http://www.news24.com/SouthAfr...killed-dogs-20111229


Residents claim tiger killed dogs
2011-12-29 22:01


Pretoria - Police are investigating a "tiger" attack that claimed the lives of two dogs near Cullinan, police said on Thursday.

Police spokesperson Johannes Jafta said that while residents from Moloto village in the KwaMahlangu area near Cullinan had described the animal that had killed two dogs as being a tiger, police could only confirm that it was a "vicious animal" that had killed them.

"One can see that it definitely was not a dog [that killed them]," said Jafta.

The dogs owners had reported that the dogs did not bark. They simply howled when attacked. He said no farmers in the area had reported any missing wild animals, including tigers.

Residents who had apparently witnessed the attack in the early hours of Monday morning had been unable to tell police whether the animal they had seen had spots or stripes.


"It was dark when they saw it and they were frightened," said Jafta.

He said there were no other reports of animals being attacked, but the New Age newspaper reported that dogs were attacked while trying to rescue two goats from the beast.

One of the residents, Daniel Mahlangu, told the newspaper that he had seen the wild animal in the kraal after having been woken up by unusual sounds which raised his suspicions.

“I was fast asleep when I heard the goats bleating strangely from the kraal and dogs barking.

“When I peered through the window, I saw a tiger dragging away a carcass of a goat from the kraal, while two dogs were lying dead outside the kraal, along with the remains of another goat,” Mahlangu was quoted as saying.


- SAPA

Wrong continent.

That is a strange story indeed. I would have thought that locals would know the differnce in Africa.

In India it is common for local villagers to use the same term for a tiger or a leopard. In some languages the leopard is calld "small tiger". In some parts of South India the neghbouring languages have some common names but they mean totally differnt animals! For example one language uses a particular name "Nari" for a fox or jackal while the neighbouring language uses "Nari" for a tiger!

I still remember my dad being very specific and persistant in interrogating the local people about cat shightings in the 70s.

It might not be so strange.....

Last year there was a tiger that got out of a game park near Rustenburg. It went missing for more than a week and was found +- 50km from its home.

Also: Very few natives in Africa that live in a city knows anything about the wildlife. They just don't care.

On the TV they claimed to have seen a Leopard killing the dogs not a Tiger. In Afrikaans (mostly Namibia and some old school South Africans) a 'Tier' (Tiger in English) is also known as a Leopard - can the confusion be this? The natives whould know this saying also; most was raised on Ranches / Farms...

Sounds like it was a Leopard, or at least that's what the radio reports are saying.