9 February 2023
Hilton College grabbed headlines far and wide when a leopard was recently spotted on the school’s grounds, which measure 1 600 hectares acres and include a 650-hectare wildlife reserve.
While leopards are occasionally spotted on camera traps in the Umgeni Valley, live sightings are rare. Grade 12 learner James Cole spotted the beautiful big cat. In an interview with IOL, he said: “I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’ve grown up hunting and am trained to spot wild animals. I know how rare a sighting this is.
“I feel really honoured to have found an animal of such magnificence in our school’s game reserve,” he added.
Cole alerted teacher Carl Schmidt to the presence of the leopard, and the teacher managed to snap a shot of it on his cellphone.
The leopard, along with the lion, black rhinoceros, African bush elephant and African buffalo makes up “The Big Five”.
Because of its tendency to avoid danger, and thus humans, and because it is more active at night, which is when it hunts mostly, it is the least seen of the Big Five. Thus, sightings are treasured and unusual.
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