A Hartbeespoort husband and wife were attacked by a lion at the Ukutula Lion Park near Brits on Sunday. Both sustained serious injuries.
Angelique (28) and Manie (43) Visser from Pecanwood were at the lion park visiting the 16-month-old lion they had fostered last year when they were unexpectedly attacked.
According to Manie they had fostered the lion, called Markus, since it was a cub of three weeks until it was eight months old when they returned it to the park last year. “We visited it every two or three months and we went again on Sunday. We were driven to his camp by two park attendants and I played with Markus for some time. As Angelique was leaving the lion rubbed against Angelique’s legs and then grabbed her leg,” Manie said.
“She yelled ‘eina, eina’. He got hold of her calf and I tried to get his mouth open. He then turned on me and started biting. One of the park workers grabbed him by the tail and I was trying to push him away. The other worker hit him with a stick.”
Manie said he had no idea how long the attack lasted. He sustained bite wounds to his legs, arms, hands, back and head.
“The lion took a chunk out of my leg,” Angelique said.
Both Angelique and Manie were stabilised at the Brits Mediclinic before being transferred to the Garankuwa George Mokhari Hospital.
They both underwent surgery on Monday and
will have to have skin grafts.
Lion Park owner Willie Jacobs this week denied Visser’s story that they were fostering the lion. “They took the lion as a cub and when I heard about it I demanded they bring him back,” he said. He also said the couple bought the lion from him but that he had not received money. He could not tell the Kormorant how long the lion cub was in the Vissers’ care.
“The lion stayed here because their permit was not in place yet. They visited from time to time and when they arrived on Sunday they insisted on going into the cage,” he said.
Manie said he never bought the lion. “We were fostering it until it was about eight months old and when we went to fetch the three-week-old cub, the owner’s wife showed us how to feed the baby and I went back a number of times to get milk from the park.”
“We have very strict safety regulations and we have never had any incidents with a guest,” Jacobs said this week.
“The irresponsible act on one person is now threatening the livelihood of 70 people. I am consulting with a lawyer on the issue,” he said.
The lion park currently has approximately 120 lions on the premises but also keep cheetahs, Bengal tigers and various other game species.
Angelique has been discharged and is waiting to find out when skin grafts will be done on her leg. Manie is still in hospital.
Hartbeespoort Snake and Animal Park owner, Jack Seale said this week the mistake people make is to think they know the psychology of animals.
“Familiarity breeds contempt. They are wild animals and anything out of the ordinary can set them off. People think they can tame and train animals, but even domestic dogs will suddenly act aggressively when circumstances change.”

Die omgewing en die natuur hier by ons leen hom tot baie aktiwiteite. Seil, fietsry, stap, bergklim… en dan natuurlik wat ek bosspeletjies noem. Dis nou daai vleeslike gevaarlike speletjies wat mans in die bos speel.
Dit begin gewoonlik met oëverblindery. Hulle word verblind (so met die ryery langs ons natuurskone en bebosste paaie) deur die kurwes langs die pad wat soos rooi verkeersligte flash … en jarelange se getrouwees aan padreëls skree net een ding… stop!
Nou dié bosspeletjies mag dalk vir party baie plesierig wees, maar nege uit tien keer het dit baie onaangename gevolge. Dis amper soos paintball. Jy skiet ‘n skoot en die volgende oomblik word jý getref en jy moet hardloop vir jou lewe. Dis ‘n hit and run, en die slagoffer is gelukkig as hy met sy broek uit die speletjie kom. Maar defnitief nie met beursies en selfone nie.
En nou, om dié speletjie se gevolge by die huis te verduidelik… Die algemene verduideliking is die natuur se roep en die booswigte wat wag vir die arme manne wat nie meer kan knyp nie. En dan dring vroulief op die polisie aan…
En die arme polisiemanne moet met ernstige gesigte sit en luister na die storie wat hulle vir die hoeveelste keer hoor terwyl vroulief besorg koer. Want die arme man is te getraumatiseerd om alleen die misdaad te gaan aanmeld.
Ek hoor dikwels sluip die slagoffer (na vroulief reeds veilig in die motor is) terug onder weereens die voorwendsel van die natuur wat roep, en bieg nederig dat die misdaad so te sê met onderlinge ooreenkoms geskied het. Sommige, lyk dit my, is banger vir meineed as vir booswigte.
Vir die gelukkiges wat nie hul broeke tydens die bosspeletjies verloor nie, is daar soms ander komplikasies. Nou die dag daag ‘n omie by ‘n polisiestasie op met sy medespeler in die passasierssitplek. In die aanklagkantoor wil hulle weet wat sy klagte is. Hy sê hy het iemand in die motor wat weier om uit te klim en veel meer wil hy nie kwytraak nie. Nou wat se klag wil hy lê? vra die polisieman. En toe weet die omie nie mooi nie.
Die polisiemanne is uit om met die passasier te praat, maar sy het botweg geweier om uit te klim. En toe klim die omie maar weer gedwee saam met haar in die motor en ry weg. Ek is seker hy is ook uit sy beursie voor hy haar kon oorreed om uit te klim.
En dié flashing dames van die bos langs die pad ontsien nie man of vrou of kind nie. En die gesig ís oëverblindend! Mens weet nie waar om oral te kyk nie. Ek het al gedink die owerhede moet hulle maar liewer betaal om by die stopstrate in Hartbeespoort te kom staan. Dit sal baie omies uit die verknorsing hou en defnitief sorg dat die padboewe, wat stoptekens ignoreer, stop.

