Residents around Gauteng's Edenvale suburb have been on high alert after a tiger was spotted roaming around a parking lot at a local office last week. However, there has been no official confirmation on whether the animal has been captured.
At the time, IOL reported that the tiger was spotted in Cabot Road in Eastleigh Ridge. In a 49-second video the tiger is seen circling a car.
Speaking to IOL, National Council of SPCAs spokesperson Keshvi Nair, said they had alerted the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) about the escaped tiger.
It was later reported that the cub had been located, sedated and then removed to a sanctuary.
The claim was subsequently disputed by the NSPCA, which confirmed that the animal was a nine-month-old female.
Bedfordview and Edenvale News reported that the Edenvale SPCA and SAPS had raided properties in the Illiondale area but the animal was not found.
According to the report, Edenvale SPCA secretary Jade Nel, said they have received conflicting communications. She added that the SPCA was trying to establish the facts, and the searches were aimed at establishing whether the tigress was at any of the properties mentioned to the organisation.
The Edenvale missing cub case comes just days after a female tiger, Sheba, was fatally shot after she escaped her enclosure.
Sheba attacked a man and smaller animals before she was killed.
These recent incidents have led to renewed calls for the government to tighten laws around keeping of big cats at pets.
Animal NGO, Four Paws, is calling for an end to the commercial trade of all big cat species.
Four Paws said that this will help tackle the wider issue of the captive big cat industry in South Africa where lions, non-native tigers, and other big cats are exploited in captivity for commercial purposes.
Meanwhile, the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment says the country is home to many big cats, and each provincial conservation authority should have legal requirements to manage the breeding, possession and transporting of the species.
IOL