South Africans Left Alarmed After a Leopard Was Spotted at Hilton College in KwaZulu-Natal: “Here We Go Again”

• A leopard was recently spotted on the school grounds of Hilton College in KwaZulu-Natal
• The wild animal was discovered by a Grade 12 pupil who informed his teacher about the sighting
• South Africans have taken to social media to share jokes about the leopard spotting

MIDLANDS - South Africa has seen an increasing trend of wild animals roaming the streets.

This time, a leopard was reportedly spotted at the prestigious all-boys school, Hilton College in the Midlands, KwaZulu-Natal.

According to SowetanLIVE, Hilton College's director of advancement, Peter Storrar, told the publication that leopard sightings are a rare occurrence in the Umgeni Valley.

Although they are aware of the presence of leopards in the school's nature reserve, the creatures are ordinarily shy and try to stay out of sight. The upmarket school sits on 1 700 hectares of land, which includes a wildlife reserve.

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Storrar explained that leopards have been in the area for several years and were even spotted on camera traps on several occasions. Storrar added that young leopards like the one spotted on the school grounds do not pose a threat to humans.

How the leopard at Hilton College was spotted

According to IOL, Grade 12 pupil James Cole was the first person to come across the wild animal. Cole then went to his teacher, Carl Schmidt, and told him that he had spotted a leopard on the school grounds.

"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," said Cole.

Schmidt initially did not believe Cole, but after being convinced, he spotted the leopard and took a picture with his phone. School chaplain Sean McGuigan also heard about the leopard spotting and went out to take a picture with a better-quality camera.

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The animal was first spotted at around 12:40pm and was still in the same area later in the day at 5:30pm.

South Africans react to the leopard sighting at Hilton College

@DeidreVermeulen said:

"Here we go again ..."

@lynvan said:

"Oh my word! No more hiking then, I presume!"

@DanieLouw6 said:

"Seems like the animal kingdom is taking back their ground."

@BuppieStyle said:

"Rather a leopard than a tiger."

SPCA doubtful that Edenvale Tiger has been captured and relocated by security company, demands proof

Briefly News previously reported that the SPCA is still on the prowl for the tiger allegedly on the loose in the streets of Edenvale, Gauteng.

The tiger was captured roaming through an Edenvale suburb on Monday, 30 January. A security company claimed it captured the animal.

However, the SPCA finds it hard to believe that the escaped tiger was recaptured by the company and relocated to a sanctuary in Johannesburg.

Source: Briefly News