Leopard spotted in Hilton College’s nature reserve

Pietermaritzburg residents who have said for years that they have seen a leopard around Hilton are now more convinced than ever that there is a leopard in the area.

This is after a Grade 12 pupil at Hilton College spotted a leopard in the school’s nature reserve last week.

The boy’s teacher took a photograph that had many convinced that what they had seen some years back was indeed a leopard.

In addition, there was a picture of a leopard that made the rounds on social media last year.

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This picture was said to have been taken in Hilton, but it was never confirmed.

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But Hilton College has now told The Witness that a leopard was spotted in their nature reserve last week, adding that it was a first live sighting.

The school said their nature reserve is home to giraffe, zebra, warthog, wildebeest and several species of buck. They said leopards have been known to inhabit the area for many years now.

While we’ve spotted leopard spoor and occasionally seen one on our camera traps, this is the first live sighting in our nature reserve.
Leopards are shy and solitary creatures, which makes this sighting rare and very special.
“An apex predator is a good indicator that the area is well protected,” said the school’s facilities and estate manager, Sean Lindsey.

Hilton College
Hilton College’s principal, George Harris, said it is a privilege to co-exist with nature.

Hilton College takes the responsibility entrusted to us, to steward our natural resources wisely, seriously.
Other recent rare sightings on the school’s estate include that of an African weasel, an aardvark and a brown hyena.

Judyne Wallace from Hilton said that she too believes she spotted a leopard on her property between 2014 and 2015. She added that this was after a man claimed he saw a leopard on Hilton Avenue.

She said it was early in the morning when she noticed a big animal on her property. She said it was dark and she couldn’t see its spots, but she was sure it was a leopard.

It was a big animal with a long tail that was round at the end.
Its ears were not like that of a dog and even though I couldn’t see its spots properly, I am sure it was a leopard.
She said she saw a documentary on TV where it was said the leopard’s spots cannot be seen properly in the dark.

I still have this vision and when I told my family, they thought I was drunk even though I don’t drink.
There are buck near our property and it is also close to the forest. This animal might’ve came from the forest and jumped onto the property.
Resident who spotted leopard droppings
In 2010, Pietermaritzburg resident, Clyde Langley, questioned if there were leopards in the area after he came across what he believes were ­leopard droppings in the pathway across the stream at Wylie Park.

When he spoke to The Witness, Langley said the droppings contained a “conical shaped assembly of matter that appears to be vegetable [grass]”.

He found “similar objects” in pictures on the Internet.

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Jeannie Hayward and Anita Meyer, researchers and co-ordinators of the Cape Leopard Trust’s Boland Project, however, told The Witness they believe the droppings were not those of a leopard.

A resident who asked not to be named said he knew he saw a leopard around Park Lane in Hilton but no one believed him.

When I heard about this, I told everyone who didn’t believe me that I really saw a leopard. I hope to see one again.
Hilton is really a blessed area, blessed in nature.