In Africa, everything bites . . .

That was a favorite saying of the late Peter Capstick, the well-known author and professional big-game hunter and guide in Africa.  It's just been proven true again with the near-death of a six-year-old boy in South Africa.

A leopard at a South African game reserve snatched a six-year-old boy and ran off with him.

Little Kellan Denny was attacked and dragged away by the big cat at Kruger National Park.

As the male leopard ran off with the youngster, his father Justin chased the big cat and screamed out: “No! No! No! This can’t be happening.”

Kellan was dragged 30 metres by the leopard who had sunk his teeth into the boy’s shoulder before he was recovered.

Justin was able to retrieve his son after the leopard dropped the boy from his jaws. Kellan, who is said to be ‘quite traumatised’ is now recovering at home.

There's more at the link.

What I can't understand is this:  if the family was South African, they've surely been taught that predators are opportunists, and will go for the weakest targets that can't fight back.  If they didn't know that, they were criminally negligent, because when I was growing up, every South African knew about the dangers of local wildlife.  It wasn't even a matter for speculation.  Everyone knew.

The fact that the victim was a six-year-old boy is also instructive.  In most of the tourist-friendly game farms and cheetah breeding centers in South Africa, there'll be a height chart next to the enclosures where tourists are allowed to enter and mingle with the animals.  It'll state that people under a certain height are not admitted - no matter what.  No exceptions.  The reason is that most African predators distinguish an easy meal from a difficult one by size.  Small and succulent equals good eating, irrespective of species;  therefore, small and succulent aren't allowed in with them.  This incident proves, once again, the wisdom of that policy.

Thanks be to God that the child was saved.  I reckon he'll grow up sadder, but wiser.

Peter