Leopard Rehabilitation
On the 7th April 2008, Botshelo, the leopard being rehabilitated by CCB, was fitted with a GPS collar and released with the assistance and support of the Department of Wildlife & National Parks. The cat was transported from Jwaneng into the southern Kalahari Wildlife Management Area of Botswana, after being fitted with a GPS collar supplied with support from the SPOTS Foundation, in the Netherlands.
The information that CCB has so far been able to obtain from the 'SPOTS collar' has indicated that the leopard, released well away from human settlements and farming areas, has been hunting successfully for over two months and is staying within a 23 X 15km area. Walking approximately 1-4km per day, the cat appears to be staying in a relatively small area for 2-3 days at a time - which may indicate her success in making large kills and returning to a carcass for a few days afterwards before moving on.
If this leopard can survive long term, during which she may encounter other leopards, lions, hyenas and man, then she will also have every chance of breeding. So far, this rehabilitation process has shown that it is possible to successfully raise a young leopard for re-release, to hunt successfully, survive and not live to take livestock or seek out human settlements. We would like to thank Debswana, the Department of Wildlife & National Parks and the Spots Foundation in Holland, for their assistance and support in the leopard rehabilitation process.
On the 7th April 2008, Botshelo, the leopard being rehabilitated by CCB, was fitted with a GPS collar and released with the assistance and support of the Department of Wildlife & National Parks. The cat was transported from Jwaneng into the southern Kalahari Wildlife Management Area of Botswana, after being fitted with a GPS collar supplied with support from the SPOTS Foundation, in the Netherlands.
The information that CCB has so far been able to obtain from the 'SPOTS collar' has indicated that the leopard, released well away from human settlements and farming areas, has been hunting successfully for over two months and is staying within a 23 X 15km area. Walking approximately 1-4km per day, the cat appears to be staying in a relatively small area for 2-3 days at a time - which may indicate her success in making large kills and returning to a carcass for a few days afterwards before moving on.
If this leopard can survive long term, during which she may encounter other leopards, lions, hyenas and man, then she will also have every chance of breeding. So far, this rehabilitation process has shown that it is possible to successfully raise a young leopard for re-release, to hunt successfully, survive and not live to take livestock or seek out human settlements. We would like to thank Debswana, the Department of Wildlife & National Parks and the Spots Foundation in Holland, for their assistance and support in the leopard rehabilitation process.
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