South African Tourists Brave Encounter With Hungry Leopard, Defend Themselves With Bare Hands

• A Cape Town couple faced a terrifying ordeal during their camping trip in Botswana's Mabuasehube Game Reserve
• The couple's peaceful seven-day camping expedition turned into a horror scene when they were startled awake by the sounds of an animal scaling their vehicle's roof
• The man punched the claws of the hungry leopard until the animal got off the car

Trisha Pillay is a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg. She has devoted her professional life to covering social issues and community news for 13 years, sharing her expertise with different newsrooms like The Citizen newspaper, African News Network and Newzroom Afrika. Do you have a hard news story you would like to share? Email trisha.pillay@briefly.co.za with CA in the subject line.

A Cape Town couple's camping trip in Botswana turned scary when they had to defend themselves against a hungry leopard.

Read also

Young man's heartbreaking moment as T-Cross gets repossessed in a TikTok video

According to The Witness, Gavin Allderman and Jill Sheard were camping in the Mabuasehube Game Reserve when they were woken up by an animal climbing onto their vehicle's rooftop tent.

Allderman, a retired SAA pilot, described how they initially thought it was a cheetah but soon realised it was a leopard. They fought off the leopard with bare hands, punching and screaming until the animal finally retreated.

As the couple thought about how to return to their vehicle, they heard what sounded like the animal leaping onto the car's bonnet.

Allderman said:

"I opened the tent on the opposite side, slipped down the ladder and into the vehicle, which was fortunately unlocked. I yelled at Jill to find out if she was okay as I reversed the car. Blood was dripping everywhere.

Read also

Elephant Charges Safari Vehicle with Passengers, TikTok video clocks 5 million views

"I drove the vehicle towards the leopard in an attempt to chase it, then drove slowly to another camp, about three kilometres away. At the other campsite I nervously alighted and got Jill down from the roof tent."

Allderman mentioned they were still processing the unexpected and frightening encounter but acknowledged that visiting the wilderness has significant risks.

Mzansi was stunned by the escape

People around South Africa praised the couple for their quick thinking. While some applauded their bravery, others thought it was too dangerous to park there.

Here are some of the reactions:

@Tim Stemmet said:

"You can't park there."

@Ayanda Pinqo Mhlope commented:

"Next time it'll be a lion... stay the hell home."

@Emmanuel Maravanyika shared:

"We had a problem in Winterveld, 2 leopards seen on my 4ha plot. After 2 weeks they weren't seen again."

@Timmy Kayembe expressed:

"Until humans respect the wild life, stuff like these will always occur."

Read also

Cape Town woman survives being stabbed 24 times, South Africans horrified

@Senzo Dreamboybeatz joked:

"I guess they never watched PREY."

Video of Big 5 Fight between lions, leopard and elephants goes viral

In a related story, Briefly News reported about a rarely-seen confrontation between some of Africa's Big 5 beasts that have gained millions of views.

The bizarre video stunned viewers worldwide as it showed the extent to which wild animals go to survive. It also fascinated viewers because it displayed how animals can save each other.

Source: Briefly News