The search for an 8-year-old female tiger that escaped from its enclosure on a smallholding in Walkerville over the weekend will continue on Tuesday.
Sheba has been returning to its home, giving tracking teams hope they will be able to recapture it on Tuesday.
It escaped on Saturday evening after the fence to its enclosure was tampered with and cut.
Local community policing forum representative Gresham Mandy said the tiger returned to its enclosure but left before anyone could “close the gate behind her”. Mandy added that the behaviour was expected because tigers are territorial, so it isn’t likely that Sheba will move far away from the enclosure.
He added that the tracking team intended to put a bait carcass in the area in the hope of drugging Sheba while ground teams “close the net in”.
A fully grown female tiger known as Sheba that escaped from her enclosure on a plot in the south of Johannesburg is still on the prowl but close to being captured. Video: Gresham Mandy #Tiger #TigerEscape pic.twitter.com/cQv8nPzwCH
— 𝙵𝚊𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚕 𝙿𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚕 (@FaizelPatel143) January 17, 2023
On Monday, Sheba was spotted near a waterhole in the Walker’s Fruit Farms area, close to Midvaal.
Once captured, Sheba will be relocated to a big cat sanctuary nearby. The tiger’s male partner was darted and relocated to the shelter on Sunday.
Since its escape, Sheba has attacked a 39-year-old man, a pig and two dogs. Both dogs had to be put down due to the severity of their injuries, Mandy told News24.
The 39-year-old man is expected to make a full recovery.
Meanwhile, South Africans have been finding the funny side of the whole situation:
Someone thought they found the "Joburg Tiger" this morning. I actually can't. South Africa is like one crazy movie. 😂🤣 pic.twitter.com/evcnm0cOIe
— Brent Lindeque (@BrentLindeque) January 17, 2023
Has anyone tried placing a large box in walkerville and going pstpst to catch the tiger 🐅 🫣 pic.twitter.com/RFLJcWqk2b
— Dr Poobie Pillay aka Alara’s Grandpa (@poobie_pillay) January 17, 2023
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