PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Anneri Strydom spent about 10 minutes in awe of "her" leopard between Knysna and Plettenberg Bay, on 8 August.
Anneri, who runs Greenfern Lodge with her husband, Justin, was returning home from Knysna on 8 August when she saw a leopard at about 13:30.
"I asked my mother if she had seen anything, and she said 'only the tail'.
"There was thick undergrowth and I drove closer to where I thought it would be.
'It looked straight at us'
"Then I saw it and for about 10 minutes we watched it… it looked straight at us.
"It was almost as if the animal was imprinted on me. I was shaking and took as many pictures as I could," said Anneri.
Greenfern Lodge is the second night stop on the Camino charity walk, presently underway.
"After 10 minutes the leopard got up, gave us a final look and turned away.
"It was purely amazing. It only happens once in a lifetime. I was on a high for a week and so excited. My husband is so jealous."
Anneri says she has returned to the spot quite often since, but there has been no further sighting of "her" leopard.
Dr Mark Brown, conservation director of Conserve Eden, said Cape leopards are resident in the area, but have very large home ranges.
"Camera trap studies in the area around Plett to Tsitsikamma show we have them in Knysna, Plett, Keurbooms, Nature's Valley, Covie and all the way through the Tsitsikamma.
'Signs of their presence'
"Often people will encounter signs of their presence (tracks and droppings) without ever seeing them.
"The leopard as a species is classified as Vulnerable, but the Cape leopard subspecies is probably more threatened because of urbanisation and limited available suitable habitat."
Brown says there is no density estimate of numbers between Knysna and Plett "that I am aware of".
"They have large home ranges, and are quite territorial, so I feel there are a small number, not too many. Both Cape Leopard Trust and Landmark Foundation work on leopards in the province, and as far as I am aware, Landmark has camera traps somewhere in our area," said Brown.
He said "a great summary of the Cape leopard story" can be found at : https://africageographic.com/stories/cape-leopard/
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