A call has come in that one of the spotter planes saw the tiger 15 km's outside Delmas. At the moment there is a helicopter, small single-engine plane and two microlights circling the area. They still haven't found it.

When asked how long the tiger can survive without food owner Goosey Fernandes said: "Three days. Then he will die or start killing".

Fernandes says he's lost without his cat. He says, "Panjo sleeps on my bed and he's like a kitten in the house".

The tiger escaped from the back of a bakkie last night some time between 9pm and 11pm.

It was being taken from the owner's game farm to their home so a vet could give it shots.

Wild Life South Africa spokesperson Johan Van der Walt says if you spot the tiger stand still.

He says: “If you run you are dead.”

Van der Walt says the importing of exotic animals illegally poses a serious threat to South Africa’s wildlife.

Earlier the Mpumalanga Wildlife Management Unit said it appeared that the tiger was in the province illegally because no permit for such an animal has been issued.