The Cederberg leopard and caracal research is going well. Quinton recaptured and re-collared MC3 ("Klonkies"), replacing his old collar with a new GPS collar. He is a rather old cat - caught for the first time in June 2010. This time he had a few nasty wounds likely from a hunting incident a few weeks ago. It's amazing - years back caracal would have been killed by farmers here, now farmers in the Cederberg Conservancy support the project and leopards and caracal are left alone to do their own thing unhindered and not persecuted. Rocky, the other male caracal has been monitored for almost 4 years now. The…

“Those ‘road closed’ signs are only meant for normal cars”, I reassured Brenda and Sandile, the two students who were accompanying me on the trip into Gamkaskloof to check on the camera traps that we’d set up all the way back in April. I had originally planned to return in mid June, but had failed to take the school holidays into account, and our trip earlier in July had to be aborted after heavy rains caused part of the road to be washed away. So there was no way that I was going to allow somewhat sub-optimal roads to further…

The Cape Leopard Trust’s Holiday Program, sponsored by The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF), went ahead despite freezing, stormy weather. Clearly everyone enjoyed themselves thoroughly despite the adverse conditions. Our young participants, children from varying backgrounds and locations in Cape Town explored corners of their environment that they had never seen before. Some of the highlights included a fortunate glimpse of the newly hatched Black Eagle chick on Noordhoek Peak, observing the only well behaved troop of baboons on the peninsula, seeing bontebok, a stick insect, a blister beetle, orange breasted sunbirds, golden orb spiders, otter tracks and scats,…

Quinton Martins recently spent a few weeks in the USA visiting research projects and giving talks. Here he tells all on returning from what sounded like a fascinating trip. Born in the USA – 6 month old mountain lion cub trapped and collared for research. Photo: Q. Martins “ In May, I embarked on a research trip to the USA in an attempt to gain a better understanding of leopard and caracal behaviour and ecology through work conducted on analogous species in comparable circumstances. Mountain lions Puma concolor, also known as cougars or pumas would be the closest equivalent to…

The CLT Boland Project is currently repeating their Southern survey, with over 50 remote-sensing camera traps monitoring the wildlife in the mountains of the Jonkershoek, Hottentots-Holland, Groenlandberg, Kogelberg, Helderberg and Steenbras Reserves. The previous Southern survey took place in the summer months, and is now being repeated as a winter survey to investigate seasonal differences in leopard and other mammal activity. The Hottentots-Holland and Kogelberg mountains have some of the highest rainfall in the Western Cape, so working out here in winter can mean getting very VERY wet at times! With the survey now just past the halfway mark, we…

The Cederberg Caracal Project is growing from strength to strength and has recently received some great footage from the team at Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat. Regardt, head ranger on the property, sent some great images of Easter and Rooibos on a springbok kill. Easter killed the antelope around May 26. The rangers found the kill and put a remote camera close by. The caracals came back at night on both the 27th and 28th of May. From the camera trap photos, both Easter and Rooibos appear to be in good condition. If you would like to sponsor…

On Tuesday 15 May, Jeannie Hayward from the Cape Leopard Trust’s Boland leopard project and Marine Drouilly from the Cederberg caracal project arrived at the luxurious Bushmans Kloof Wilderness Reserve and Wellness Retreat in the northern Cederberg.  The purpose of this trip was not for a spot of R&R, but rather to offer a leopard and caracal tracking experience for the guests and rangers. The trip started with a lovely sunset game drive through the reserve on the evening of the 15th, followed by a detailed presentation on the Cape Leopard Trusts research, conservation and education projects. Information was also…

Dr Ian McCallum, one of the Trustees of the Cape Leopard Trust is undertaking an ambitious project. Following ancient African elephant migration paths, Tracks of Giants, is a 5 month west to east journey connecting major conservation nodes to promote a greater awareness of conservation, human community and leadership issues relevant to southern Africa, and applicable to many areas of the world.  The journey aims to rekindle the rapidly declining indigenous knowledge base of the human-animal interface, and indigenous solutions to conservation challenges and issues. A team of trackers, conservationists and media will travel by foot, cycle (in regions outside…

A struggle for survival is playing out in South Africa’s inhospitable Cederberg Mountains. A unique population of African leopards, perfectly adapted to this rugged terrain, is losing a battle with a ruthless enemy: humans. Habitat destruction and persecution by farmers have pushed these cats to the brink … and their fate now rests in the hands of a dedicated wildlife conservationist. Quinton Martins knows that research is key when it comes to saving a species – but gathering data about these elusive cats is not easy. With time running out, help arrives in an unusual form… One of the world’s…

South Africa’s largest gathering of environmentally conscious business experts since CoP17 will take place on World Environment Day, 5 June 2012. The Greenest Event, proudly sponsored by Servest Multi Service Group, will be hosted by Simon Gear at the Sandton Sun Hotel in Johannesburg and will welcome 400 of the country’s leading business delegates. Now in its second year, The Greenest Event is touted as a one day MBA in Planet Management and sensitises corporate leaders to the issues pertinent to the well-being of South Africa’s environment. The concept is based on those formed in Mark Lynas’s book, ‘The God…