What thoughts passed through the mind of a badly injured hyena that sought refuge in the bedroom of a private game reserve near Kruger National Park? Was it looking for help? Or, simply disorientated and exhausted by the agonising pain of a wire snare slicing through its belly and back?

Trigger warning: The following story contains graphic visuals

Screams filled the air at Leopard's Bend Bush Lodge in Limpopo province recently when staff discovered a hyena in the kitchen.

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Panicked by the chef's screams, the hyena retreated into a nearby bedroom, where it "lay down quietly, a bit like an Alsatian", according to lodge owner Garth Wolff.

Wolff said the injured hyena had been sighted a few days earlier by staff in the 10,000-hectare Blue Canyon Private Game Reserve, about 10km south of Hoedspruit.

Anxious to help the wounded animal, rangers tried to capture the hyena by luring it into a baited trap. But several attempts failed.

Unexpectedly, it appeared later at Leopard's Bend and section ranger Greg Moran called in a team from the Hoedspruit-based Wildscapes veterinary consultancy for help.

Using a dart gun to tranquillise the animal, still lying calmly in a lodge bedroom, the vets set up a makeshift operating table outside. There, they cut away the cable snare, cleaned the wounds and applied antibiotic gel before reviving the animal.

"He was very lucky, because the cuts had penetrated very deeply into the skin, almost reaching his organs... Another 24 hours or so and he...