Leopard spreads fear in village

The sight of a leopard at Itsani outside Thohoyandou has sent shockwaves through the sleepy village.

The large predator was spotted by pupils around 14:00 at a defunct local piggery project on Thursday. News of the sighting spread like wildfire, with many using social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp to spread the news.

That, however, did not help the local community as the leopard has not been located and caught.

This is not the first time a leopard has been spotted in the village. Two years ago, a big leopard was killed at Dzindi and information available at the time was that it was not alone and that another had managed to escape.

Residents are now living in fear and are mostly confined to the inside of their houses in fear that the animal might attack. To add insult to injury, thick bushes grow in the area where it was spotted, and residents are also worried that it might strike in the evening as the area has no electricity.

A resident, who preferred to remain anonymous, said they had reported the matter after the leopard had been spotted and that nature conservation people had come but had not had any equipment with them. "They came here and searched and told us they were going to seek reinforcements at Malamulele. They came back on Friday afternoon and searched the bushes but could not find the animal. We are living in fear as we do not know where this animal could be.”

She added that the worst part was that it had been seen near the houses. “We have lived here for more than 12 years, but we still have no electricity. We need help that the animal is hunted down and caught, so that we can feel safe again," she said.

Community leader Michael Gumula said they were living in danger and fear but were just thankful for the efforts of the nature conservation people.

 Limpopo Economic Development and Environment spokesperson Mr Burcels Napo said they had received news of the leopard and dispatched a team of rangers who, together with the community, searched the area but could not find the animal.

He said it had been jointly decided that the bushes be cleared.

News - Date: 18 January 2019

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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