Runaway tiger finally caught in South Africa

Panjo, the runaway tiger which captured South African headlines since he escaped from a moving vehicle early this week, was finally captured miles away from here, local media reported on Thursday.

The 17-month-old Bengal tiger was discovered after dark on Wednesday one day after going missing.

A tracker dog alerted his handler to the cat's whereabouts near a road outside Bronkhorstspruit, 80 km east of Johannesburg.

"Once the dogs barked, we shone the spotlight in the area and saw eye shine," one of Panjo's owners, Rosa Fernandes, told The Citizen newspaper in Joahnnesburg.

Tigers are not indigenous anywhere in Africa.

Once Panjo was located he was lured from the tall grass with the promise of beef and his milk bottle.

Rosa explained Panjo is fed two bottles of infant formula daily.

"He really enjoys his bottle but he won't drink the milk cold, " said Rosa .

Panjo's great escape has made international headlines with outpourings of support and offers of assistance.

"We've had calls from every corner of the world, people have been amazing in their desire to want to help us find him," she said.

Tracking the big cat took a positive turn on Wednesday afternoon after fresh spoor was discovered on a cattle farm called Swartkoppies, about 10 kilometers from Verena in South Africa's Mpumalanga province.

The spoor was found near a densely forested area, renewing hope that the cat's ordeal would soon come to an end.

South African television personality and animal tracker Mark Tennant, confirmed that the tracks were those of a tiger.

A specially trained Weimaraner dog named Ingala was the one to spot and alert trackers to Panjo's location.

Ingala is part of a predator-tracking unit, a specialized unit dedicated to tracing escaped animals, as well as animals wounded by trackers, based at Sabi Sands in South Africa's Mpumalanga province.

The dog was allowed to sniff Panjo's mattress and blanket and then set loose on the trail.

After his successful capture, Panjo was placed back into the light truck from which he escaped and taken home to the Fernandes' home in Endicott, Springs, east of Johannesburg.

"He is safe, a little stressed but he will be fine. We are securing the bakkie (truck) carefully before we leave- he knows how to open the back now so we need to be aware," said Rosa from the scene outside Verena.

Panjo was spotted during the early hours of Wednesday morning near Bronkhorstspruit by Rikus Jansen while on his way home.

"He zigzagged across the road right in front of me. I was stunned – it is not something you see every day," said Jansen.

Another witness and the man who owns the farm on which Panjo was found, Charlie Ntuli explained how while out with a herdboy , they came across "very large tracks" he recognized as belonging to a cat.

"I saw the story about the tiger on television and put two and two together. When I saw the bakkie (truck)with the picture of the tiger on it, I spoke to the owner and told him what we had seen," Ntuli told the Citizen newspaper.

The future fate of Panjo is yet to be decided as there is dispute about permits for the tiger but for now, the Fernandes family say they are grateful for the "happy ending."

"We are ecstatic," said Rosa.

Source: Xinhua