I wonder what the actual deal was...

Reason I say it is that I recall the local farmers where I lived in Natal said there were lot's of leopard in the area. {I never saw one, and never saw tracks, either.} They had mixed views of them, some saying they were OK as they kept the growing bushpig numbers down {bushpig being real havoc-wreakers on sugarcane} and others whose attitude to leopard was similar to what we have here about wolves; they were troublemaking rubbish and wished them all gone.

So...

I wonder if this fellow shot that thing more or less as a favor for somebody who didn't care or just considered it a varmint, or, did he pay big dough to get it??

What is the current leopard population in the SA provinces...growing, stable, or in decline?