A young leopard was spotted in Benoni on Monday morning, 22 July at about 5am and again at 7am. Fortunately for both the leopard and residents of the town, the juvenile male was captured and a ‘soft release’ to an enclosure was undertaken, to enable vets to monitor his condition.
The SPCA was contacted when the animal was first seen and the South African Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (SAWRC), together with the Craig View Veterinary Clinic went to see if the leopard, which was running loose in the Marister area, could be captured safely.
‘He ran into somebody’s laundry at the back of their house. Dr Bull darted him and we took him out,’ said Judy Davidson of the SAWRC.
According to Times Live, Davidson said that vets were not happy with the five-month-old cat’s condition.
‘He will stay a month or two until we are sure that he can cope and look after himself. He is not tame, but he is also not terribly upset to be enclosed which makes us think he might have been in an enclosure somewhere.’
We chatted to Vanessa Davis, also from SAWRC, today about the young leopard’s condition. Davis said, ‘He is a lot more settled today after all his chaos yesterday. There is a partially closed off section within his temporary enclosure to give him some privacy, and he had taken himself off into this darker area for the day. I’m quite sure we will see him out about about this evening again!’
‘He is not tame, but he is also not terribly upset to be enclosed which makes us think he might have been in an enclosure somewhere.’ Image: South African Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
Image: SAWRC
