A 39-YEAR-OLD man is recovering in the Rundu State Hospital after he was attacked by a leopard on Sunday.
Farmworker Petrus Hamutenya was admitted to the hospital with severe injuries to his left elbow, right leg, thigh and left foot. However, his condition is said to be stable. Hamutenya was attacked at a farm situated north-west of Rundu in the Kavango West region.
Speaking to Nampa from his hospital bed, he said the big cat attacked him while he and some friends were tracking it after it had killed a calf the previous night.
“When we reached the area where it was, our dogs started running back to us, and it (leopard) came for us. My friends ran past me, and when I turned to run, it was too late. It grabbed me by the elbow, and I fell down,” explained Hamutenya.
He said the animal continued to attack him until his friends came to his rescue.
The leopard was shot by a neighbouring farmer, who also took Hamutenya to the Mpora clinic. He was then transferred to the Rundu State Hospital.
Chief control warden in the Ministry of Environment and Tourism in the Kavango East and West regions, Chrispin Nkonkwena said he was not aware of the incident.
He urged people encountering dangerous wild animals not to confront them, but to contact the ministry’s nearest mobile office.
– Nampa
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