Teenager proves vital in finding the missing lynx

08 October 2015 - 02:19 By Shanaaz Eggington

Cameron Good is not your typical 13-year-old. He spends his time hiking in the mountains with a backpack filled with cable ties used to set up camera traps, and a laptop to download any footage of wildlife he captures.For the past two years he has been filming the elusive urban caracals, also known as rooikatte, that roam the exclusive Steenberg Estate in Tokai, Cape Town.He shares his footage with researchers at the Urban Caracal Project at the University of Cape Town - set up by wildlife biologist Laurel Serieys to research the population size and health of the caracal population in the Cape Peninsula.Said his mother Gina Good: "Cameron has always been passionate about the bush, the birds and the flora and fauna. But for some reason the caracal is his favourite animal."When he was eight, Cameron saw his first caracal in the Mountain Zebra National Park near Cradock in the Eastern Cape and soon after he started to capture the animals on camera.Cameron said: "When we moved to the Steenberg Estate, which borders Table Mountain National Park, we were told that there were caracals around our neighbourhood, but we never saw them."I love that we had them in our back yard and that, despite all the odds, they managed to survive in suburbia."In 2013 Cameron worked as a "citizen scientist" on a mammal mapping project for the NCC Environmental Services.They provided him with a camera and soon he captured a number of sightings, including a family group of African porcupine, and even a Cape fox.When this project ended, he contacted the Urban Caracal Project and now he assists Serieys with her research.The Grade Eight pupil at Bishops College spends hours walking around the estate to find the right spots to set up his motion- activated cameras.Cameron is so passionate about becoming a conservationist that he completed a Junior Field Ranging course in 2014 through the Campfire Academy in Hoedspruit. Serieys said more youngsters should participate in nature conservation efforts."It is inspiring to see youngsters so passionate about nature and wildlife and I highly value his contribution to the project."He got really cool footage showing a caracal feeding on a small gray mongoose, and has even helped us pick trap sites," she said...

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