A camera trap in the Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy captured a close-up encounter with one of the area’s elusive leopards, offering researchers valuable insight into the behaviour of these seldom-seen predators.
In a Facebook post published on 3 July, the Conservancy explained that leopards occur at low densities across the Walker Bay area. They communicate their presence, reproductive condition and strength through chemical or scent marking.
This particular leopard rubbed the scent glands on its head and face against a camera trap – behaviour normally associated with prominent objects such as trees and poles. While the encounter may have damaged or shifted the equipment, it provided an unusual and valuable record of the animal’s movements.
Leopard monitoring in the Conservancy began in 2017 through partnerships involving the Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy, the Grootbos Foundation and the Cape Leopard Trust. Camera-trap surveys have recorded at least 10 individual leopards in the Conservancy, including resident and transient animals.
A previous widely reported record dates back to March 2020, when footage captured a dominant female known as Lumka marking trees. Another public record documented an adult female with a subadult cub in the Conservancy, although the date of that footage is not clearly stated in the available source.
The Conservancy has not published a definitive date for the last confirmed leopard sighting before the 3 July post. Its camera-trap monitoring programme continues to provide important information about leopard numbers, breeding and movement across the Overberg.
*The Walker Bay Fynbos Conservancy spans over 23 000 hectares and sits in the Cape Overberg region, tucked right between Hermanus, Stanford, and Gansbaai/De Kelders.
