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A female leopard that attacked two people at the Hoedspruit Airforce base this past weekend has been captured.
The South African Airforce (SAAF) said on Wednesday that it takes security on the Airforce base seriously and is also looking at mitigation measures.
Brigadier-General Donavan Chetty told Algoa FM News that a civilian member and a uniformed member of the Airforce were attacked and are receiving treatment.
He said the female leopard caught on Wednesday will now be travelling about 100 km from Hoedspruit where she will be released into a reserve.
"She was just the one predator we were concerned about, but with Airforce base Hoedspruit being in the "catchment area" of the Kruger National Park, and because of the area that we have at the base, we have wildlife that come onto some other farms and then becoming part and parcel of the land that we actually occupy.
"It is not uncommon in Hoedspruit for you to have wildlife, even warthogs, on the road. You don't actually get stray dogs there, you get more warthogs on the road in Hoedspruit."
Chetty said leopards have been known to come into close proximity to human settlements and this is not the first "episode" as we know of at least five leopards that have come onto the base over time.
They come and go and not necessarily been involved in attacks on the base or in the Hoedspruit community for that matter.
This is the first one that has probably happened in a very long time.
The base environmental officer confirmed that it has recorded five instances in the base's history.
Chetty says the welfare and safety of the Drakensig community remain the utmost priority as the SAAF works with wildlife experts to resolve this situation.
The unprovoked attacks occurred between Friday and Sunday last week at the northeastern Hoedspruit air base.
One officer was going for a morning jog when he was pounced on by the spotted animal, while the other was leaving work in the afternoon.
Environmental authorities traced and captured the female specimen on Wednesday and transferred it to a natural reserve, Chetty said.
Fences were no match for leopards, who are renowned for their agility.
