The N/a'an ku sê Wild Leopard Release – 25 February 2009

Last year, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism confiscated two leopards, who had been kept in horrendous conditions, from Farm Werda near Tsumeb. The male had been kept in a small cage near a cattle kraal for three years and the female in a box trap for a year. The MET contacted N/a'an ku sê to keep the leopards in safe custody while the court case took place.

Following the release of the male on the 3 February, nine volunteers and our research experts, Flo and Cila, set out for NamibRand on the 25 Feb to release the female leopard back into the wild. Polly, one of the volunteers lucky enough to witness the release, tells us about the day.

It was difficult to say which was stronger, the levels of excitement amongst the nine volunteers or the heat of the NamibRand sun, even this early in the morning.

All eyes were watching the leopard who sat in the capture cage, staring at the opened gate. It seemed she couldn’t quite believe she could finally be free. In the last few minutes she had hissed, growled and thrashed about but now she just stood still. Slowly and very unsurely the leopard stepped forward, step by shaky step, simultaneously bewildered by her new found freedom and anxiety at the close proximity of us. She glanced from side to side as she left the cage, turned to have one last look at the Land rover and then bolted up to the mountains, not ready to have her freedom snatched from her once again. If we hadn’t been sworn to silence, we would have erupted in cheers. She had made it.

It was understandable why this young female leopard has so little trust in us. Not older than five or six years, she had arrived at N/a’an ku se four months previously after being confiscated by the Namibian government. ‘Stinky’, as she was fondly known by Stu due to the stench that filled the capture cage on the journey down, had been held illegally in captivity in a capture cage for anywhere between 10 months and 3 years.

Two days previously this leopards comfortable, yet still captive, stay at N/a’an ku se had come to an end. She was darted and Flo, Cila and Carol, watched by press, the head of carnivore conservation for the Namibian government, a handful of investors and of course, us, began her release preparations. Blood and faeces samples, saliva and nasal swabs were taken, she was measured, weighed, sprayed with anti-tic and flea spray and finally fitted with her GPS collar, kindly donated by Bank Windhoek. The collar was tailor made to fit her weight, age and neck circumference. It takes one reading per day allowing the research team, and any other interested party, to track her movements, and eventually her home range.

The release was taking place in NamibRand, around 500km from Windhoek and the journey began the morning before the release. The leopard attracted much attention on route, the attention varied from kind well wishers to angry farmers. She growled away all nosey faces who peered into the back of the brand new Land Rover, which had been generously sponsored by Novel Motor Company and Land Rover Namibia, and was making its maiden voyage.

The general pattern for a newly release leopard is to spend roughly three days close to the release site before a combination of hunger, thirst and curiosity encourages them to move.

After the release, we set up camp on a hill 3.5km from the release site and began to track her progress using a receiver to recognise the frequency of her collar. We returned to the same site for the subsequent few days to track her movements. It was Friday, two days after the release, when we were faced with the excitement, relief and also slight sadness of no signal being received from the release site. She was gone, venturing away to start her new life as a free leopard. Stinky was finally back in the wild, where she belongs.

The humbling experience that we nine volunteers were lucky enough to be part of was just one such carnivore that the research team, enabled by Bank Windhoek, Novel Motor Company and Land Rover Namibia, have been able to give a new life and a second chance. Congratulations and thanks to the research team, long may your fantastic work continue!

Our biggest thanks go to Bank Windhoek for sponsoring the collar, Novel Motor Company and Land Rover Namibia for sponsoring our brand new Land Rover and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism for rescuing the leopard and allowing her freedom.

Get involved

To experience your own life changing African adventure, wild carnivore release and volunteer at the project visit www.volunteersnamibia.com or email bookingsnaankuse@iway.na .

Collaring the cats before their release enables us to track their movements, check on their condition in their new environment and work to indentify a sustainable and successful solution for re-locating problem animals so they are no longer shot and killed. If you would like to make a donation or help raise funds for the collars we still desperately need to release more animals back to the wild please email donationsnaankuse@iway.na