Leopard tucks into R7,500 veal meal – North West farmer not too upset

Conservationists are hoping a leopard named Bagheera learns to like the taste of venison rather than expensive veal. This after he dismayed and disappointed the team that has been protecting him by eating a bull calf owned by a North West farmer. The serious error of judgment cost the farmer R7,500 and a go-fund-me style campaign has been started to pay for the costly meal. 

Bagheera has been roaming the bushveld for seven months after being fitted with a tracking collar which observes his hunting patterns and location. This after his capture in July last year by a farmer in the Marico area who discovered one of his cows had been killed. The Owl Rescue Centre intervened to relocate the big cat. He was cared for by a vet in Lichtenburg before being declared fit to be released into the wild.

The centre's co-founder, Danelle Murray, said Bagheera has travelled more than 80km north of his release site. He was last sighted a few kilometres south of the Madikwe Game Reserve.

The tracking collar was a condition of his release. The centre is working with the nature conservation department on a project to assess whether Bagheera has become a problem animal, meaning he might have developed a preference for livestock over his natural prey.

“The collar gives us regular feedback on his location, which we can plot on a map. When multiple updates occur in a particular area, it likely indicates a successful hunt. At that point, John Powers, a leopard expert with the North West department of nature conservation, installs camera traps in the vicinity to identify the type of prey captured,” she told TimesLIVE.

“We were pleased to discover that his prey consisted of warthog, impala, young wildebeest and even a baboon.”

A few days ago, however, the leopard killed a four-month-old Bonsmara bull on farmland near the Madikwe reserve.

Murray said the affected farmer responded amicably, with understanding of the importance of Bagheera’s conservation, which is also providing insights into leopard behaviour and the extent of their territorial range.

To compensate the farmer for the estimated R7,500 loss of the calf, an online fundraiser was launched by the centre. So far, they have raised R6,700.

“Bagheera has been a really good boy [until this] error of judgment. Hopefully he moves onto the reserve soon and forgoes his bovine craving,” Murray shared in a Facebook post.

As human populations grow and natural habitats shrink, conflicts between people and predators are becoming more common.

The centre, a not-for-profit organisation that started out as a rescue facility for birds of prey but has expanded to care for a range of wild animal rescues, stresses the importance of managing these cases carefully to protect wildlife and local communities. Said Murray: “Our mission is to create a world where humans and wildlife can co-exist peacefully.”

According to the Madikwe Safari Lodge, conservation authorities have worked with surrounding communities on the benefits of wildlife tourism and how to protect their livestock from leopards without resorting to lethal methods. “These efforts help reduce the need for retaliatory killings of leopards, allowing them to safely move between protected areas and maintain their natural behaviour.”

Leopards live for between 10 and 12 years in the wild. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, their diet fluctuates with prey availability, ranging from carrion, fish, reptiles and birds to mammals such as rodents, hares, warthogs, antelopes, and baboons.

TimesLIVE