The search for a leopard that was spotted in the vicinity of the Roodeplaat Dam Nature Reserve, northeast of Pretoria continues. The predator was spotted on Friday, however, the origin and owner of the leopard are not known and efforts are being made to locate it.

Communities closer to the nature reserve and guests to the sanctuary have been urged to be cautious and not to approach, as leopards are dangerous. Mpumelelo Mci from the Nature Reserve said: "We will still keep a lookout throughout the weekend. If we are not going to get anything, we might look in the next week at putting up a track cage for the leopard in the spots where it might have been spotted by the neighbours but it is a work in progress," Mci added.

Mnci said the Gauteng Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment Department does not allow members of the public to keep leopards as pets, because they are dangerous animals that are meant to be kept in legally registered zoos or sanctuaries for rehabilitation. Mnci added that they have put up a notice, warning visitors at the reserve of the possibility of the leopard being in the reserve. "We haven't sighted it ourselves, but we are on the lookout in case we do see it and in the event that the leopard is spotted, we will then bring in the University of Pretoria team again to come and dart the animal and possibly then move it to a sanctuary or another protected area," he said.