The killing of a 32kg protected male leopard, one of more than 500 leopards roaming the mountains of the Western Cape, has resulted in a huge fall-out between CapeNature and conservation organisation the Landmark Foundation.
After being collared with GPS in Worcester in September last year, then followed by researchers for nearly a year, the leopard was killed in September this year on the instruction of a CapeNature official in Ceres.
The leopard was among 23 in the Western and Eastern Cape mountains to which the foundation, an NGO, has attached tracking devices since 2007. The foundation also photographs them with special infrared cameras installed in the mountains.
It is understood that CapeNature inspector Donny Malherbe instructed that the animal be killed at the insistence of farmer Deon Malherbe following stock losses.
Bool Smuts, Landmark Foundation director, said he was very upset with CapeNature, which had signed an agreement with the Foundation to protect the leopards. “Now they have killed it.”
He said the dead leopard covered 35 000ha during the tracking period, and had now been killed for allegedly killing two calves.
“We were prepared to compensate the farmer fully for stock losses, provide and pay for electric fencing, guardian animals and smell and taste aversion methods, but he declined,” Smuts said.
Kas Hamman, executive director of biodiversity at CapeNature has, however, countered that the official killed the leopard because it was a damage-causing animal that had killed nine bull calves.
“He was caught three times and let go again to give him a few chances. But he never stopped his damage-causing activities,” Hamman said.
Between 500 and 1 000 leopards roam a 4.5 million hectare area from Addo in the Eastern Cape to Ceres in the Western Cape, in the mountains above places such as Hermanus, Napier, Greyton, Robertson, Riviersonderend and Agulhas.
Smuts said the leopard that was killed had been part of the Leopard Friendly farming initiative.
Cape Leopard Trust d
irector Dr Quinton Martins said although the organisation was not involved with this particular leopard, it was generally better to euthanase than to relocate problem cats.
But Smuts argued that the species was “hanging on by a tenuous thread of survival”, and that the leopard had represented
a key genetic link between isolated pockets of leopards.
Western Cape ANC MP Max Ozinsky said CapeNature had an agreement with the foundation not to kill any of the leopards being researched, but had instead acted illegally.
The latest leopard killing followeds the killings of five others since November last year, he said. - Weekend Argus