JOHANNESBURG - A tiger kept as a pet in South Africa was finally cornered after two days on the run, thanks to a tracker, sniffer dogs, a piece of meat -- and his master's voice.

Panjo, a 17-month-old 140-kilo Bengal tiger made a break for it on Monday while being taken to the vet, sparking a hunt involving thousand of people.

They finally tracked him sown near the town of Bronkhorstspruit, about 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of Pretoria, Radio 702 reported.

A tracker came across his prints, tracker dogs were put on his trail and when they finally caught up with him, a piece of meat and the voice of his master helped bring him in unharmed, the radio station reported.

Panjo was bought by his present owners at the age of three months from a privately run reserve.

During the hunt, the couple insisted to the media that he was perfectly harmless and should be treated just like a dog.

But numerous experts stressed how dangerous tigers could could be and advised the public not to approach him.

South Africa has several centres devoted to raising and protecting tigers.