I Think They’re Catching On

Matt Rogan

A spiteful leopard is out there. A couple of weeks ago, Matt and Kate set a leopard trap-cage on a neighboring property in order to capture Lightning, a female leopard and a N/a’an ku sệ research subject. Her GPS collar went dead at the beginning of the year and the hope is to re-collar her and continue long-term monitoring of her activity.

She wants none of it.

Matt set a camera trap at the cage to see if she would wander by to investigate. When he went back to collect the camera and look at the pictures, this is what he found: female leopard prints surrounding a dozen camera fragments.

Lightning Print
Right hind footprint of a small (female) leopard in the Tsauchab Riverbed west of the Neuras Wine & Wildlife Estate, Namibia

 

All that remains of a camera after a close encounter with a female leopard.
All that remains of a camera after a close encounter with a female leopard.

The memory card and most of the camera disappeared, most likely commandeered by a troop of curious baboons.

I don’t think Lightning wants to get back in that cage.

One thought on “I Think They’re Catching On”

  1. I think Lightning must have learned a thing or two from the wild leopard at N\a’an ku se!!

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