{"id":69664,"date":"2017-07-21T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-07-21T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/echonews.sites.caxton.co.za\/69664\/leopard-gets-czech-custodians-released-back-into-wild\/"},"modified":"2017-07-21T11:59:34","modified_gmt":"2017-07-21T09:59:34","slug":"leopard-gets-czech-custodians-released-back-into-wild","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/news-headlines\/2017\/07\/21\/leopard-gets-czech-custodians-released-back-into-wild\/","title":{"rendered":"(Update) Video: Leopard gets Czech custodians, released back into wild"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Sponsoring the cat\u2019s radio collar is the camera team\u2019s way of giving back to Africa who they say has provided them with breathtaking scenery to capture on film over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n<p>The leopard was in a very bad state when Gerrie Camacho of Mpumalanga Parks and Tourism brought him to Ubhetyan-o-Africa for help.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-69690\" src=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-1-17-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-1-17-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg 520w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-1-17-LL-ZN-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The cat was discovered trapped in a snare around its body. It had to undergo several operations, done by big cat specialist Dr Peter Caldwell in Pretoria.<\/p>\n<p>During one of the operations a large ball of scar tissue, that formed internally, had to be removed.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-69691\" src=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-2-17-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-2-17-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg 520w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-2-17-LL-ZN-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The cat was then brought back to Ubhetyan to recuperate and was deemed healthy enough to be released back into the wild last week.<\/p>\n<p>A Czech camera team sponsored R30 000 towards the cat\u2019s upkeep and for it to be fitted with a radio collar.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-69692\" src=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-3-17-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-3-17-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg 520w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/BJJUL19-3-17-LL-ZN-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The collar will not only track the leopard and alert researchers when something happens to it, but it will also provide valuable information about the movement of adult male cats.<\/p>\n<p>Members of the camera team were present to assist with the cat\u2019s release in the Buffelskloof area. The cat was very thin when it was released.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-69693\" src=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-1-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-1-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg 520w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-1-LL-ZN-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The weight loss was attributed to stress factors of being kept in captivity whilst it recuperated.<\/p>\n<div class='tie-fluid-width-video-wrapper tie-ignore-fitvid' style='margin-bottom: 30px;'>\n\t\t\t<iframe style='width: 100%; min-height: 300px; aspect-ratio: 16\/9;' src='https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/VAnpx20h06w' loading='lazy'><\/iframe>\n\t\t<\/div>\n<p>The leopard has been named Ziki after a Czech adventurist named Zigfried who travelled the world and published many books about it. He is currently 98 years old and unable to travel.<\/p>\n<p>Deon Cornelius of Ubhetyan said that since the cat\u2019s release last week Friday, he has been able to track it, and it is still in the vicinity where it was released.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-69694\" src=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-3-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-3-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg 520w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-3-LL-ZN-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The leopard, said to be at least four years old, has also managed to catch a bush-buck ewe which is a good indicator that all is well with it.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/68347\/watch-leopard-saved-from-snare\/\" target=\"_blank\">Watch: Leopard saved from snare<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-69695\" src=\"https:\/\/mobserver.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-12-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"520\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-12-LL-ZN-520x400.jpg 520w, https:\/\/dwu32cgxelq1c.cloudfront.net\/local_newspapers\/sites\/92\/2017\/07\/Ziki-release-Observer-12-LL-ZN-300x231.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A leopard that was found injured in a snare in Ohrigstad, has become the mascot for a Czech camera team. The cat was released back into the wild.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1848,"featured_media":69689,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"video","meta":{"hasGravity":false,"cxt_article_byline":"Jana Boshoff","cxt_disable_google_ads":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-video","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news-headlines","post_format-post-format-video"],"category_labels":{"Category":"News","SubCategory":"Local news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1848"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/develop.citizen.co.za\/middelburg-observer\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}