Missing tiger's owner heartbroken

2010-07-27 14:06

Panjo, the 17-month-old Bengal tiger which has been missing in Mpumalanga since Monday night. (Photo supplied)

Lauren Hess, News24

Cape Town - The heartbroken owner of a Bengal tiger that has gone missing in Mpumalanga on Tuesday vowed not to give up the search for his beloved animal.

Goosey Fernandes told News24 that he had microlight planes, helicopters and planes out looking for the tiger, named Panjo.

The game farmer says that an apparent sighting of 17-month-old Panjo just outside Delmas "looks like a false alarm".

Panjo, who weighs 140kg, apparently went missing on Monday night when Fernandes was taking him to the vet.

The animal was sitting in the back of a bakkie and managed to escape on the N12 between Fernandes' farm in Groblersdal and Delmas.

"I put him in the back of the truck. And then I locked the thing up and my wife was actually behind me in another car. We left the farm in Groblersdal and when I got to Delmas I stopped and the back door was open and my cat was gone," Fernandes told Jacaranda FM.

Panjo's owner admitted to the TimesLive that he lets the tiger sleep on his bed and that "he's like a kitten in the house".

"I'm not well. That cat’s going to give me a heart attack," an emotional Fernandes told News24.

The Mpumalanga Wildlife Management Unit and the province's SPCA were out looking for the animal.

An Mpumalanga  wildlife manager, Louw Steyn, said that there is no permit for a tiger in the province.

Do you have any news on Panjo? Let us know.

Or have you spotted him? Then send us the pictures.

- News24

Add your view to this conversation - comment below