When the Cape Leopard Trust conducts research in a region, we are mindful to maintain established relationships and continue to provide support that will leave a conservation legacy beyond the life of a temporary research project like a large-scale camera trap survey. For this reason, the CLT’s Conservation and Education teams conduct outreach and environmental education extensions aimed at encouraging appreciation of biodiversity and reducing human-leopard conflict. This was exactly the case for the Little Karoo, which was the focus of a large camera survey in 2022 – read more HERE.
In 2022, the CLT secured funding from Lomas Wildlife Protection Trust and Jamma International to deliver the following essential environmental education and outreach activities in the Little Karoo.
Interpretive information boards
The CLT team also distributed Leopards of the Cape interpretive information boards to five prominent and well-visited locations within the Little Karoo – at the Cango Caves and Meiringspoort Visitor Centres, Fontein Guest Farm in Gamkaskloof (Die Hel), Rooiberg Lodge near Vanwyksdorp, and at Gamkaberg Nature Reserve. These large outdoor boards were designed as an education and awareness tool to share information and encourage local appreciation of leopards. The board contains easily digestible information about leopards and the threats they face, about their conservation status, ecological importance, field signs and diet, and about leopard-farmer conflict and what makes the leopards of the Cape unique.
Farming with Nature workshops
An important aspect of our community outreach work in the Little Karoo is the delivery of workshops targeted at farmers on predator conflict mitigation and farm management methods that protect nature and enhance food security. In March 2023, a Holistic Drought Management session was presented to local farmers in partnership with experts from the Herding Academy, and on 19 April, CapeNature and the CLT will lead a Holistic Predation Management workshop to share information on predator behavioural ecology, conflict mitigation and carcass ID. Find more information and book for this workshop HERE.
Environmental education
The Little Karoo is regarded as a fairly underserved and neglected area compared to regions closer to main activity hubs like Cape Town. With funding from Lomas, the CLT’s environmental education team was able to venture into the Little Karoo for the first time in February 2023, to lead fun and engaging lessons on leopard ecology for 223 grade 6 and 7 learners at six schools. This meant that the CLT’s environmental education team was able to venture into the Little Karoo for the first time in February 2023, to lead fun and engaging lessons on leopard ecology for 223 grade 6 and 7 learners at six schools. Most of these schools rarely receive external visitors and the teachers and children were extremely excited to participate. These learners will receive a total of five or six lessons from the CLT team with further visits scheduled for April and May.
