Pretoria - The search for the missing female tiger, which is loose after escaping from a property in the Walkerville area, south of Joburg, resumed on Monday morning with no sighting of the feline, except its victims.
A 37-year-old man was hospitalised over the weekend after being attacked by the animal. The man’s dog was killed by the big cat.
Gresham Mandy, from the Walkerville community police forum, told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika that the search had resumed with “quite a few drones” and boosted by a police helicopter supporting the teams searching for the tiger.
“As of yet, we still haven’t found her. We still do not have leads on where she could be, so we are going on whatever is coming out there with regards to where she could be,” said Mandy.
He said several animals have been attacked by the tiger.
“From what we know, she killed a dog on Saturday. She killed a fallow deer, not a reindeer. What happened yesterday (Sunday); she killed a pig. She didn’t eat the pig. She killed the pig, and she left that pig,” said Mandy.
“Obviously, she also attacked that male, the 39-year-old (man) that is in hospital at the moment.
“She has attacked two dogs. The one wasn’t killed immediately. It had to be euthanised by the NSPCA. This is what has been uncovered so far,” said Mandy.
He said without creating panic, residents in the area should be vigilant.
“We don’t wanna create panic out there, but she is a wild animal, even though she was kept in a domestic environment. We would caution everybody within the surrounding area. If you see her, don’t climb out of the car to try and pursue. It would be reckless for you to do that.
“Rather call it in. You can call 10111. If you have numbers of the local CPF or the law enforcement in this area, you must let us know immediately because this is gonna help us narrow our search and bring in this animal without having to kill it,” he said.
“The plan is to dart her and take her to a sanctuary.”
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