiversity hotspots in the world,” said Helen Turnbull, chief executive officer of the trust. “If we want to continue to enjoy it, we must do our best to protect it.”
It is the first time that the trust has a dedicated team representing them at the Double Century, said Natalie Hayward, operations director of the CLT. Taking place on 21 November, the race is a 200km route starting in Swellendam, traversing “mixed-use landscape that wildlife like leopard and their prey must navigate to move”, according to their GivenGain fundraiser description.
Cyclists biking in the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve, managed by CapeNature. Jonkershoek forms part of the Boland Mountain Complex (BMC). Jonkershoek and the Cape Winelands play a big role in the research that the trust has done, said Natalie Hayward, operations director of the Cape Leopard Trust. PHOTO: Hélène Wessels
Hayward is also part of the 12-woman team that completed an 88km training ride through Stellenbosch, Paarl and Franschhoek in August.
“The Winelands is such a unique place to ride because you travel from a densely populated area, which is Stellenbosch, which is on the fringes of the mountains [where leopards roam],” said Hayward. “The team themselves traversed the type of areas that wildlife have to traverse, because, you know, animals also cross the road.”
Jonkershoek and the Cape Winelands play a big role in the research that the trust has done, said Hayward. The CLT regularly runs large-scale camera trap surveys in the Boland Mountain Complex (BMC), which includes the Jonkershoek Nature Reserve.
On an 88km training ride in August, the 12-woman cycling team representing the Cape Leopard Trust visited Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch, according to a blog post on the trust’s website. Infrastructure in the Cape Winelands is expanding, complicating the movements for leopards in this area who need to move large distances. PHOTO: Supplied/Cape Leopard Trust
The aim of these surveys is to track leopard density and population trends. In the BMC, leopards occur at a low density of fewer than 2 leopards per 100km2, according to a blog post on the CLT’s website.
The leopard is currently listed as vulnerable on the global International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, said Petro van Rhyn, spokesperson for CapeNature, the government entity responsible for managing and maintaining nature reserves across South Africa. According to the IUCN Red List’s website, leopards’ numbers are decreasing.
“In the Western Cape, leopards face particular pressures because they occur across a fragmented landscape and require large areas in which to live and move,” van Rhyn said. Key threats include habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and illegal killing and snaring.
CapeNature works closely with the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT) through an ongoing partnership focused on research, monitoring, education and conservation, said Petro van Rhyn, CapeNature spokesperson. Leopards play an important role in maintaining ecological balance. By protecting leopard habitats, a contribution is therefore made to the conservation of a wider range of biodiversity. PHOTO: Hélène Wessels
The CLT’s campaign aims to reduce these threats to leopard survival through “co-developed, locally-led conservation initiatives” that promote leopard-friendly communities, according to their GivenGain page.