It's probably been a dream of every fur to have a wild animal as a pet — but for Goosey Fernandes it's become a nightmare since his pet tiger, Panjo, has escaped.

Panjo was being driven to the veterinarian on the back of a bakkie between Groblersdal and Delmas when he escaped.

Although sniffer dogs are being brought in to find the tiger, so far it has been without success.

There have been a number of reported sightings but no leads have led to Panjo's capture and one so-called sighting was actually a lynx.

Although people might be scared of 140kg tiger, they have been told not to panic and to treat the tiger like a dog. Fernandes says they must point a stick at him and say "no", or offer him a chicken.

There are no plans to shoot the tiger and it will instead be darted. Its fate, though, is unsure. Fernandes claims that he has the correct permits from the Mpumalanga Parks Board, but officials claim no knowledge of the permits.