The Hartbeespoort police confiscated marijuana with a street value of over R1,2 million during one of the biggest marijuana busts in the area so far, last week.
During a raid at two establishments, one in Broederstroom and the other in Rhenosterpruit on Thursday night, the crime prevention unit, detectives and members of the community service centre found sophisticated indoor ‘labs’ where imported marijuana was being cultivated.
In Broederstroom police confiscated over 400 plants and kilograms of dried marijuana and equipment used for cultivating. The suspect could not be found.
A man was arrested at the Rhenoster-spruit property and police confiscated approximately 40 plants and marijuana seeds. He was handed over to the Erasmia police and will appear in court on charges of possession and cultivation of marijuana.
“The police acted on information from the North West police intelligence unit and the police members involved should be congratulated on this success,” said Hartbeespoort community police forum chairperson Romano van der Spuy. “A special thanks to Crime Prevention members Capt. Thomas Scanlen, Cst. Albert Nicholson, Reservist Cst. Carlo Minnie, Detectives Sgt. Rick Hunter and Cst. Abinar Mohtlake and Constables Lance Mokoena and Plantina Ramothibi from the community service centre.”
The police are still looking for the Broe-derstroom suspect.

Stirling Manor, boutique guest house in Schoemansville, was honoured as a top performing boutique guest house when it received a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.
The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide.
Only the top-performing 10% of businesses listed on TripAdvisor receive this prestigious award.
To qualify for a Certificate of Excellence, businesses must maintain an overall rating of four or higher, out of a possible five, as reviewed by travellers on TripAdvisor.
Laurette Hanekom, owner of Stirling Manor, said the guest house is pleased to receive the certificate.
“We strive to offer our customers a memorable experience, and this accolade is evidence that our hard work is translating into positive reviews on TripAdvisor.”
Alison Copus, vice president of marketing for TripAdvisor for Business, said that TripAdvisor is delighted to celebrate the success of businesses around the globe, from Sydney to Chicago, Sao Paulo to Rome, which are consistently offering TripAdvisor travellers a great customer experience.
“The Certificate of Excellence award provides top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers”, Laurette said.

Members of the Hartbeespoort Marathon Club excelled in the recent Comrades Marathon. Johan Klue finished first of the Hartbeespoort runners and earned another Bill Rowan medal for completing the race in less than nine hours. Susan Meyer was the first lady to finish in an excellent time of 9:51:41, while Petro Lombard finished her tenth Comrades Marathon. Four runners of the Hartbeespoort Marathon Club finished their first Comrades Marathon within the twelve hours cut-off time, namely Bertus van Jaarsveld, Kirsten Burnett, Rabby Bokaba and Juanine Bouwer.
Jaco Venter of the Hartbeespoort Marathon Club says 2013 will be remembered as one of the toughest Comrades Marathons. “The searing heat and strong winds saw many runners struggling their way from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Many have said it was the hardest Comrades ever with huge head winds, dust and the highest drop-out rate (29%) in the race’s history.”
The difficulty of the day was reflected in both the ladies and men’s times. Although both races were above course record early on, Jaco explains that the pace dropped as soon as the heat of the day came and the wind increased, creating a massive challenge for those just planning to finish the race within the twelve hour cut-off time. Around 7 000 runners poured over the finish line in the last 90 minutes. Only 10 188, or 71% of the 14 336 entrants who started the race, finished.
The Hartbeespoort Marathon Club would like to congratulate each of its members who tackled the 2013 Comrades Marathon.

