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 Panjo 'kicking back' on the couch
    July 29 2010 at 09:41AM Get IOL on your
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By Gill Gifford

After a two-day search that had South Africans gripped, Panjo the missing tiger was on Thursday morning back home and lounging on the couch.

Jubilant owner of the giant cat, Goosey Fernandes, said he was hugely relieved to have Panjo back home and was at a loss for words to describe his thanks and appreciation for the massive assistance he had received to track down the missing tiger, as well as the relief he felt at having the beloved animal safely back home after the 48-hour search.

Speaking to Talk Radio 702's David O'Sullivan on Thursday morning, Fernandes said he had cracked open a bottle of scotch on Wednesday night in celebration of the happy reunion that saw Panjo safely rescued.
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"It was the most exciting half-hour of my life, when I got my little cat back," Fernandes said, referring to the discovery of the 145kg tiger.

Panjo went missing on Monday night when he is believed to have jumped off Fernandes bakkie in Delmas. They had reportedly been en-route to the vet when the canopy fasteners came loose and Panjo is believed to have jumped out when Fernandes came to a halt at a stop street.

By Tuesday morning the tiger-on-the-loose report was making news headlines around the country, with scores of trackers and volunteers coming forward to join the search.

"People which I never knew from nowhere came out to help me. I had a woman printing 5000 pamphlets claiming 'Panjo lost', someone gave us eight 2-way radios to use. I don't know what to say, hey.

"I've got to think about what I want to say and how I want to say it," Fernandes said, experiencing difficulty trying to express his extreme gratitiude for the generous assistance that had been forthcoming.

Panjo was eventually tracked in Groblersdal, Mpumalanga on Wednesday night, where he was spotted a short distance from a base camp set up by the search party. Shortly before 8pm he was spotted and reunited with joyful Fernandes.

"It was the most awesome moment for me when I walked into that patch of black wattle trees and got my cat back. He just walked up to me and licked me and purred at me, and I gave him his bit of meat and he climed into my van. It was something words can't explain," Fernandes said.

Asked if he had obtained some secure locks for his van's canopy, Fernandes said "My cat will never disappear again".

"It was a bit of a mistake from my side, but also the holes in the road. In a pot hole, the latches can move. But he's not badly hurt - he has a bruise on his paw and one on his cheek from him jumping off, but I don't think he did when we were going at any kind of speed," Fernandes said.

Fernandes said that because Panjo was an animal indigenous to India, he was not required to be in possession of the permits required to house African animals.


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Showing page 1 of 4 comment pages, 33 total comments
5 Weeks ago Anonymous Rainbow Warrior wrote :
Old Boozey of tiger and cracking whisky fame
Should be mauled and eaten with a lot of pain
How insecure is this East Rand chop
He needs a tiger to make him feel on top
Please Panjo make a meal of him
so he can't breed with u or himself agin

5 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
What A horrible thing to say Idiotshater, Animals are always the victim when humans are involved! They donot need to suffer just because of human stupidity!
5 Weeks ago Idiotshater wrote :
I wish this Big Cat was missing in and around my village because we would have hunted it & KILLED it in a gruesome way that cannot be imagined or compared against any slaining of wildlife animal history, and that will teach the owner and others like him that you don't become selfish with such dangerous animals I so wish I laid my hands (spear) on that thing it would been a bigger story than what it is right now.
5 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
very glad that panjo is home, safe and sound, and very glad that there was no loss of life due to the animal being hungry...keep the cat at home pelase, we do not need another incident like this again...my nerves are shot - for both the animal and the people who could have got in his way!
5 Weeks ago Brrr... Moaners wrote :
to all the moaners.... u can ... up! panjo is well looked aftered! njoy your baby justin ;-)
5 Weeks ago Dragma wrote :
yes there was a huge search because imagine all the kids Panjo could have snacked on when he got hungry.
Glad they found him in one peice.
5 Weeks ago SHAME ON YOU!!! wrote :
WHAT is wrong with the people in this country? This is a lovely ending to something that could have been so sad!! Yet people are moaning and groaning and griping about rubbish!! Get a life you moaners, this country will never come right with such negativity!

If Panjo had not been found, I was planning to go to the area over the weekend to help with the search!

It goes to show that there are a lot of people with very big hearts - shame on those of you who are finding something negative to say!

WELCOME HOME PANJO YOU BEAUTY!!!
5 Weeks ago Anonymous wrote :
As far as I know, the helicopter & plane & man power used in the search for Panjo was payed for by the owner!!! ?
5 Weeks ago Ferocious wrote :
sigh, i have to agree with Anonymous 1, THAT much of effot, THAT fast, we shud have he same reation everytime a child goes missing hey........Ferocious
5 Weeks ago massmartarati wrote :
a tiger is a truly special creature. if massmartarati could own one, he would! and if he lost it, he would also go to such lengths to find it. after all, there are so many people and so few tigers.
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