Leopard captured after wandering onto farmer's land

Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A wandering leopard was tranquilized and taken to a zoo after it was found prowling around a farm just outside of a South African city.

Derrick Dercksen said he saw the leopard crossing the street at his property outside of Kempton Park and he and his brother contacted a veterinarian from nearby Bapsfontein to help remove the big cat from their property.

Dercksen posted a video to Facebook showing the leopard jumping out of a tree on his family's plot.

Pieter Engelbrecht, co-owner of the Bapsfontein Animal Hospital, said he was able to shoot the leopard with a tranquilizer dart after Dercksen's family's dogs cornered it between two buildings.

A video posted to the hospital's Facebook page shows Engelbrecht darting the leopard as it lunges at him through the fence.

"The darting was a high-risk procedure," Engelbrecht told the Benoni City Times. "The fence was old and rusted and I had to go right up to it for a clear shot."

Dercksen posed a second video of the leopard unconscious next to a building. A third video shows the animal loaded into a vehicle for transport.

Engelbrecht said the leopard is being cared for at a local zoo while it regains its strength and officials determine whether it will be released back into the wild.

He said male leopards are known to wander distances of more than 60 miles.

"This is most likely a wandering male," he said.