Leopard rescue heartbreak at Storms River
Man's best efforts proved to be in vain when a young female leopard had to be euthanized following a dramatic rescue mission at Storms River.
NSRI Station Commander Lodewyk van Rensburg says NSRI Storms River and NSRI Oyster Bay duty crews were activated at lunch time on Thursday to join SA National Park rangers in an effort to save a leopard stranded on a cliff face on the Storms River at the marine section of the Storms River Gorge.
He says kayakers from Untouched Adventures, which included NSRI Storms River crew who are SA National Park rangers, had been out with clients when they spotted the leopard and raised the alarm.
Van Rensburg says the NSRI and SANParks then launched a rescue operation.
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He says it is suspected that the female leopard, about three years old, may have fallen down the cliff and was stranded on a cliff face near to the water’s edge.
The animal was eventually darted by a Vet and pulled onto a kayak and then recovered onto an NSRI rescue craft.
Van Rensburg says the young leopard was then taken by vehicle to SANParks in Gqeberha, but with a fractured femur and other multiple injuries, the veterinarians in attendance took the difficult decision to humanely euthanize the animal.
The NSRI commended its rescue teams from Oyster Bay and Storms River as well as the SANParks team for their incredible efforts in trying to save one of arguably the most majestic of The Big Five game animals in South Africa.
