Zebra pays QwaQwa suburb a visit

By Emily Setona

QWAQWA – There was excitement among the community of Elite on Wednesday last week, as they woke up to unusual news of a lone zebra that had been spotted grazing alongside a team of horses in a nearby field.

One of the residents of the suburb who did not want to be named, says he spotted the zebra grazing with the mob of horses close to his house.

“I noticed the zebra when I heard school kids screaming that there was a wild animal in Elite,” he said.

He quickly shared his discovery with neighbours by posting photos on social media. The community went into a frenzy of excitement and were curious to know how the wild animal landed in their neighbourhood. Mofokeng said he alerted the police, and the Phuthaditjaba Stock Theft unit wasted no time getting to the scene.

According to local police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Mmako Mophiring, the zebra is believed to have come from the area of Tshiame (Makgolokweng), a small village between QwaQwa and Harrismith along the N5 route.

“While investigating this matter, it was discovered that it was not a crime, because the herdsmen leading the horses were not even aware of the animal’s presence.  Sometimes wild animals wander off and mingle with domestic animals, and in this case the zebra came into contact with the horses and trekked all the way from Makgolokweng and Sterkfontein areas and ended up being spotted in the community of Elite.”

Mophiring also stated that the Phuthadithjaba stock theft unit will pursue the matter until the legal owner of the zebra is found.

“The duty of the police in this case is to contact Golden Gate National Parks to report this matter and make sure that the national park establishes if any of their zebras are missing,” Mophiring said.