JOHANNESBURG (AFP) –
A leopard that escaped
South Africa’s Kruger
National Park mauled a
local man, putting him
in hospital, a spokesman said. The animal escaped
through a fence and
attacked a man from a
nearby village Tuesday,
South African National
Parks spokesman Rey Thakhuli said. “He was mauled by the
leopard,” Thakhuli told
AFP, adding the man
was “stable” and was
“fortunate to be alive”. The animal had since
returned to the park
and rangers were
checking it did not
escape again, he said. In a separate incident,
one of the park’s
environmental
monitors fell and hit a
rock while fleeing from
an attacking buffalo. Thakhuli said he was
also recovering well in
hospital. Around three million
people live in towns
and villages around the
country’s flagship safari
destination, which at
two million hectares (about five million
acres) is roughly the
size of Israel.