Leopards Loose On Liner Pad Decks For Six Hours
For six hours passengers on the liner Good Hope Castle remained locked in their cabins while two leopards padded around the decks during the ship’s voyage to England. The liner, bound from Mombasa to Hull, had beasts for Glasgow Zoo, including cheetahs, baboons, pythons and lions. It was midnight on a stifling night in the Gulf of Suez, when the crew saw the two leopards loose. Portholes were closed and the 57 passengers were locked in their cabins. There was no gun on the liner, so the captain signalled to Suez to have one ready. Meanwhile, the hunt went on with cargo nets and ropes. The leopards roamed the decks, but nets across the alleyways gradually narrowed the danger zone. At daybreak the leopards got into the. forecastle and were locked in. The owner of the animals, J. Wilson, moved a cage to the forecastle door, then entered another door with a hose while a seaman dazzled the leopards with the lamp. For a moment the water failed, and one animal struck at Wilson, ripping his trousers. Then the leopards retreated into the cage before full pressure from the hose.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/BPB19480618.2.42
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 57, 18 June 1948, Page 7
Word count
Tapeke kupu
199Leopards Loose On Liner Pad Decks For Six Hours Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 12, Issue 57, 18 June 1948, Page 7
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Beacon Printing and Publishing Company is the copyright owner for the Bay of Plenty Beacon. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Beacon Printing and Publishing Company. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in