New information has surfaced over the shooting of a leopard and the mauling of a man first described as a cattle herder.
It was said that the leopard had attacked a cattle herder in the Isibindi valley, in the Elandskraal area, last weekend. The leopard was later shot by another man.
However, sources have now told the Courier that the men were not cattle herders but hunters.
The group of men were in the area with hunting dogs when they came across the leopard. Skittish because of the pack of dogs, the leopard went up a tree.
Another man, known to have a legal firearm, who lives in a kraal nearby was called by the hunters to ‘come and shoot the big cat’.
This he did with a 9mm firearm – however, he only succeeded in wounding the leopard. The leopard then jumped from the tree and attacked the gunman who suffered various injuries.
The hunters and their dogs set about the leopard and killed the animal. It appears as if the animal was then skinned. It is not clear if it was then eaten.
The Stock Theft Unit is investigating the killing of an endangered species.