This gruesome discovery was made on Thursday November 25 at about 11:00.
All evidence leads to the fact the animals had been electrocuted by a faulty earth leakage on the reserve. This fault has been reported several times to the Thaba Chweu Local Municipality.
“I sent my team out to the pole because I suspected that was the source of the reserve being without power. They phoned me and said they had found three animals at the base of the pole,” said Malcolm Bain, the manager of Sterkspruit Nature Reserve.
People were shocked and outraged on social media after they saw the photos of these dead animals lying at the base of the pole.
“We have such a delicate ecosystem and leopards are so rare in our area. We do everything in our power to ensure that nature is protected. This in an outrage and had me close to tears,” said Gerda Whitehorn, the owner of Paardeplaats Nature Retreat. Paardeplaats is adjacent to the Sterkspruit Nature Reserve on the Long Tom Pass.
Also read: Nkadimeng elected for second term
Gerrie Camacho, renowned carnivore and leopard specialist of the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), said the way the exit points were scorched shows the high voltage the animals had taken and this hopefully led to a quick death.
He and Bain had made their deductions from the photos taken, but will investigate the area over the weekend.
“I suspect the leopard killed the reedbuck and fed on it at the danger point. The bush pig was following the smell of the decomposing flesh. Bush pigs are carrion feeders and it most probably thought it was an easy meal. No large carnivore will eat electrocuted or lightning struck flesh. I have even seen hyenas rejecting it,” said Camacho.
“In 2005 leopards were on the least concerned species list. This is according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This is the lowest conservation status. They quickly escalated to the near threatened category a year or two later. After that they escalated to the threatened category. The threatened category falls under the sub category vulnerable. They are one of the carnivore species in the world that faces the highest persecution level. The threats againts them are escalating. They are a low-density key indicator species of an ecosystem’s health,” said Camacho.
Kholofelo Nkambule, the spokesperson for the MTPA, said the case will be thorougly investigated from a legal standpoint too.
Comacho indicated that he will do a DNA analysis of the leopard to include its data on the national database. This database monitors feeding and breeding habits of leopards in a specific area.
