Outcry as rangers shoot zebra dead
Andrew Stone
Nicola Cole of the Haven Hotel said the zebra, affectionately nicknamed Zebbie by staff and guests, was a great attraction at the hotel, located within the Cwebe/Dwesa nature reserves about halfway between Mazeppa Bay and Coffee Bay.
“He was constantly being photographed by guests because he always hung around with a herd of horses,” she said, speaking to the Dispatch on Wednesday.
“He had been around for many years and although there is a herd of zebra in the reserve, he tended to stay away from them and we think he was looking for a mate, so he would occasionally break out (of the reserve) but was always brought back.”
According to Cole, Zebbie escaped again this past week and was seen “quite some distance from the hotel”.
OH, ROAM-EO: Left and above, Zebbie, a zebra stallion whose amorous escapades with horses and donkeys ended with him being shot and killed by Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency officials after he escaped from the Cwebe Nature Reserve on the Transkei Wild Coast. Pic: SUPPLIED
She phoned the parks agency to ask for help to get Zebbie back as he was making a nuisance of himself, reportedly with a herd of donkeys.
But they were told getting Zebbie back would “not be feasible”.
“The next thing we heard was that he had been shot,” she said. “I’m livid about this because I think it was totally unnecessary. I feel they should have tried to either castrate him or, at the least, fix the fences so he was not able to get out.”
Parks chief executive Sybert Liebenberg said when problem animals escaped from reserves, they were left with two options relocate or kill them.
“In this case it was just not economically viable to relocate the zebra so we unfortunately had to shoot him.”
Liebenberg said the issue of fencing surrounding the reserves was a challenging one.
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Feb. 24, 2011
www.dispatch.co.za/news/article/713