APRIL FOOLS!!! Roaming tiger captured near Ster Park
Review was on the scene of the capture
POLOKWANE – APRIL FOOLS! We got you!
Tommie Tier was captured by the Department of Economic Development Environment and Tourism’s (LEDET) rangers in the bushes near Ster Park earlier this morning.
The energetic tiger sent the city into a frenzy after he was spotted training for the new rugby season near the stadium on Monday.
Read more: APRIL FOOLS!! Exotic predator identified as an Indochinese tiger
Review would like to thank Ledet and the department’s Spokesperson, Zaid Kalla, for being part of our April Fool’s joke.
In addition, we would like to thank HTS Tom Naudé for the use of their mascot suit for the capture.
To reiterate, there is no wild animal loose in the city.
There is, however, a real problem when it comes to Indochinese tiger numbers.
According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), there has been a huge decline in their numbers across its range because of shrinking habitats, expanding human populations, and the increasing demand for traditional medicines, folk remedies and wild meat.
The Citizen wrote an article; Miracle cures and bling – How SA is killing the world’s last living wild tigers last year which highlights the extent to which South Africa contributes to the problem.
The EMS Foundation and Ban Animal Trading’s The Extinction Business Investigative Report mentions two facilities in Limpopo, who have previously been involved in this regard.
Polokwane Review supports WWF’s work to enforce zero tolerance for tiger poaching across the world.
WATCH: Behind the scenes of the Review April Fools prank
