NEWS RELEASE                                                                                            11 October 2001

FURRY MYSTERY CAUSES GREAT DIVIDE AMONG CAMPS BAY RESIDENTS 

The arrival of a mysterious creature has caused a rift of Shakespearean proportion among the residents of Strathmore Road, Camps Bay.

Local resident Carole first spotted the furry freeloader two weeks ago, when it hid underneath her car in the driveway.   

“I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw what I thought was a meerkat. And after noticing that my dog kept constant vigil at our fence, I realised that it must have adopted my neighbour’s garden as its new home,” says Carole. 

Meanwhile, fellow residents Ian and Lesley also spotted the little creature – which they believed to be a mongoose – as it was darting across Strathmore Road. 

“None of us are able to see our furry visitor for long enough to figure out what it is.  We have been trying to capture it on camera, but as the animal is quite shy we only see it for a fleeting moment before it runs off again,” they said.

“But as long as my dog continues to take great interest in this strange new neighbour on the other side of the fence, we remain assured that it is still around.” says Carole. Maybe it is time for a new dog, Carole! 

On each occasion the mysterious little critter was spotted in the late afternoon, when it was most probably foraging for food. Its identity is still a mystery but one thing is for sure: it has been the greatest cause of excitement and confusion to the otherwise quiet Strathmore Road since last year’s episode of “ The flying dogs”. 

According to a spokesperson at The World of Birds, the little visitor is most probably just a water mongoose that decided to take a trip from a rural area to the suburbs for no logical or apparent reason. “Meerkats are a type of mongoose, and while we keep meerkats at the World of Birds, they can be found predominantly in the Kalahari Desert, the Karoo and Highveld.  If what Carole saw really was a meerkat, it must have taken a modern version of the Great Trek to travel all the way to Cape Town!” 

Howard, another resident was asked what was needed to calm the street down? And he replied “ a few long Sabatini’s and a excellent optician for Carole, Ian and Lesley. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?          __________________________________________________________________________