Cape Town ( http://www.gotravel24.com/destination/cape-town )
Nadia Krige
September 10th, 2010
To most people the idea of real, live leopards lurking in the folded
mountains of the Western Cape is almost unthinkable.
Considered by many to be a bushveld beast through and through, the
existence of the Cape leopard is often relegated to the realm of myths
and legends.
However, with sporadic appearances from these feline phantoms over the
years, the sleepy seaside village of Betty's Bay (
http://www.gotravel24.com/theme/feature-focus/retreat-bettys-bay-0 )
has proven itself to be something of a hot spot, not only for leopards,
but also for those seeking them out.
Stories of encounters
Yet only a lucky few Betty's Bay residents and holidaymakers have had
the honour of a close encounter with one of these elusive creatures.
In most events these blessed meetings occur in the twilight hours of
the day, close to the Harold Porter Botanical garden, or for a startling
moment in the headlights of a car. Never do they last longer than a few
split seconds but nonetheless stories, tall tales and magical myths
about local leopards abound.
The entrance to the Harold Porter Botanical Garden in Betty's Bay, with
Luiperds Kloof walking trail in the background.
The little girl and the leopard
One of the oldest Betty's Bay leopard tales is that of a little girl
who innocently befriends a big, spotted cat without realising what it
is.
The child encounters the creature for the first time lazing on the
sunny stoep of their neighbours' empty holiday home and takes it upon
herself to feed the cute kitty with scraps of fresh fish and leftovers.
Obviously mistaking it for the neighbours' forgotten house cat, she
doesn't realise the danger of the situation and soon becomes cosy and
familiar with the full-grown leopard.
Two books that have been written about the leopards of the Kogelberg
region.
But the magical relationship between girl and wild animal comes to a
sudden end when, one day, her father spots the unlikely pair frolicking
in the next-door-neighbour's garden. Sure that he would be saving his
daughter's life, he rushes over to grab her away and ultimately changes
the way she would see the cat forever.
One version of the story has been adapted into a charming children's
book named "Susan and the Leopard."
Penguin Massacre
Another well-known story dates back to December 1986 when a seemingly
bloodthirsty beast, managed to wipe out more than half of the resident
African Penguin colony at Stony Point in the space of two nights. Its
motives were unclear, because the penguins were not eaten. Most of the
dead birds had suffered only a bite mark or two, suggesting that the
creature that had dealt the death-blows possibly saw it as more of a
game than a meal.
A recent photograph of the African Penguin colony at Stony Point,
Betty's Bay.
Irate residents who suspected the leopard were soon proven right by
trackers and a large cage with a few of the dead penguins inside was set
up as a trap by Cape Nature Conservation.
It took a few attempts to finally catch the leopard, as the animal
would cleverly remove some of the bait and escape the cage time and
again. According to Avril Nunn, who has been living in Betty's Bay for a
good number of decades, the reason for this may well have been the
leopard's keen observation skills. "While they set the trap," Avril
recalls, "they looked up at a ledge above them about six feet away and
on it, watching them, was THE LEOPARD!"
A sign at Stony Point mentions the historic massacre.
When Cape Nature Conservation finally managed to outwit the intelligent
creature, an agreement was reached to sedate, collar and relocate the
leopard instead of killing it. A fence was erected around the penguin
colony and to this day they have remained undisturbed by their naughty
nemesis.
Tragic end
The leopard, however, was not as luck
y and came to its unfortunate end
on a small-holding between Betty's and Pringle Bay a short while later.
The angry farmer who lived there had apparently had enough of the
leopard continually harassing his livestock and finally shot and killed
it.
It caused a major public outcry, but the farmer defended his action by
saying that the leopard had become a danger not only to animals, but to
people as well.
More recent meetings
Although it was initially thought that the sole and only leopard to
roam this area had been killed during this incident, later sightings
have happily shown that this is not the case. Fresh stories of Leopard
spotting in the area have popped up over the years, proving that Betty's
Bay and the Kogelberg Biosphere region in which it lies, are still
considered something of a safe haven for the big cats.
A big cat with spots and a stripy tail
In one of the most recent recollections Samuel Siqhomole, a gardener,
had come across a leopard while cycling to Betty's Bay one morning from
his home in Overhills, Kleinmond.
The sun had not quite risen as he rode through the Palmiet River
valley, a largely uninhabited area between Kleinmond and Betty's Bay,
and something skulking across the road caught his eye. When he managed
to focus on the movement in the half dark, his gaze was met by two
glowing yellow cat's eyes.
A painting by local artist, Colin Bates, proves that leopards have made
quite an impact on this little town.
Calmly telling his employer, Lisel Krige, about it a bit later he
merely said that he'd been surprised by a very big cat crossing the road
on his way to work. On further enquiry he revealed that the cat had
spot-like markings and a ringed tale! As Lisel later commented:
"Fortunately, not knowing it was a leopard had ensured that he'd been
unfazed and had pedaled on peacefully."
And in a flash it was gone...
On another occasion Bernie Carolus, a horticulturalist from the Harold
Porter Botanical garden, caught a glimpse of a strange movement next to
the road one evening. She stopped, reversed and caught a beautiful
leopard in the full glare of her car's headlights peacefully strolling
along a stone wall.
In true leopard style it disappeared into dense bushes along the road
within a matter of seconds, leaving her wondering whether it was phantom
or fact.
The stone wall where Bernie Carolus spotted the leopard.
From the horse's mouth
According to Corlie Hugo, an ecological coordinator at the Kogelberg
Biosphere Reserve in Kleinmond, there is a lot of proof of leopard
activity in this region. "Unfortunately I have never been lucky enough
to see a leopard myself, but I've heard plenty of stories from people
who have. We also come across leopard tracks and dung quite often," she
explained.
She also mentioned that the Cape Leopard Trust (
http://www.capeleopard.org.za/ ) (CLT) will be erecting special
motion sensor cameras in the reserve within the next few months, which
they are hoping will boost research on leopards in the area.
A cub and its mother caught by one of the CLT's motion sensor cameras
in the Wemmershoek area.
These cameras contain an infrared sensor sensitive to motion and heat,
which means that as soon as an animal walks past the beam, the camera is
triggered to take a picture.
According to Jeannie Hayward and Anita Meyer, coordinators of the CLT
Boland Project, camera-trapping has proved to be a very effective way of
estimating the numbers of elusive and nocturnal animals. Go have a look
at our gallery (
http://www.gotravel24.com/galleries/adventure/leopards-boland ).
Titus, a male leopard in the Matjiesrivier Nature Reserve in the
Cedeberg.
The CLT has been conducting similar research in various regions
including the Cederberg, Namakwaland and the Gamka/Swartberg area.
Their research in the Cederberg has shown that there are significant
differences between Cape Leopards and those in the North. Here are a few
fast facts:
● The Cape Leopard occurs in the mountain regions of the Western,
Northern and Easter
n Cape.
● Leopards in the Cederberg are MUCH smaller than those elsewhere in
Africa, being about half the mass. Males weigh about 35kg and females
only 20kg.
● Cape Leopards have exceptionally large home ranges.
Leopards in the Kruger National ParkLeopards in the Cederberg
Males: 25 - 50 km²Males: 200 - 1000 km²
Females: 10 - 25 km²Females: 80 - 180 km²
● According to the CLT the genetic status of the Cape leopards is
currently under investigation, as preliminary studies have shown that
leopards in the Cape differ genetically from leopards elsewhere in
Southern Africa.
● The CLT is uncertain of how many Cape Leopards there currently are,
but are hoping to have a clearer picture in the next couple of years.
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