Residents of Walkerville, south of Johannesburg, are on high alert after a fully grown female tiger escaped from a small holding on Saturday night.
Walkerville community policing forum’s Gresham Mandy told Newzroom Afrika the animal has already killed a dog, and attacked a man who was walking about a kilometer away from the farm.
“He was bending over to tie his shoes, and she attacked him from behind, he screamed, and then people ran out from one of the dwellings with torches and managed to chase the tiger off,” said Mandy.
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Tiger escaped from small holding
It’s understood the big cat is the female half of a privately-owned tiger pair from a small holding on Walkers Fruit Farms.
Walkers Fruit Farms is described as a ‘very different area to all the other parts of Walkerville’.
In Walkers Fruit Farms most properties range in size from 2 to 4 hectares with unique tree-lined roads where the treetops touch, forming miles of arches over the roads.
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There is also a lot of small-scale intensive farming as the majority of the plots have fertile deep soil.
Mandy said the owner of the small holding reported that his fence had been cut, which is how the tiger escaped.
Mandy described the terrain where the tiger escaped to, as a ‘koppie range’ with thick bushes.
It’s suspected the animal may decide to head home when she gets thirsty, and residents are warned not to approach her.
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Tiger capture?
In hunting the escaped big cat, first prize would be to safely dart the animal and transport her to a sanctuary more suited to the tiger’s needs.
But police have also given local authorities the green light to shoot to kill should the situation require drastic measures.
Watch the interview with Walkerville CPF
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