First live leopard sighting at Hilton College’s nature reserve

File photo – A leopard was spotted at Hilton College’s reserve.

A live sighting of a leopard – typically shy and elusive cats – occurred at Hilton College last week.

The leopard was noticed by a Hilton College pupil, who was accompanied by his teacher, Carl Schmidt.  

The sighting was the first of its kind at the KwaZulu-Natal school’s nature reserve, says Angelique Ardé, the school’s communications manager. 

According to Ardé, leopards have inhabited the region for many years, however they are shy and solitary creatures within large territories. 

Leopards and leopard spoors have previously been noticed before and appeared on camera traps. 

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The Hilton College Nature Reserve, which is on the school’s premises, was established in 2011 after the school decided to allocate 650 hectares for conservation to Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to protect the rich biodiversity in the area, Ardé said. 

The nature reserve is also home to giraffes, zebras, warthogs, wildebeest and several species of buck.  

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