UPDATE: Buffalo carcass causes cycle crash on Cedar Road
CHARTWELL NORTH – When Mike Kommitsis left his house on Cedar Road at 5.30am on 6 May, the last thing he expected to find was a dead buffalo lying at the side of the road.
“As I pulled out of my driveway, a security guard shone a flashlight in my face and asked me, ‘Is this your buffalo?’. I thought to myself, ‘You have got to be kidding me’,” said Kommitsis.
That’s when he saw the outline of an African buffalo lying on its side next to the road. A group of cyclists were gathered around it and one of them, confirmed to be the director of Cycle Lab Andrew Mclean, had broken his collarbone after accidentally riding into the animal. It was allegedly lying in the middle of the road before it was moved to the grass verge. Exactly who moved it and how, remains unclear at this stage.
In a story with more twists than Van Reenen’s Pass, further investigation on the matter revealed the following:
Officials from Randburg SPCA were contacted and, after arriving on scene, confirmed that the animal was a young female African buffalo and that it was not tagged or branded, leaving no indication of who the animal belonged to. Metro police were also present and requested that representatives from the Lion Park remove the carcass.
It was further ascertained that two of its legs were broken after either leaping or falling off of a fast-moving vehicle, which obviously didn’t stop to retrieve the animal.
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Another theory is that it was hit by a motor vehicle which fled the scene. This seems unlikely, however, as there were no skid marks or debris anywhere in the vicinity.
It also had a severe head injury, which most likely caused the animal to die instantly.
Doctor Peter Geertsma of Gauteng Veterinary Services later confirmed it was a buffalo which had escaped from a nearby farm the week before. “Movement of wild animals is strictly monitored in the province,” said Dr Geertsma.
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“Especially animals like buffalo, because they are prone to carry diseases like foot and mouth and tuberculosis, for example. Thus to avoid an outbreak, all game farms must be registered with us and we do regular testing of all the animals.”
As to how it ended up dead in the middle of Cedar Road in the early hours of the morning, how it was moved to the grass verge and the exact cause of death, remain a mystery.
Watch a video of the dead buffalo which was found on Cedar Road.
Do you have any more information on the mysterious dead buffalo? Let us know in the comments section below
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