Leopards spotted at Lisbon Falls

In a sighting that surprised both the spectators and the authorities, a leopard and cub were spotted near Lisbon Falls recently.

This is no reason to fret, but rather one to be excited about, said Gerrie Camacho, the MTPA carnivore specialist.  The leopard and her cub were seen by some road workers on May 16, luckily without incident. Camacho said the workers had scared the leopard just as much as she had given them a scare.

What makes the leopards’ presence strange yet exciting is the fact that the MTPA thought they would not appear in the area due to plantations and numerous other developments.

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Camacho said this is proof that wildlife corridors between plantations and buffer zones around reserves are a crucial part of helping leopards play their natural role in these areas. The fact that the female has a cub shows that she resides in the area and is not merely passing though, he said.

“It is a rather fragmented habitat in terms of plantations, but luckily there are corridors. This is significant, because it shows she can survive with the help of these corridors.”

The fact that she would have had to mate with a male leopard leads Camacho to believe that there are more leopards in the area than one might think.
Female leopards are extremely territorial, while males’ territories might overlap with that of more than one female.

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In terms of the danger she and her cub might pose to the public, Camacho said that if she has not bothered people to date, she would not do so in future.  “The individual is not necessarily one that poses a danger to people, unless they corner her somewhere or confront her, but that can happen anywhere.”

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