WATCH | Leopard loses its buck kill as Kruger rangers come to clean up
Rangers removed leopard kill thinking it was hit by a car, Sanparks explains
South African National Parks (Sanparks) has moved to defuse an outcry following a video taken at the Kruger National Park showing people in a minibus type vehicle - including uniformed rangers - removing a leopard's kill from the road.
The video showed a group loading an impala, which was lying on the side of the road, into the vehicle. The impala had been killed by a leopard.
"We were watching a leopard killing an impala in the middle of the road on H7 this weekend. The leopard got a fright and ran away from the road. While we were waiting for the leopard to return to the kill, a group of people came and took the impala away," the Kruger Sighting group shared on social media.
Following the posting of the video, a number of people insinuated that the rangers who took the leopard kill were in the wrong.
@SANParks who are these people? Is this legal? I don't see any park emblems on this vehicle or uniforms on these people!! https://t.co/QLtUj4LODh
— Astrolab (@astrolab0123) June 18, 2019
Stealing food from an animal. Wow.
— Revolting Neil (@NStoffberg) June 18, 2019
However, Sanparks explained that the team from Sanparks had believed the impala had been hit by a car.
“Their understanding was that the impala had been hit by a car and as per their mandate, they removed the carcass and handed it to the Satara section ranger. All is above board,” Sanparks said.