Tiger on the loose in South Africa

from Reuters:
By Xola Potelwa

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - A tiger escaped from the back of a truck in South Africa on Tuesday and remained on the run as police used helicopters to hunt it down.

The 17-month-old tiger called Panjo escaped while it was being driven by its owner to a veterinary clinic in the town of Springs east of Johannesburg.

The tiger's owner, Rose Fernandes, told local radio she did not know how the tiger had managed to escape.

She said the tiger was used to humans but police urged local residents to be vigilant and report any sightings. Tigers, who are native to Asia, are only found in zoos in South Africa.

The 140 kg (310 lb) tiger remained on the run and police used helicopters and microlight aircraft to locate it.

"This is certainly the biggest tiger hunt that Africa has ever seen," said Andre Snyman, head of a private security network coordinating the search.

Fernandes said anyone who came across the tiger should treat it "like a dog" by picking up a stick and saying "No" in a loud voice. She added that giving it meat, especially chicken, would also be likely to keep it happy.

(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Maria Golovnina)

Poor tiger - i hope they find it before it causes too much damage/chaos -

Lai

I was wondering why she had a Tiger and its obviously because it's in a Zoo and maybe has been used for petting if it's used to people, makes you think a bit deeper about this young Tiger, I hope it stays safe and for its sake doesnt harm anyone otherwise who knows what may happen to it.
littlewid-x-

Apparently it's a pet Tiger just found this report
27 July 2010 Last updated at 12:16 Share this pageFacebookTwitter ShareEmail Print Pet tiger escapes in South Africa on trip to vet
Tigers are not native to Africa A tiger which was being kept as a pet in South Africa has escaped from the back of a truck and is running loose.

A search is on to find the animal, called Panjo, after it escaped on the trip between Johannesburg, its home, and Springs, where it was being taken to a vet clinic for a check-up.

The authorities urged people to stay away from the animal.

But its owner said was it was used to humans and told anyone who came across Panjo to treat it "like a dog".

Owner Rose Fernandes told local radio that all people had to do was pick up a stick and say "No" in a loud voice.

Brenda Santon, national wildlife manager for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), said SPCA teams were working to locate the escaped tiger and warned people not approach it.

"We believe it is wrong to keep tigers as pets. The animal must be left to live in the jungle. They remain dangerous," she said.

I completely agree with that last comment. Lets hope it is recaptured safely
WS

My concern is that people seeing it as a threat will try to kill it.

SM

Thanks for that WS, I did think it very silly of the woman to tell people to treat it like a dog, thats incredibly dangerous and your right, I agree it should be in the jungle, the trouble is how did she get it in the first place, its probably never lived in the jungle in its life so how would it cope, its probably destined for a life in the Zoo.
littlewid-x-

Panjo found unharmed
2010-07-28 20:48


Cape Town - Panjo the missing tiger has been found after two days of searching which had gripped the imagination of young and old in South Africa.

His owner, Goosey Fernandes, said Panjo was found in a pine forest on the Swartkoppies farm in the Verena area near Bronkhorstspruit.

The big cat escaped from the back of Fernandes' bakkie Groblersdal and Delmas while being taken to a vet in Springs.

"He is stressed out. He has had two lovely pieces of meat now," Fernandes said.

Marcelle Meredith of the NSPCA confirmed earlier that Panjo had been seen and that he had been isolated in a dense area of the forest.

He seemed to be frightened by all the activity and the torches shining in his direction. He backed off deeper into the forest, she said.

But just before 20:00, after Fernandes had called out to him for about 10 minutes, Panjo came out from where he was hiding.

The tired and bruised 140kg animal walked slowly to Fernandes and licked him on the cheek, before Fernandes put a collar around his neck.

Fernandes said he would be taking his big cat home to his game farm on Wednesday night.

Thankfully a happy ending

Lai