A snared giraffe at Bisley was found by drone and treated

A young female giraffe at Bisley Nature Reserve, near Pietermaritzburg, was carrying a wire snare and about four meters of cable on a hind leg. The Witness reported on October 20, 2026, that the search had lasted nearly a week. The reserve sits in controlled airspace beside the airport, so a drone flight needed permission. Air-traffic controller Sakkie de Lange allowed operator Megan Barnard to fly within an altitude limit. Friends of Bisley, mounted police under Captain Rudi Torlage, and Gerard Oosthuizen of Magma Security took part. In a herd of 11, the injured female was picked out by checking hind legs.

Veterinarian Zaid Mahommedy found a relatively small wound and treated an infection on the other hind leg. She stood and walked. The paper called it the first drone search of this kind in that airspace. The rescue is one animal treated on site. It does not show how many other snared animals remain in the reserve.