The eight-year-old big cat was spotted near a water hole on Monday evening with the help of thermal images from a drone. She returned to her enclosure, but soon escaped through the thin wire fence that had reportedly been cut, releasing the apex predator from the property Friday evening.
Gresham Mandy of the Community Policing Forum said a team consisting of the Captured in Africa Foundation K9 anti-poaching unit, a member of the Special Task Force and community volunteers have agreed on a joint effort to track down Sheba. “We know where she is, but it is not safe for anyone to venture into that area on foot,” he said.
Like many big cats, the adult tigress, which weighs more than 100 kg, seeks shelter in the shade during the day and becomes active at night when it is cooler. The area in which she moves is unlikely to be larger than 800 square metres. The dense bush and hilly terrain provide Sheba with the cover she needs to hide during the day.
Sheba’s escape has once again shined a spotlight on the weak laws in Gauteng that govern the ownership of exotic animals. According to the Endangered Wildlife Trust, no permit is required to legally own or keep exotic animals in Gauteng, the North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo.
“In the Northern, Eastern and Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, permits are required to own or keep, sell or buy wildlife, as well as to import, export and transport the animals,” it says.
All nine provinces have regulations on how exotic animals can be kept and transported. Midvaal Mayor Peter Teixeira said his municipality will revise regulations on keeping exotic animals. “We need to tighten up the ordinances to make sure we are not caught off guard and to prevent something like this from happening again,” he said.
He said his office has not yet made contact with 39-year-old William Mokoena, who was attacked and injured by Sheba on Saturday night.