Cape Leopard seen on a Birding Africa trip!

Early morning on 11 May 2010, a Birding Africa day trip took two participants in the mountains 180 km north of Cape Town. They spotted the rare and elusive Cape Leopard!

Cape Leopard © Boland Project, Cape Leopard Trust, http://www.capeleopard.org.za

How can you increase your chances of seeing a leopard in the Cape mountains? Watching birds can help, says Quinton Martins, Cape Leopard Trust co-founder. Verreaux’s Eagles call for leopards or bomb-dive them! Dassies and klipspringer also call in alarm and their gaze may also point you in the right direction.

The Cape Leopard Trust studies leopards, educates children and farmers and so protects leopards. It’s easy to help: sign up for the newsletter, ‘adopt a spot’, or help sponsor a camera trap – as Birding Africa did.

Click here to learn more about the Cape Leopard Trust. Click here to read Michael’s trip report.