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| Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve in January |
I've been camera trapping here since August last year and the species list is still fairly small, only about 15 mammal species thus far...
The strangest part for me is that I've yet to photograph a single Caracal (Rooikat). At both Tygerberg and Koeberg the Caracal was one of the first species to get photographed.
To make things even stranger one of my camera traps recently photographed a Leopard, and still not a single Caracal!
The photograph was taken at 6:21 AM in the morning. The sun was already up, but there was still some early morning mist hanging around.
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| Leopard (Luiperd - Panthera pardus) photographed by a camera trap on Paarl Mountain |
I've been seeing possible Leopard tracks and scat on the reserve since I started camera trapping and knew it would be only a matter of time before one was captured by a trail camera.
Even though the odds of encountering such an elusive animal in person is very small, it is great to know they are still around. I love how camera traps enable you to "see" things you would otherwise never be able to see in person.
The camera trap also captured a lot of Grysbok and Duiker at this location. I'm sure these small antelope also caught the attention of the Leopard.
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| A female Cape Grysbok (Kaapse Grysbok - Raphicerus melanotis) aka Leopard-Food |
I didn't find many Grysbok at Tygerberg and Koeberg, but here at Paarl Mountain they seem to be quite common. I'm looking forward to see the total number of sightings increase over time. It will be interesting to compare the data of all the small antelope I've camera trapped in the greater Cape Town area (Duiker, Grysbok and Steenbok).
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| There are lots of interesting landscapes at Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve |
PS.
Paarl Mountain is a popular reserve and is visited by many people on a regular bases. Now, before the masses go crazy about the Leopard, please remember the usual storie of "your life is not in danger, we don't have to kill the Leopard, your kids will survive, etc." apply. If anybody has any concerns then please contact the reserve manager. Remember how fortunate we are to have a member of the "big five" still roaming wild on our doorstep.
Nice catch Henry. Love the PS. And I'm with you - I think it's best people know the cats are around and not bothering them, because it builds up people's understanding that they really aren't a threat. That said, at 60kg, our mountain lion is a lot smaller than a leopard!
ReplyDeleteLeopard in general can very a lot in size, and from what I've heard the Cape Leopards are usually on the small side. Most of the ones around here are likely smaller than your Mountain Lions ;)
DeleteSo sad that many of the animal life on Paarl Mountain is no more. I have seen some snares set by homeless folks who live in the mountain. They had played a big part in destroying populations of game that were still here in the 70's and 80's. Is there nothing that one can do about this please?
ReplyDelete