In September 2011, Avis South Africa came on board as a main sponsor of the CLT Boland Project. They have sponsored the project the use of a new Toyota Hilux Double-Cab 4x4. This sponsorship is invaluable, as a robust, reliable off-road vehicle is essential on a project of this nature. The Boland Project researchers travel about 30,000km a year while conducting field work and doing environmental education work.  Considerable mileage is done on rough, off-road terrain, and this awesome vehicle is the perfect vehicle for the job. The Avis Hilux - now affectionately named "Mavis" - was handed over to…

On the evening of 21 September, Anita and Jeannie of the CLT Boland Project gave a presentation to members of the Helderberg branch of WESSA (Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa).  The talk went very well, and we would like to thank the members for being such an enthusiastic, appreciative and generous audience.  WESSA has also sponsored a camera trap in the past - something for which we are always very grateful. WESSA is the oldest conservation body in South Africa and is celebrating 85 years of "Caring for the Earth" this year.  The Cape Leopard Trust has close…

September has come and with it camp season in the Cederberg has begun again. This season the Cape Leopard Trust’s environmental camps are fully booked. The first two have been sponsored camps – Paternoster’s St Augustine school and the Muizenberg Beach Club. It is through the generous support of the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) that the CLT’s education programme is able to function. It has been an absolute delight seeing the newly decorated NLDTF bus in the mountains filled with children! We would like to share some feedback that we have had on these two camps. From St…

One of the greatest threats to leopards in Southern Africa is the illegal skin trade. An innovative project has been set up to deal with this issue - ‘To Skin A Cat’. They are at a critical stage in this project. Here is an excerpt from their current plea: Leopards may be a symbol of power and strength but they are vulnerable to human greed. To Skin a Cat is a film that exposes the loss of leopard populations to an illegal skin trade. It is also the story of one team's mission to save these beloved big cats by…

Catching leopards is seldom easy, but this year it has been especially difficult. At present we have three male leopards collared in the Rooiberg area, and I am hoping to capture and collar three more this year. Thus far the trapping has not been successful, but at the end of June we had a very close call with the capture of a young male leopard close to the Huisrivier Pass. I received a call from Mr. Louis Smit, who has been very kindly monitoring the trap on his property, saying that there was something in the trap. Expecting to find…

Twenty five years ago, a young man passionate about conserving leopards in the Cape mountains, studied the leopards in the Cederberg. His name is Peter Norton. Peter did some groundbreaking work on one of the most difficult animals to study, despite having the limitations of what we would now call "antiquated" tracking equipment. He collared and tracked 3 male leopards using VHF radio collars and found their ranges to be about 50 square kilometres. Apart from these data, he also collected extremely valuable data on leopard diet in various mountain habitats in the Cape. In total, 6 scientific publications were…

The Cederberg leopard project requires the immediate assistance of volunteers willing to spend a minimum of a week at a time helping out. Preference is for singles or couples who can cover their own costs including transport to the Cederberg, accommodation and food (camping or reasonably priced fixed accommodation). Interested parties can contact Quinton:

In March this year, we started the first ever systematic camera trap survey of the Gouritz area. With support from the WWF Green Trust, UCT and Energizer, we were able to set up 68 cameras in the area, a far cry from the 12 cameras that were used in 2010! The aim is eventually to survey a 3000 km2 area from the Swartberg Mountains to south of the Rooiberg and Gamkaberg Mountains. Obviously the main aim of the survey is to produce the first ever estimate of the size and density of the leopard population in the region, but as…

The Cape Leopard Trust and UCT's Animal Demography Unit are collaborating on an exciting new project in which you can take part. We are developing a Virtual Museum for Mammals (VIMMA), a website where the public can contribute photos of mammal species in southern Africa. VIMMA consists of digital photographic records of mammals along with accurate geographical coordinates of where the pictures were taken. Register for a Virtual Museum (VM) account and start uploading your pictures (be it photos taken on a family holiday in a National Park, on a walk on Table Mountain, or a camera trap photo). As…

  The National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF) has provided exceptional support to the Cape Leopard Trust's Environmental Education Programme in the form of a grant of R1.3Million over three-years. This sponsorship has been vital in developing and ensuring a future for this initiative. The primary aim of the programme is to get children and adults into nature, providing experiences that connect them with the environment. Learning though personal experience is emphasised, as that way people can develop a real interest in the natural environment and care about what happens to it. One of the most important items sponsored by…