Man gets the better of leopard in battle for life

By Owen Gagare

The Chronicle
January 29, 2010



A 37-year-old man from the Crocodile area of Esigodini bravely fought a leopard, which had attacked him, resulting in the fierce cat running away.
The man, Clement Moyo, is now considered a hero in his village although he is nursing wounds he sustained in the battle.
He is admitted at Esigodini District Hospital, where he is being treated for rabies and wounds he sustained.
Authorities at the hospital and the Matabeleland South Provincial Medical Director, Dr Gordon Bango, for reasons best known to themselves, however denied permission to a Chronicle newscrew to interview Mr Moyo, although he was willing to tell the world his story.
The councillor for the area, Mr Malachi Mpofu, however, said two weeks ago, Mr Moyo left his home in Crocodile Village in the company of two relatives in their early 20s to look for his calf, which had gone missing.
“He went to search for the calf in the grazing area and unfortunately for him he found it dead. The calf’s leg had been eaten. He also noticed that the body had been dragged for a distance but at that time he did not know what had happened,” he said.
“He moved a few metres from the calf’s carcass and to his surprise the leopard suddenly sprang from some nearby bushes and felled him. Others ran away but he was brave enough to hold the leopard’s mouth with one hand and the right leg with the other.
“The leopard wanted to go for his throat but he kept holding the mouth firmly. It also tried to rip his stomach open with its paws but he would move away each time, resulting in the animal tearing some flesh on his legs, especially the calf and lower part of the leg.”
Clr Mpofu said Mr Moyo cried out for help as he battled the animal, prompting his cousin, who had initially run away, returning to assist him.
“He struck the animal three times on the head with a small axe, resulting in the handle breaking.
“With the handle broken, all hope was lost, but miraculously, the leopard just stopped the attack and walked away for a few metres before sprinting away. His cousins then carried him home before he was rushed to hospital in a scotch cart,” he said.
Hospital staff cleaned his wounds and bandaged him up although they did not treat him for four days, demanding that he pays for some injections although they were said to be available at the institution.
They only started treating him after he grudgingly agreed to hospital authorities’ request to take his beast from him.
He is now being treated.
Although he denied permission to Chronicle to have an interview with Mr Moyo, Dr Bango on Wednesday said: “The patient is admitted to the hospital and is making good clinical progress.”
Chronicle however managed to take Mr Moyo’s picture although it was not possible to have an interview with him because he was being closely monitored by hospital staff.

Kathi,

I was in Matebele South this past Nov.

What is the nearest town?

Frank: How did the leopard hunt turn out? I missed seeing you at the convention. Were you there?

Leopardtrack:
Closest large town to Esigodini is Bulawayo.