Leopard sightings on Plaisir de Merle Monday, 3 September, Plaisir de Merle. There was another surprise when a honey badger also bustled onto the scene one night. Other fauna known to be on the farm include the caracul or Cape lynx, jackal, mongoose, buck duiker and grysbok , bat-eared jackal, raptors such as fish eagles and falcons, and other birds such as guinea fowl and pheasants, as well as reptiles such as snakes and lizards.
The two rivers flowing through the property also harbour indigenous fish species. One of the leopards is certainly the same individual as was photographed before on Tokara in May Rather we expect its slopes to be occasionally utilised by adults who have larger territories stretching into the Jonkershoek mountains, and younger leopards looking to establish a territory.
We have very little information on how extensively leopards are using inselbergs like Simonsberg, and only time will tell what is happening with regards to leopard movement on the slopes of Simonsberg. The BWI is a pioneering partnership between the local wine industry and the conservation sector, aimed at minimising any further loss to the highly threatened Cape Floral Kingdom CFK , the smallest but also the richest plant kingdom on earth. The wine industry plays a vital role in conservation efforts, as some 90 percent of local wine production occurs within the CFK.
Efforts to rehabilitate fynbos at Plaisir de Merle began more than 22 years ago through the ongoing removal of invasive alien vegetation, mainly hakea. About 12 years ago, this programme was extended to also include other aliens such as black wattle and pine trees.
Much has already been spent on rehabilitating the land, funded from the income derived from a large commercial pine plantation on the farm. Where the trees have been harvested, fynbos has been re-established, with many wild olive trees also making their appearance. Other indigenous plants and trees are being planted, such as the Cape, Henkel and Breede River yellowwoods , Acacia, fever trees, red and white alders, Cape beech, Cape ash, Cape holly, wild peach, wild olive, white stinkwood, white pear, etc.
