Seasons greetings!

My word it feels like it has been an absolute age since I last wrote! Oh hold on it has been!! I am so sorry not have kept in touch. It is not from lack of wanting to but rather lack of time to. We have so busy at the Black Leopard Wildlife Campus and the Ingwe Leopard Research. Let me fill you in a little while I sit here on leave in Johannesburg! 

I live on the reserve, still in a tent but not as plush as the Black Leopard Camp tents although it is still very comfortable! The camp I run is awesome! OK I might be a little bias, but people are always impressed when they visit! It is so green now after the spectacular thunderstorms you may have read about from Alec, my past assistant on the Ingwe Blog and our choice  vegetation is high up on various antelope's menu! A small family of nyala are becoming accustom to our comings and goings and venture towards the kitchen area. I was talking to the one female who came 2m from where I was sitting! 

A bachelor herd of impala rams also stop by from time to time and we do find kudu and bushbuck quenching their thirst at the small waterhole close by.
Occasionally we do have sighitngs of leopard and I do hope over time they will be become more regular!

You may have gathered from the drives I love birding and it is a huge thrill to hear the illusive Narina Trogan every morning as well as the Purple Crested Turaco. Both of which I have not had chance to capture on film yet!

My first FGASA student has completed her training and passed with flying colours and the leopard research goes from strength to strength. I have a map in the office with colour coded tags which represent individual leoaprds so I can see where they walk and how often they use certain areas! They are already teaching me things which is brilliant!

We also collect information about other carnivores and the prospect of doing a PhD is looking very good for the future! 

I hope to be in touch again soon, but in the meantime if you are interested in keeping up to date with what is happening with Ingwe Leopard Research please support us by reading the blogs. Each time you click on the adverts there we get a little bit of money and believe me every little helps! Here is the address is you are interested: 

http://predatorresearchnews.blogspot.com/2012/12/gift-ideas-ingwe-leopard-calendar-and.html

For now I better sign off, but I hope if you celebrate Christmas you have a wonderful one and I hope you have a fantastic new year ahead!
All the best,

Tara

(Also if you are stuck for present ideas this year we have put together a couple of items you can purchase through lulu again. (If anything it goes to show we haven't been lazy!! ;) The information is below):

It is finally here and on sale now! The Ingwe Leopard Research calendar! It contains the best camera trap pictures of various animals taken over the past year by our camera traps in the field. Click on the link below for more details:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/tara-pirie/ingwe-laopard-research/calendar/product-20571683. 

We also have a cook book on sale also on lulu which contains camera trap pictures and recipes donated by past assistants to the Black Leopard Wildlife Campus. The recipes are for an open fire but can be modified for the oven/stove as well! Click on the link below for more details:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/tara-pirie/dining-with-leopards/paperback/product-20506888.html

Proceeds from both sales will go to PAW and the Ingwe Leopard Research to help raise money to allow the research to continue.