It is said that foreigners believe that lions roam the streets of Johannesburg.
In Middelburg, there have been no lions yet, but enough animals to fill Noah’s Ark.
There have been
Kudus (lots of kudus)
Monkeys
Baboons
Leguaan (lots)
Muscovy cats
Meerkats
Hippos
Warthogs
Bush pigs
Mambas
Aardwolves
Bushbucks
Otters
Springboks
Crocodiles
Leopards
Brown hyenas.
Last Saturday, two kudus arrived in Kanonkop. One jumped through a dining room window, and the other hid under an awning.
Last year, the Middelburg Observer reported that a kudu was running wild in the Kranspoort Pass.
And there was a video of a kudu running on the wrong side of the fence on the N11.
A few years ago, a kudu brought morning traffic to a standstill in Samora Machel Street. The kudu went to the HTS Middelburg auditorium and was later tranquillised in a yard.
The town is, of course, known for its flocks of chickens.
And then there was Snotkop.
The turkey kicked its owner, Joe Lombard, when he bent down inside the turkey cages.
Joe walked with a limp, and Snotkop imitated him.
When the domestic worker arrived for work, he chased her from the front gate into the house.
Visitors knocking on the front door were kicked by Snotkop; a distressed scream made Joe realise they had visitors.
There was also the baboon who slapped a beloved dog belonging to Dennesig residents.
And the day a leguaan scuttled down the hospital corridors, staff ran for safety.
Who could forget how a Brahman bull jumped onto the back of journalist Carien de Klerk’s blue Datsun bakkie?
A furious bush pig made residents of Dennesig take shelter in their homes; no window stopped the animal.
There was also an Aerorand resident who woke up one morning to a bunch of crocodiles in his yard.
The Middelburg Observer also reported, “An otter ran into a property in Mineralia. The otter calmed down when it jumped into the family’s fish pond.”
The funniest moment was when two hippos roamed the streets of Middelburg.
A man rode his bicycle past one of the hippos late at night, saying, “Hau, that’s a big pig!”
