Four Leopards have been spotted and named at the Endangered Wildlife Trust Medike Nature Reserve in Limpopo; they are Zack, Thor, Samantha and Peter.
Limpopo, South Africa (05 May 2022) – The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) took to Facebook on International Leopard Day (3rd May) to celebrate the sighting and naming of four Leopards at the EWT Medike Nature Reserve just outside of Louis Trichardt in Limpopo.
The Medike Nature Reserve is within Soutpansberg, which is officially recognised as,
- a Priority Conservation Area by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI)
- a Critical Biodiversity Area by the Limpopo provincial conservation authority
- a Strategic Groundwater Source Area
- part of South Africa’s National Protected Area Expansion Strategy (NPAES)
- part of the UNESCO Vhembe Biosphere Reserve proclaimed in 2009
- an Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA).
There are many endangered species living in the area. These include Brown Hyena and Leopards.
“Medike Nature Reserve is home to several iconic, rare, endemic, and Endangered species. The reserve boasts 58 butterflies, 15 scorpions, 19 amphibians, 61 reptiles, 59 mammals, 229 birds, and 237 tree species. Among these are the Vulnerable Leopard, the Near Threatened Brown Hyaena, Natal Red Duiker, and the Endangered Mountain Reedbuck.”
The public can visit this nature reserve; however, it is only accessible to 4×4 vehicles. It offers day visitor options for hiking and birding as well as accommodation for overnight stayers.
The EWT team working on the ground have slowly been spotting and naming the animals that have territory within the 2,733-hectare property. They have four leopards that are spotted often, and they have now officially named each one.
The team took to Facebook to share the exciting news along with the images and video they had captured of each Leopard.
“There are four leopards that have been “spotted” often on Medike Nature Reserve. We have named them Thor, Zack, Samantha, and Peter.
Zack was first captured on camera in February 2020 when the camera trap grid was initially set up on the reserve to monitor the local wildlife. He was seen throughout the first year at all the stations across 2,700 hectares. During the beginning of 2021, we saw him less often and a new male leopard, aptly named Thor, was seen more regularly. Thor has since held the territory that he took over from Zack.
Samantha is the female leopard whose territory coincides with those of Thor and Peter. In 2020 she was sighted with a cub named Lunar. Unfortunately, Lunar was only sighted a handful of times on the grid in 2020 and has never again been seen. Near the end of 2021, Samantha was again sighted with a young cub, which we hope to see more of on the cameras in the future.
Peter is not a usual visitor on the mountain but he is seen on average once every two months on the far west of the reserve.
The fascinating territorial dynamics of the leopards is reflected in the camera trap data recorded over the past two years, and having captured cubs as well is very exciting as it shows signs of a healthy ecosystem.”
Take a look at the footage below.
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