The KwaZulu-Natal Midlands school told TimesLIVE the leopard was spotted last week at its nature reserve.
“The leopard spotted is a rare sighting, according to trackers in the Umgeni Valley,” said Peter Storrar, Hilton College director of advancement.
The all-boys boarding school was founded in 1872. It sits on more than 1,700 hectares and includes its own wildlife reserve.
“By all accounts, they have been in the area for many years and have been spotted on camera traps.
“However, a live sighting is unusual. Leopards are typically shy and elusive creatures. Young and healthy ones, like the cat spotted by one of our boys, pose no threat to people,” said Storrar.
The school said while many know about its 150-hectare campus, few know about the wider 1,600-hectare school property, 650 hectares of which is a proclaimed nature reserve bordered by the Umgeni River.
It is home to warthog, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and six species of buck.
