A tiger which was being kept as a pet in South Africa escaped from the back of a truck on Tuesday and is running loose in eastern Mpumalanga province, a wildlife official said.
"A tiger has escaped this morning from the back of the vehicle in Mpumalanga," said Brenda Santon, national wildlife manager for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"The tiger originates from the Springs area" near Johannesburg but was being driven into neighbouring Mpumalanga, she said. "It was being kept as a pet."
Santon said SPCA teams are working to locate the escapee and warned people not approach it.
"People are being cautioned to stay away from the animal," Santon said.
Tigers are not native to Africa, but South Africa hosts conservation projects to breed rare species of the big cats.
Santon said tigers should not be kept in homes.
"We believe it is wrong to keep tigers as pets. The animal must be left to live in the jungle. They remain dangerous," Santon said.
Mpumalanga provincial wildlife manager Louw Steyn told the Sapa news agency that no tiger had been licensed to live in the area.
"There is no tiger registered in our province. We have checked with Gauteng (province) and that tiger is also not registered there," Steyn said.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