At least four heads in the Madibeng municipal leadership are to roll.
Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Richard Baloyi, visited the municipality on Monday and presented the report by the ministerial task team that had been investigating the municipality as well as allegations of malpractice, fraud and corruption.
The final report on the intervention in the municipality recommend that disciplinary action be instituted and criminal cases opened against four senior officials in the municipal leadership. The names are known to the Kormorant.
It also recommends that the officials be suspended or placed on special leave pending the finalisation of the disciplinary action or criminal cases against them.
The report states that there is sufficient information to institute disciplinary and criminal proceedings against three people. “Those three senior officials are at the centre of financial malpractices within the municipality. They engage in extensive cover-up of criminal conduct, which in itself is a crime. They know the systems well and knowingly undermine it ‘professionally’ They facilitate or create an environment for corruption to thrive. They make use of sophisticated means to direct specific projects to certain companies”.
Three officials from the national and provincial government have been deployed to support the municipality and they will be appointed as acting municipal manager, acting chief operations officer and acting head of corporate services.
According to the report the Madibeng Municipality was one of the municipalities that was listed in a proclamation signed by the President in 2009 for investigation by the Special Investigation Unit following serious high-level corruption allegations. Administration followed in 2010 but ended with local government elections in 2011 when the new council took over.
The report states that following the inauguration of the new council, the new administration allegedly went on a deliberate programme of undoing most of the work of the administrator.
They, amongst others, reversed the suspensions of all officials who were suspected for a variety of misdemeanors, suspended or stopped payments towards the PIC loan, and reneged on payments to the City of Tshwane resulting in the cutting of water in some areas and public service protests.
The report also finds that the different spheres of government failed to fulfil the their constitutional and legislative obligations after the first intervention. Minister Baloy requested the MEC for Local Government and Traditional Affairs in 2012 to investigate the alleged irregularities in the handling of the dispute involving the former municipal manager Philemon Mapulane who was arrested on charges of fraud and corruption, as well as the alleged irregularities in the reinstatement of the formerly suspended municipal manager Monde Juta. The requested investigation also included the more than R1 million payment to Mapulane although there was a pending criminal case of corruption against him.
The report mentions as examples cases of a senior official who continued to receive a salary as a municipal official after he was inaugurated as a councillor. The same official also went on an unauthorised overseas trip not sanctioned by council.
The report further says the debt management in the municipality is not in order. The municipality’s revenue collection systems are in poor state hence a staggering R700 million debt book.
The municipality has also failed to account for an amount of R15 million that was allocated for the purchasing of tools for general workers.
Other amounts not accounted for are amongst others two cheques that were issued and cashed by two municipal officials who are still in the employment of the municipality without any action taken against them. Another R270 000 that went missing from the municipal account was never even investigated.
“The current accounting officer and some senior managers that have been in that municipality for some time are implicated in the cover up of some of the financial irregularities,” the report reads.
The minister stressed during his address to the municipality on Monday that “no wrongdoers would be protected.” He also ordered that the report be tabled before the council as soon as possible for action to be taken.
The municipality has not commented and it is not known when the meeting will take place.
In the mean time Afriforum has called for the head of municipal manager Monde Juta.
The organisation will hand over a memorandum demanding Juta’s dismissal to the council om Friday at 09:00. A copy of the memorandum has already been sent to the North West Premier, the MEC en the Madibeng Speaker.

Die Plotwag se noodradio het Vrydag twee werkers van ‘n meubelfabriek in Rietfontein se lewens gered na hulle deur drie mans in die vroëe oggendure in hul kamers oorval is.
Rudi van Wyk (36) en Joe Jambaya (42) het Vrydagoggend ongeveer 03:00 wakker geskrik toe die mans by Rudi se kamer by die Karongwe meubelfabriek wou inbreek.
“Ek het wakker geword en iemand voor die venster sien beweeg. Ek het die binnedeur oopgemaak en toe staan die man daar. Toe ek hom vra wat hy soek, sê hy hy is hier om in te breek en ek is in sy pad,” vertel Rudi.
Rudi het die deur toegestamp en gehoor hoe breek die man die veiligheidsdeur. “Ek het teen die deur gaan sit en dit probeer toedruk terwyl ek vir Joe in die kamer langsaan geskree het. Ek het ‘n bottel in die hande gekry en dit gebreek om myself te verdedig. Teen dié tyd het die man ‘n panga deur die deur gedruk en na my gekap.”
Rudi se noodradio na die Plotwag was naby en hy het oor die radio om hulp geroep. “Die man het dit gesien en die radio uit die muur gepluk en buite stuk-kend gegooi. Toe hy weer sy gesig deur die deur druk, het ek met die bottel na hom gesteek.”
Intussen het Joe uit sy kamer gekom en in ‘n worsteling met nog twee mans betrokke geraak. Die Plotwag het onmiddelik op die noodroep gereageer en was binne enkele minute na Rudi se oproep op die toneel. Die mans het gevlug.
“As dit nie vir die Plotwagradio en hul vinnige optrede was nie, was ek en Joe dood,” het ‘n steeds geskokte Rudi Vrydag gesê. “Terwyl hulle weggehardloop het, het die een gesê hy kom vanaand terug om my dood te maak. Daar was moord in die mans se oë.”
Volgens Rudi en Joe is al drie die aanvallers buitelanders. Die polisie is op soek na die mans.
“Dié voorval bewys net weer dat mense by die Plotwag moet aansluit. Dit kan jou lewe red,” sê Harro Rust, voorsitter van die Plotwag. Kontak hom by 082 775 6466.