Cheetah dies in freak hunting accident
Scarlet, the star cheetah dies in freak accident while hunting.
ONE of the many stars of the Zimanga Private Game Reserve near Mkhuze, Scarlet the cheetah, has died in a freak accident while chasing down prey.
Scarlet, so named because of the scar on her nose, was the only female cheetah on the reserve.
Charl Senekal Junior reported on Facebook that Scarlet lost her footing at high speed and plunged straight into a sharp tree stump.
The stump pierced her chest cavity from the front and penetrated almost 30cm.
He says the force of the impact flipped the stump over, which by their estimate, weighed three times more than the cat.
Senekal says plans are still going ahead to boost the cheetah population with new introductions, but this incident was a huge and unexpected loss for the reserve.
The response on the reserve’s Facebook page has been overwhelming, with many writers recalling the amazing sightings of Scarlet on their visits to the reserve.
The Zimanga Private Game Reserve was opened to the public in July and is promoted as a photographic reserve.
The location of the hides have taken background and lighting into account and were built with the help of Bence Mate, a Hungarian wildlife photographer who has recently won first place in the Bird Category of the 2014 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
