GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - Are you a leopard fan? Do you have photos or other data about leopards in your area? Then you may just be lucky enough to win a prize in a competition launched by the Cape Leopard Trust (CLT).
The CLT Western Cape leopard database collects information on leopard activity and threats to leopards from across the province and they hope to obtain as many records as possible - especially from the three regions for which data points are still quite sparse.
For this reason they are hosting a competition until 20 April with awesome prizes up for grabs to motivate citizen scientists to share their leopard records.
The three focal regions are the Southern Cape, particularly the Hessequa local municipality; the central Karoo District Municipality including Beaufort West, Laingsburg and Prince Albert local municipalities; and southern Namaqualand.
Prizes will be awarded in the following categories:
• Best leopard camera trap photo from the Western Cape
• Most data submissions during the competition period
• Records from southern Namaqualand – lucky draw
• Records from the Southern Cape – lucky draw
• Records from the central Karoo – lucky draw
What CLT needs from you
The CLT is looking for all verifiable observations of leopards, their signs, and threats to leopards across the Western Cape from 2010 onwards.
Leopard sighting records can consist of camera trap photos, leopard signs (spoor/tracks, scats/droppings, scratch marks on trees, feeding sites) and direct leopard observations (visual sightings). Examples of potential threats to leopards include traps (gin traps or cages), the use of poison, leopard roadkill, and livestock depredation events attributed to leopards.
They need a photo, date and location point for each record.
Leopard sighting records can consist of camera trap photos or leopard signs such as droppings. Photo: Cape Leopard Trust
Submitting records to enter the competition
Go to app.capeleopard.org.za and follow the steps to create an account.
Each data point must be inputted individually to the online portal, so if you have multiple observations to share or prefer to contribute via e-mail, please contact research@capeleopard.org.za.
Entries are open to anyone residing within South Africa and aged 18 or above. Entries close on 20 April at midnight, and the winners will be announced by early May via e-mail and on the CLT social media channels.
A leopard spoor found and recorded by the Cape Leopard Trust.
CLT Western Cape leopard database project and online data portal
The Big Five and other large animals once roamed the valleys and plains of the Cape region. Only the leopard has managed to persist, largely due to its adaptable and versatile nature, and still roams free in the wild regions of the Western Cape.
However, the species faces multiple threats, including limited and fragmented habitat, reduction in prey numbers and high levels of conflict with people.
The CLT has embarked on a mission to create a consolidated database of leopard distribution and threats to leopards in the Western Cape province. This database will contribute towards a leopard habitat suitability assessment and identifying ecological corridors for leopards in the region.
A sign of leopard in the vicinity could be scratch marks on trees.
Photo: Cape Leopard Trust
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