http://www.news24.com/Travel/S...life-estate-20131125


Leopard attack: Ranger didn't follow rules
2013-11-25 15:00


Pretoria - A wildlife ranger, employed by The Farm Inn, is in a stable condition following an attack by a black leopard over the weekend - in full view of guests on a open-air safari vehicle tour.

News24 Travel contacted the hotel to find out the condition of the ranger and what the fate would be of the leopard.

Farm Inn spokesperson Michelle Bosman told News24 Travel that the establishment would prefer not to divulge the ranger's full details, but that he would be returning to work as soon as he was better.

"We can confirm that on Saturday 23 November 2013 a FGASA trained ranger employed by The Farm Inn, was on a game drive with two families who were guests at the hotel," said Bosman.

"Regrettably the employee failed to follow protocol and entered a secure enclosure with a black leopard and was attacked."

Bosman stated that it was an unfortunate accident, but at no stage did the leopard escape its enclosure.

According to Bosman, all dangerous animals on the estate are kept in secure enclosures – with policy requiring the need for a special holding camp where the animals are put when the main enclosures are cleaned and maintained.

Bosman could also not confirm why the ranger entered the holding camp, knowing full well that the wild animal was inside.

When asked about the animal's fate Bosman said, "We are not going to put the animal down as it reacted as a normal leopard will react."

She said operations at the hotel, including game drives, are continuing as normal.

Black leopard aren't that common I don't believe.

thank the Leopard for taking this Einstein out of the gene pool.

So rare that it isn't listed in the SCI Record Book

I wonder how Cites would react over the killing and eventual documentation required for the ownership/export of the trophy - pretty sure to get some pubes at USFW in a tangle though.

Caught a brief glimpse of one in Masailand (Simanjiro GCA) one early misty morning which gave rise to WTFs all round.

i think they have a category for" game farm black leopard" but so far there are no entries. sounds like an excellent opportunity to be #1 in a REALLY important book….

quote:

Idaho Sharpshooterone of us posted document.write('<nobr>'+ myTimeZone('Mon, 25 Nov 2013 19:01:00 GMT-0800', '26 November 2013 07:01')+'</nobr>');26 November 2013 07:0126 November 2013 07:01Hide Postthank the Leopard for taking this Einstein out of the gene pool.

Did you actually red the whole article?
HE AIN'T DEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes this is a very bad insident, but it is again a story of attracting tourists with a guarentee to see the Leopard. It happens at many places. The problem is the demand of tourist to see the animals, if they do not see them they will go to other places where they have a guaratee to see them. On many of the reserves a carcass is dropped in the bush and then all of a sudden a Lion or Leopard kill is found to big satisfaction of the unkwowing tourists. At Farm Inn the animals are kept in small camps, it is a recipe for disaster, the animals are getting stressed, they are out of their natural habitat, no free movement with tourist watching them all the time. One or other time the paw paw must hit the fan.

Can we call this canned tourism?

The high demand is causing owners to try new and very often dangerous ways to satisfy the clients expectations. Without satisfied clients they will not be able to survive. It is a vicious circle.