Successful leopard rescue mission

Derek van der Merwe of the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) told The Post that community members living on a community farm in the Moepel area (near Vaalwater) reported that a leopard was found in a cable snare attached to a fence.

This was three days after EWT had donated a livestock guardian dog to this community.

“Joseph Hlako, our community conflict mitigation field officer, was able to respond and confirm that the leopard was still alive”, Van der Merwe said.

“Because the leopard was still alive, permission had to be obtained from the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (LEDET) before it could be captured. Leopards are a protected species, and authorisation must be obtained from the relevant nature conservation authorities in order to capture them,” explained Dr Annemieke Müller, veterinarian at Lapalala Wilderness.

The EWT and Lapalala Wilderness teams arranged for the animal to be darted from a helicopter because the very dense thicket bush where the animal was found, made darting from the ground too dangerous.

The helicopter was flown by Lambert van der Westhuizen of West Dunes Aviation.

The anaesthetised animal was carried to the helicopter on a stretcher by the veterinary team and flown to a suitable area within the Lapalala Wilderness Nature Reserve.

“The young male was fortunately still in relatively good condition, as the cable around his neck had, miraculously, not caused too much damage yet,” said Müller.

She administered the antidote to awaken the leopard in his new surrounds, where he will be safe from snares.

The Endangered Wildlife Trusts Carnivore Conservation Programme has been collaborating with livestock farmers in the Waterberg to reduce conflict with predators.

Due to their active involvement with the farm community in the Moepel area, this incident was reported immediately, and action could be taken to save the leopard.