Lion on the loose at Rhodes University? Campus says it’s just a virtual project

Rhodes University has responded to reports of a lion allegedly roaming its campus, reassuring students that the animal is harmless and “hypoallergenic”. The university said the so-called lion, dubbed RhoLeo 3.0, is part of a project developed by a group of master’s students. “Due to unforeseen circumstances, he temporarily exited the lab environment and subsequently lost connection to the mainframe before retrieval.

While he has thus far presented as a ‘real’ lion, he is due for rendering and may begin to display visible glitching, pixel drift, or minor reality distortion,” the university said. The university shared an image of the virtual lion lying on campus grounds and encouraged students to document sightings and tag the university’s official channels to assist with tracking and signal restoration before RhoLeo undergoes “full de-resolution”. This follows a report by RMR radio of a police warning issued by Joza police spokesperson Capt Khaya Tonjeni, who said a community member in Mbolweni spotted what he believed to be a lion.

“The man thought it was a lion because of the size, the colour and also the hair, the size of the hair. He said he imagined it had a mane, so we have every reason to conclude that it is a lion.” Tonjeni said the sighting occurred in an area frequently used by young men for traditional initiation rites. “We issue this warning to the community that, as the police, we take this warning very seriously.

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We have verified the claim and activated all role players and stakeholders in the Sarah Baartman District Zone 2 disaster management committee. We have worked with local farmers and are patrolling the area between 8am and 9am daily.” Tonjeni said police have used drones equipped with thermal sensors to search for the lion but have not located any sign of it. “We warn people in Grahamstown, Makanda, and Joza to take this warning seriously.

Do not share unverified information or make jokes about this. It is a matter of life and death and could result in injury,” said Tonjeni. He urged community members to remain vigilant and report any potential sightings immediately to the police.

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