Roxanne Reid - Africa Addict
  • Home
  • Book author
    • Travels in the Kalahari >
      • Photo gallery: Travels in the Kalahari
      • Book reviews: Travels in the Kalahari
    • A Walk in the Park >
      • Photo gallery: A Walk in the Park
      • Book reviews: A Walk in the Park
    • The Essential Guide to Self-Editing >
      • Book reviews: Essential Guide to Self-Editing
    • Betrayed
    • Book reviews online
  • Editing & proofreading
  • In the media
    • Travel features
    • Health features
    • Online media
  • Blog
  • Testimonials
  • Links
  • Contact

How your photos can help with leopard research

20/7/2013

2 Comments

 
Leopard identification, Kgalagadi
By Roxanne Reid
Leopards may not need ID photos for a passport, but a project initiated by Dr Matthew Schurch is determined to identify leopards through photos anyway. At first the focus is on the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and Augrabies Falls National Park. I asked him the how, what and why, and to share some of his ID photos.

How did your interest in leopard identification begin?
After my first trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park I tried to identify my only leopard sighting against some known leopards posted on the SANParks forum leopard identification thread. This proved tricky as the leopard was a new individual, now known as Jaffles. After that I was hooked.
Leopard identification, Kgalagadi
Jaffles
How many individuals have you identified so far in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park? And do you have an idea of how many of those are still alive?
At the present count I know of 60 individuals that can be uniquely identified through their spot patterns. These leopards go as far back as 2002. Of course, a number of these are probably not with us anymore. I classify a current leopard as one that has been seen in the park within the past two years. We have 39 current leopards.
Leopard identification, Kgalagadi
Auchterlonie female and Warona
What do you hope can be gained from compiling this leopard ID guide?
The leopard ID guide has two sides. The main aim is to facilitate science. By using the guide we can easily identify the leopards in the park from public sightings. This will provide valuable data on range size and movement patterns as well as breeding rate and success. In the long term we hope it will help us to get an idea on the typical age that a Kalahari leopard lives to; this might be quite different to its Lowveld cousins due to the different (harsher) environment they live in.

The second aim is to improve the visitor’s experience in the park. Being able to identify a leopard that you have seen before or just learning about the leopard you are watching can bring a whole new level of excitement to a sighting. You may read in the guide that the particular leopard you’re watching has been seen recently with cubs; this sort of information could turn a great sighting into a true once-in-a-lifetime sighting!
Leopard identification, Kgalagadi
Khomani and Meira
How can the public help with this project?
Anyone who has visited the park and seen a leopard – and who can still find the photo – can greatly help my project by submitting these sightings to me. Historical sightings are just as important if not more so than current ones. A single historical sighting can tell us that a leopard is much older than we thought or could even provide a link between a mother and its cub, as was the case with Kanna and Langklaas when I was sent a sighting from 2006.

Do the photos need to be pin-sharp, prize-winning portraits or can you work with poor photos?
Obviously the better the picture, the easier it is to make an identification from. However, I've become pretty good at making identifications from night shots, motion-blurred photos, partial leg shots, even pictures where just the tail is visible. One or two clear shots showing the head or flanks would be ideal, but people can send anything and I'll give it a go!
Leopard identification, Kgalagadi
Tswana
Where can people find out more about the project, and how and where to send their leopard photos?
I have a website with a lot of information about the project. You can download the identification guide for both the Kgalagadi and Augrabies parks for free as a pdf. (I suggest putting it on an iPad or similar device rather than printing it out since it will change every six months as information is updated, and this is much greener than printing anyway).

To report a sighting, contact me on the Kgalagadi Leopard ID Facebook page or drop me an email with a couple of pictures and I'll confirm or identify the leopard for you. The project email is [email protected].

More about the Kgalagadi

Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za
2 Comments
Thys Burger
6/11/2017 11:20:57 am

Hallo, I am the new field guide at Augrabies falls and had my first leopard sighting last night. Can you help me to ID this leopard or to register this male. Thank you.

Reply
Roxanne
7/11/2017 12:41:38 pm

Hi Thys, so exciting! However, I'm just a writer who wrote about the ID project so can't help you. I suggest you send an email and photo to [email protected] instead.

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Get email links to the latest posts

    Buy my books
    Travels in the Kalahari, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2012​

    A Walk in the Park, amazon.com e-book
    2nd ed e-book 2015
    The Essential Guide to Self-Editing, amazon.com e-book
    E-book 2017

    About 

    I'm an independent travel writer and book editor with a passion for Africa - anything from African travel, people, safari and wildlife to adventure, heritage, road-tripping and slow travel.
    My travel buddy and husband Keith is the primary photographer for this blog.
    We're happiest in the middle of nowhere, meeting the locals, trying something new, or simply watching the grass grow.
    Use this website to discover new places to go, revisit places you've loved, or take a virtual tour of destinations you only dream about.

    Categories

    All
    Baviaanskloof
    Books
    Botswana
    Camping
    Cape Town
    Chobe
    Conservation
    Drc
    Eastern Cape
    Etosha Namibia
    Food
    Free State
    Garden Route
    Gauteng
    Issues
    Kalahari
    Karoo
    Kenya
    Kruger National Park
    Kwazulu Natal
    Lesotho
    Limpopo
    Linyanti
    Madagascar
    Malawi
    Mozambique
    Mpumalanga
    Namaqualand
    Namibia
    Nature Parks
    Northern Cape
    Okavango
    Overberg
    People
    Photography
    Richtersveld
    Tanzania
    West Coast
    Western Cape
    Wild Creatures
    Zambia
    Zimbabwe

    Archives

    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    January 2010
    November 2009


Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za

Privacy Policy, GDPR and POPIA compliance
​* We promise that we take data safety seriously and use your private data only to offer a personalised experience
* If you subscribed to our newsletter, you will receive our newsletters. You can always unsubscribe by following the link in email or by emailing us
* If you gave us your name, it will only be used to personalise the newsletters
* We have never sold, we are not selling, and we will not sell any of your personal data provided to us
* The blog uses cookies to track activity. It is anonymous except for telling us your location and what you did on our blog
​
Photos from berniedup, Lucy_Hill