‘There is a Leopard in my backyard’

MOKOPANE – After a warning surfaced that a female leopard and her cubs were allegedly walking in Gamka Street on Saturday, Facebook posts surfaced claiming the mother had been shot, and residents lashed out at authorities.

However, following an investigation by Bosveld, we can confirm that the mother was not shot.

Gary O’Farrell, owner of Special Operations Solutions (SOS), told Bosveld on Monday: “Our reaction-officers were called out to a house in Gamka Street on Saturday morning, after the owner alleged there was a ‘lion’ in her backyard. On arrival, the reaction officers found a leopard cub in an aggressive state.”

O’Farrell further said the owner of the house had small children and therefore they had to capture the leopard cub. “The right procedures were followed and we took the animal unhurt to the Mokopane Biodiversity Conservation Centre.” On the remark made by residents that the mother was shot, O’Farrell said he had no idea where people got the information and according to him the mother was never even spotted. “There were rumours that a second cub was sighted later that evening, but it was never confirmed,” O’Farrell concluded.

Loffie Malherbe from the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (Ledet) told Bosveld he is very grateful to SOS and all parties involved for their outstanding work. “This could have been a fatal situation,” he said. He also stated that to his knowledge, no shots were fired and the reason why the mother and her cub were separated is not clear. “The cub will soon be released into a rehabilitation centre,” Malherbe continued.

Bosveld visited the conservation and Manager of the Biodiversity Conservation Centre, Mark Howitt showed us the cub. “It will remain at the conservation centre until it is relocated to a rehabilitation centre,” said Howitt.

redaksie.bosvelder@nmgroup.co.za