The 37-year-old man who survived a tiger attack in Walkerville in south Gauteng believes he should have died during the ordeal at the weekend.
Speaking to eNCA from his hospital bed, William Mokoena recalled how Sheba, the female tiger, pounced on him and attacked him.
Mokoena was on his way back from a local spaza shop and stopped to chat to his cousin. He said he bent down to tighten his shoelaces when Sheba pounced on him. Mokoena said his head hit the ground. He added that the tiger tried to grip his neck and drag him into bushes nearby.
“I was supposed to be dead,” he told eNCA.
Mokoena said it was dark and people ran out with torches to see what was going on.
He said he managed to fight the massive cat off.
Video: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA)
Mokoena told eNCA he was taken to his cousin’s home and some hours later the same tiger returned, where it attacked a dog.
Mokoena confirmed to eNCA that he is taking legal action against the owner of the tiger.
Sheba has been spotted in the area but is yet to be captured.
Meanwhile, animal rights organisations have raised questions about the regulations regarding keeping exotic animals such as tigers as pets without permits in some residential suburbs. According to the Endangered Wildlife Trust, in Gauteng, the North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo no permit is required for the legal possession or keeping of an exotic wild animal.
The National Council of the SPCA said it was a matter of extreme concern that permitting (which is regulated by the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in this instance) was not required to keep such dangerous and exotic animals in residential areas in Gauteng.
IOL