Conservation Project Research: Leopard (Panthera pardus) Aquila Private Game Reserve

Transcription

1 Conservation Project Research: Leopard (Panthera pardus) Aquila Private Game Reserve

2 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Camera trap placement 3. Spoor and pug marks 4. Scats and droppings 5. Scratch marks 6. Kill sites 6.1 Dietary analyses 6.2 Scat analyses 6.3 GPS cluster analysis 7. Territorial movements on Aquila Private Game Reserve 8. Conservation Disclaimer

3 1. Introduction Photographs of leopards are an exceptionally useful tool, since each leopard has a distinctive spot pattern by which it can be identi ed, similar to human ngerprinting. Camera traps can be deployed singly, but ideally a camera station should consist of two cameras opposite each other. Such double stations are used to compile "leopard identikits"; photos of both an individual's left and right anks, which are crucial in estimating the number of individuals in an area. An added advantage of the camera traps is that they are like permanent eldworkers, working day and night, in rain or sunshine. They are non-selective, capturing everything that moves, thus providing the ideal opportunity to gather data on other mammals as well. These photos give us information about prey availability, movements, and how frequently a leopard uses the same path to monitor its territory.

4 2. Camera trap placement Choosing the right camera trap site is very important. One must be quite sure that a leopard will pass by the camera at some stage, and because leopards are much more adept at using their rocky habitat than we are, one needs to select a site carefully. Fortunately for us, most leopards will take the path of least resistance when given a choice, and as such they often patrol their territories via well-used game paths, hiking trails, quiet safari tracks, dry watercourses etc. These areas normally prove to be good camera trap locations. The signs that leopards leave behind are also instrumental in selecting camera trap sites.

5 3. Spoor & pug marks Leopard tracks are very distinctive and easily identi able by a trained eye, although the tracks of smaller females or subadult males may be confused with that of caracal. Leopard tracks are easily distinguished from those of large dogs 1. by the absence of nail imprints (dogs cannot retract their claws like leopards do); 2. leopard foot pads are large in relation to their toe pads and have three lobes at the back edge 3. dog foot pads are more triangular in shape compared to those of leopards.

6 4. Scats and droppings The presence of hooves, claws, footpads, quills and large bone fragments is telltale of leopard droppings. The scats are also prone to turning white in the sun because of the calcium content of the bones. Leopard scat may be confused with that of caracal, but caracal scats are generally smaller and contain mostly hair. If bones are present, the fragments will be relatively small and dark in color from the blood content of the prey that was consumed. Leopards use scats to demarcate and mark their territory, warning other individuals to keep away. Dominant animals therefore tend to defecate in very visible places, often on top of grass tufts and low bushes in the middle of or next to trails and game and safari paths.

7 5. Scratch marks Leopards sharpen their nails on tree trunks in the same way house cats do. Furthermore there are small glands at the base of the leopard's nails, the secretion of which is deposited on the bark as it scratches another way of marking their territory.

8 6. Kill sites Leopards have exceptionally strong jaws and are known to eat almost the entire carcass, in contrast with caracal that mostly only eat the softer parts of the body and leaves the large bones. Although not encountered as often as tracks or scats, certain kill remains can be telltale of leopard activity. Intensive scouting for these signs are very important to determine the likelihood of a leopard walking past a possible camera trap site, and while looking for these signs, data on the tracks and scats of other mammals are also gathered.

9 6.1 Dietary analysis Studying the diet (prey composition and preference) of an apex predator such as the leopard is important to safeguard the species continued survival. We can study their diet using two di erent, complementary methods. 1. The rst is laboratory analyses of leopard scat, and 2. the second is called GPS cluster analysis. 6.2 Scat analyses One of the most commonly used methods to characterise carnivore diet is through faecal analysis. This method is cost-e ective, non-invasive, and ideal to investigate and monitor diet composition of leopards in the Fynbos; where leopard densities are comparatively low and the rugged terrain, dense vegetation and elusive, nocturnal nature of the study animal make direct observations and locating feeding sites impossible. Leopards ingest the bones, hoofs, claws, foot pads, quills, nails, teeth and even horns of their prey, and these macroscopic remains in the scat can be telltale of what the prey item was. However, a lot of hair also passes through the gut and is deposited in the scat. Since mammal hair have distinctive cross- sectional shapes and unique scale patterns on the cuticle (or outer layer), it is possible to identify a species from its hair with a microscope and a comparative hair reference collection. By identifying the hair and other fragments found in the collected scats to species level, the prey composition and preference of leopards can be investigated. 6.3 GPS cluster analysis The second method for studying diet can only be employed when some animals have been tted with GPS collars. The collars have a GPS device that records and stores the animal s point location via satellite. When a leopard makes a kill, it stays in the immediate vicinity for a few days until it has nished eating (the duration is determined by the size of the prey item), and therefore these feeding sites show up as a cluster of points when visualising the GPS data on a map.

10 The clusters representing 12 or more continuous hours are identi ed and can then be located by navigating to a certain GPS location and this is arguably one of the toughest (and most fun!) parts of leopard research in the fynbos It is rough going, with the researchers more often than not ending up on all fours, literally leopard-crawling through an impenetrable wall of prickly, sticky vegetation, searching for remains such as hair, gut, bones and leopard scat. Since Cape leopard prey is mostly relatively small, the leopards tend to entirely consume their prey, leaving only a few slivers of bone, the stomach contents and some hair or quills. What do leopards in the Western Cape/Karoo eat? Leopards are opportunistic and versatile hunters and prey on species ranging from crickets, lizards and rodents, to hares, porcupine and even ungulates as large as eland. Typically, they appear to take prey in proportion to availability in a given area. In the Boland, Cederberg and Little Karoo, diet studies employing the two methods explained above, indicate that klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragus) and rock hyrax/klipdassie (Procavia capensis) are the main prey species for leopards. Porcupine (Hystrix africaeaustralis) and Cape grysbok (Raphicerus melanotis) are also prominent components of leopard diet in the Boland.

11 7. Territorial movements on Aquila Private Game Reserve - Tracks/spoor - Kill sites - Estimated walking area - Sightings with guests

12 8. Conservation A vital element in safeguarding the long-term persistence of leopards in the Fynbos Biome is not only to understand their ecology and behaviour, but also the habitat, the species they share that habitat with (including humans) and the threats faced by them. An understanding of these various aspects enables e ective management and mitigation. The primary drivers for the decline in leopard numbers and distribution in Southern Africa are attributed to the loss and fragmentation of suitable habitat, depletion of natural prey, and direct persecution by people. The interface between man and beast is a complex one. Adding to this complexity is that science and emotion often need to go hand in hand in nding solutions. By employing constructive solution-seeking strategies that include farmers and other a ected parties, Aquila is committed to nding mitigating measures to the problems of human-wildlife con icts. The conservation aim of Aquila is to instruct a long-term sustainable conservation solution that would ultimately safeguard the persistence of leopards in our Reserve. This includes working towards establishing a network of protected land and private land containing suitable leopard habitat that can be regarded as leopard and biodiversity friendly, with the ultimate goal of ensuring a balanced ecosystem and healthy habitat for the long term persistence of leopards and their prey species.

13 DISCLAIMER All data of leopard on this document has been retrieved and collected from Aquila sta members on Aquila Private Game Reserve, based on the leopard activity in and out of the reserve. Further research will be done and provided as information is retrieved.