Cheetahs... and Leopard!!!

Over the last couple weeks we have collared 3 wild cheetahs from different range areas on our farms and are currently collecting data on their movements. This is CCF’s first time using GMS collars and will allow for a much more detailed data collection. All three are cheetahs that we have seen on this year’s camera census. One is a tailless male that we have seen in the previous year’s census, and he appears to be doing quite well despite the lack of a tail.

Today we inadvertently caught a Leopard in one of the cage traps. He was a large male weighing in at 71kg! This was some unexpected excitement as we drove up to the check the trap. Our team did a medical workup in the field in order to collect biological samples and take measurements (see photo at left). We believe he is a male found on the cameras from the neighbouring farm. This gave us a great opportunity to learn more about the other predators on our farms. With one collar left we await the final cheetah and so check the cages throughout the day.