Leopard which attacked two people at Hoedspruit Air Force Base captured

A leopard which attacked two people at the weekend in the Hoedspruit Air Force Base in Limpopo has been captured and safely relocated.

The South African Air Force's Brig-Gen Donavan Chetty said a soldier and a civilian staff member had encounters with the big cat while out exercising but sustained no major injuries.

“The soldier went home on the same day, he just had scratches. The civilian member is coming out of the hospital today [Thursday],” he said.

Chetty said the leopard was captured on Wednesday. 

“We opted to get the relevant wildlife authorities to assist and we set a trap with a cage. It was baited and we caught the leopard. There was no harm to her. She was relocated about 100km away to Phalaborwa to a reserve. The danger has been removed.”

According to Chetty, attacks are uncommon but leopard sightings are frequent in the area around the base.

“In the Hoedspruit municipality there are 151 leopards being tracked that the authority knows about, because it is their domestic domain. 

“We are used to having game and wildlife on our base as Hoedspruit is in the middle of where these animals live. The Kruger National Park is next door. We have had many sightings before but leopards don't commonly pose a threat. It's more baboons that give us a hard time on the base.”

Chetty said environmental officers, through the officer commanding, communicate regularly with the community on how to mitigate risks when animals come into the area.

“They are educated on snakes and dangerous insects. A lot of education goes into our people so they know we are not living in the city — we are living in a wildlife reserve. We take all those steps. There are curfews at night, people are not allowed to walk at night or after dark.”

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