APRIL FOOLS!! Exotic predator identified as an Indochinese tiger
The animal was last spotted in the vicinity of Suid Street by an early morning jogger.
APRIL FOOLS!! Roaming tiger captured near Ster Park https://buff.ly/2PnWumR
31 March
POLOKWANE – The Spokesperson for the Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, Zaid Kalla told Review that the animal that escaped in the early hours of Monday morning has been identified as an Indochinese tiger and remains highly unstable. He added that they have no plans to rehabilitate the tiger should it be captured.
“Once the department is notified of any stray animals, we work closely with various other structures or authorities within the area of expertise to ensure that we track down and capture the animal. Thereafter, we transport it to a rehabilitation site before releasing it back into the wild. We have no intention of rehabilitating this one. It’s not from this region, and we fear the danger it poses,” he said.
Read more: ‘Exotic predator’ spotted roaming along N1 bypass
“We have our men on the ground tracking the animal and we intend to increase the number of men on the ground after the long-weekend.”
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Kalla says depending on the type of animal, locating and capturing activities can take be between three to 12 days. He added that the animal is highly active and twice as dangerous at night and hunts during that time.
On Wednesday morning, a jogger spotted the tiger in the vicinity of Suid Street, approaching the R71 turn off and alerted Review via voicenote on our WhatsApp number.
Kalla advised that people remain vigilant. “Let’s roam around in pairs. Those jogging should ensure a 360 degree visual at all times and do not approach the animal. Let’s keep in mind that this is a foreign predator, therefore the department does not, at this stage, have a strategy to tame it,” he reiterated.
