Carnivore specialist weighs in on leopard encounter in eManzana

Following an interesting encounter a local man has had with a leopard, the MTPA’s carnivore specialist, Gerrie Camacho, weighed in on the matter.

A local videographer and photographer, Sven Musica, was camping with a friend and some marshals who were part of the Wildside Enduro near eManzana (formerly Badplaas) when a leopard pounced on their tent.

He ended up with a scratch mark on his shoulder and a small bruise on his chin, which he described as “embarrassingly small” for a leopard “attack”.

It did not end there, though. Initially suspecting that someone was playing a prank, Musica and his friend, Arlo van Heerden, went to investigate. With the help of a spotlight, they spotted a leopard about two metres away. It snaked off into the bush a further 10 metres away.

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After warning the other campers, everyone calmed down again and they got back into their tents.

The leopard returned and Musica and Van Heerden could hear grass rustling around their tent followed by the animal sniffing around it. Not even them punching the sides scared it off.

Not wanting to get out, they called a marshal to help. He found the leopard at the tent door and chased it off with a few “f*k*ff!”s.

Still, it did not go far, but perched itself about 20 metres away on a granite face. Eventually, they threw a few rocks at it and it went away.

“It wasn’t the biggest leopard, but (with) the power that it hit the tent, you realise how strong these animals are,” said Musica.

Camacho first addressed the speculation around whether it could be one of two leopards that had been released into the Nkomazi Game Reserve some time ago. It was confirmed that one of the leopards had been moved far away from eManzana, and the other, while still in the area, is collared. Her movements are closely monitored and she has had a clearly demarcated territory for several months now.

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The behaviour might seem strange to most, but Camacho said they have come across similar incidents before where leopards simply do not have that gene that makes them skittish around people. “They might grow up not having any contact, but they just do not have the gene that tells them to be shy and skittish.”

He said it was an unfortunate situation, but fortunately Musica had very minor injuries. It showed that the cat was nervous and not sure what it was attacking or what it was doing.

Camacho said, in his opinion, this is likely a dispersing cat that is moving away, trying to find a new territory. These animals push into areas where there are vacancies; where there are no other sounds or smells, then they try to settle. He mentioned that although the area is an ideal spot, vegetation-wise, for a dispersing leopard, there are not many natural food sources.

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When dispersing, cats have been seen to move up to 50/60/100 kilometres away from their natal home ranges.

He said it is difficult to say if something will happen to the leopard at this stage, as there have been no concrete evidence as to its presence, for example a reported kill. If a report is received, the MTPA can work from there to determine its position. The MTPA has people ready in the area, should any reports on the leopard arise.

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