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Hi everybody!
I thought it would be a great idea to start this thread. It would help people recognize the leopards they see, also it would be fun to see the ranges of KTP leopards by following the apperances of the leopards.

Now for the identification guide:
first up - The Leeudril Male:



he has a semi-circle of dots around his lower half of his left eye. he also has two blobs-1 at the corner of his left eye and the other one a centimetre below. one more feature is his......well.......uuuuuummmmm near his tail.

Edited: Old Twee Rivieren Female - Maja, leopard number 1 on pages 5/6 of the ID Booklet.

Next leopard - Known as the Twee Rivieren female:







She has a little 4 dot triangle above her left eye, as well as a line of dots from the outside corner of her eye down towards 4 o'clock. Also 2 blobs below her left eye - like an exagerated eyelash!

We have seen her in the Aoub riverbed(Houmoed) as well as in the Nossob riverbed(10km TR sign).

We have seen this one near Roiiputs on 27 March 2007

@ madach - super sighting! I believe you saw the Leeudril male!(semi circle of dots below left eye etc)

@ AfricanDreams - great pic! Your leopard looks like a female(lighter build). It could be the TR female but I'm not sure - I'm still hunting thru pics, we only seem to have a lot of the left side of the leopard, not her right side! Will keep you posted!

Edited: African Dreams' post is the Rooiputs female - leopard number 9 on pages 21/22 of the ID Booklet.

I have seen this one just before Grotkoolk (April 2007)

Edited: The Langklaas female - leopard no. 21 on pages 43/44 of ID Booklet.

Thanx Anne-marie!Beautiful leopard! How close to Grootkolk did you see it? I wonder if it is the Grootkolk leopard or the Ljiersdraai picnic leopard, or another one? Do you know if it was a female or a male? The males we have seen also have had a heavier set face, your one seems a lighter build.

Your pic is great for ID purposes!

I think it was a jung male (he lost her prey... and another jackal rob a piece...).
I'm going to search the name of the place... and a sign... if male or female... I come back soon

She was in a big tree at Kannaguas pan... and

a female... I'm afraid

Thanx for the info Anne-marie !We will keep a lookout for her when we go in April!

As per ask Mr Gus Mill for cheetahs, he need some legs'pictures, it's better to compare spot inside legs... what is the best for leopard ? face or legs ?

It's my understanding that the only accurate way to ID leopards is from the pattern of whiskers and associated spots. You need very detailed facial pix to do this properly.

@Candy's Style - thanx for the input! Super pics!

Anne-marie and Arks - I have always believed that each leopard has a unique pattern of spots and rosettes, so for ID purposes, we (EE and I) have concentrated on facial spots/marks, just that it is easier to remember eg. left eye or below eye etc. If there is an easier way ie. check spots on the legs rather, then we would like to know, so I have pm ed Kgalagadi TFP and asked him to look at this thread and help us if he can. I always thought that ID re whiskers was just for lions, so it will be interesting to know if this method applies to leopards too.

Great idea for a thread

Just realised that the leopard I saw near TR on the Nossob road last year in May, is the same one I saw this year near Munro/ Hoemoed on the Aoub road a few days ago. And she now has a fairly large cub.
The first pic is from last year (about 8km) outside TR, and the next is from this November near Hoemoed on the Aoub. (19 km from TR)





And now............................., introducing her cub.

I also saw this beautiful lady (I think) this year on the Nossob road about 25 km from TR.

Wow and Wow again!!
peterpiper, these pics are too awesome to even try and describe. Thanks for sharing