Tracking leopards in Nairobi National Park

01/12/2009 23:25:01 By Will Knocker, of the Silole Sanctuary
November 2009. Last week I had the pleasure of meeting up with Yumi, a zoologist from Kyoto University researching leopards in The Nairobi National Park (NNP), specifically looking at the conservation of these elusive cats & at interaction between leopards & people in the extraordinary peri-urban situation that is Nairobi National Park.

GPS collars
Yumi trapped & collared 2 female leopards in the park in January this year & has been trying to keep up with them through radio signals & GPS readings showing their movements since then. One of these cats is probably the individual that wakes me up at night by walking on my corrugated iron roof, as it was trapped along the Empakasi River next to the Masai Gate below the Silole Sanctuary where I live. Yumi estimates her age as less than 3 years old, which makes her immature.

Langata Forest
The other moves in & out of the park from the Mukoma Road Estate into the Langata Forest. This individual is also young, but appears from the examination of her teats to have had cubs Kenya Wildlife Service reports a female with 3 cubs in the Langata Forest. Females appear to share territory, whilst males are much less tolerant of intruders.

10 - 20 leopards in Nairobi National.
Yumo has positively identified at least 5 different males & estimates the entire NNP population at between 10-20. The huge margin for error is perfectly easy to understand by those of us who are lucky enough to spot a leopard in the park.

Leopards are mainly nocturnal & are opportunistic predators eating whatever is locally available . Not surprisingly around NNP they are very fond of eating dogs & cats including my dachshund last year.

If anybody has information or sightings of leopards in NNP please let me know & I will pass on to Yumi.

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