As the last remaining large carnivore in the Western Cape, the Leopard of the Cape are elusive and extremely shy. One of the only ways to effectively observe these animals is through the use of camera traps, armed with motion sensing triggers. These cameras allow less invasive monitoring of these majestic animals and also provide insight into the extent of the area used by an individual when the same one is captured at multiple camera stations across the landscape.

The female pictured here, Mthunzi (isiXhosa for "Shade) was captured within the old-growth forest of Platbos in 2018 and generated tons of excitement for the team at Platbos and Greenpop. She has since gone on to raise her first cub successfully and has recently (2021) been picked up by carnivore researchers in the area on their camera traps. The presence of such an elusive animal within the Platbos reserve shows how important protective and restorative activities are for the fauna and flora that call this region home, by protecting the areas they already utilize and increasing the available forest habitat as biodiversity corridors for Leopards and the species that may fall under their umbrella.

For more information on our work, visit:
https://www.greenpop.org

For more information on the Platbos Forest reserve, visit:
https://www.platbos.co.za