Warthog gores two
AWARTHOG boar on the rampage gored a Komani father and son in the town, leaving both with deep gashes on Tuesday afternoon. Retired Queen’s teacher Anthony “Tubby” Milne and his son, also Anthony and known as Tubby, 32, were among several honorary game rangers and Lukhanji game reserve staff who tried to remove the animal from the grounds of the Girls’ High School swimming pool off Haig Avenue.
The warthog had been seen in the grounds of Balmoral Girls’ Primary School, adjacent to the swimming pool, from where it gained access to the pool area.
The school requested the help of game reserve staff and they, in turn, tried to contact a wildlife veterinarian to dart the animal, but he was out of town.
As the pool is in close proximity to school playing fields and residential areas and warthogs are known to be aggressive and dangerous, their first priority was to contain the animal and ensure no one was hurt, a municipal source told The Rep. They therefore tried to restrain it with a game-catching net with the hope of removing it from the built-up area.
When this was done the warthog went into full attack mode and rushed at Milne junior, whose foot became entangled in the net and he fell, whereupon it gored him several times in the arm and leg. His father tried to help him and was also hooked in the arm.
Both had to be rushed to the doctor for the stitching of deep gashes. X-rays revealed there were no broken bones.
It is unclear at present where the warthog had come from but as it seemed to have come from the Bowker’s Kop side it might have come from the direction of the Bonkolo basin.
He said after the men were injured they had no option but to put the animal down as it was a danger to children and members of the public in the vicinity.