MBOMBELA – A lot has been said about the changing trend in how we consume media, information and news. Across the world more people are reading news online than in traditional newspapers, while television remains the number-one source for news. But when it comes to finding hyperlocal news, Lowvelder is the place to get it, and our online statistics show that Lowvelders love wildlife, show empathy towards fellow community members’ loss or misfortune, and show interest when it comes to money in their pockets.

Here are the 10 most-read stories on Lowvelder.co.za in 2015 to date in middle November:

10. Swiss woman killed by leopard (November 20)
A woman of Switzerland was killed by a leopard at Siyafunda Bush Camp. She was part of a group on a two-week volunteer trip and had been at the reserve for only a week when it happened. It is said that she was sleeping in a partially covered wooden house on an upper level. Her body was later discovered on the raised deck of the camp.
Page views: 13 309

9. Warning graphic images: Elderly man stabbed 18 times by hitchhiker (September 11)
An 86-year-old good Samaritan was brutally assaulted and left for dead by a hitchhiker he had picked up minutes earlier. Mr Robert “Pat” Paterson gave a young man a lift on the Mabalel/Uitkyk Road, only to be stabbed 18 times in the face and neck with an awl. He was discharged from hospital following a number of surgeries
Page views: 14 073

8. Vermiste vliegtuig gevind (18 Oktober)
In hierdie opvolg op “Plaaslike vlieëniers en reddingspanne soek na vermiste vliegtuig”, word daar berig dat die wrak van die vliegtuig waarin mnr. Jannes Scheepers vermis geraak het, gevind is. Dit is sowat 20 kilometer (per lugrit) van Graskop gevind. Scheepers is die seun van die bekende plaaslike mond-en-kaakspesialis, dr. Pieter Scheepers, en het nie die ongeluk oorleef nie.
Page views: 16 119

7. Video: Watch as businesses burn in Komatipoort (January 22)
Several shops on the corner of Lawrence and Louw streets went up in flames after a fire, which was said to have started in a nearby tavern, spread and engulfed other business on the premises. Several people were trapped inside the building, but were rescued in time.
Page views: 16 921

6. Geliefde hond wreedaardig doodgemartel (2 Januarie)
‘n Hewige onderonsie het vroeg in die jaar tussen twee buurmanne van Witrivier ontstaan toe mnr. Marius Kotze se hond, ‘n husky, deur sy buurman en twee werkers vir ‘n uur lank doodgemartel is.Volgens Kotze het sy buurman die tweejarige hond na ‘n buitekamer geneem, hom toegemaak en herhaaldelik met stokke en pype geslaan omdat die hond glo ‘n bok van die buurman aan die been gebyt het.
Page views: 18 345

5. Leopard mauls tour operator in Kruger (July 2)
A tour guide who accompanied a group of tourists in the Kruger National Park was taken to hospital after being attacked by a leopard in his open-safari vehicle. Updates on this story included a video of the leopard taken just before the incident.
Page views: 18 602

4. Nerves of steel – How calm would you be in this situation? (August 19)
This video, shared by Anton van Niekerk, depicts a tracker who did exactly the right thing by remaining calm while an elephant properly sniffed him out. Chances are it would have ended very differently had he panicked.
Page views: 25 876

3. Domestic worker minimum-wage increases from December 1, 2015 (November 18)
From the first of December employers will have to fork out more to pay their domestic workers’ salaries – just how much depends on where the worker lives and how many hours a week they work.
Page views: 27 522

2. Leopard caught on CCTV in Mbombela at Weylandts store in Riverside (October 28)
CCTV cameras at the new Weylandts store in Weir Street apparently caught a leopard scouting the scene. Despite widespread interest in the video, a follow-up story by online editor Benno Stander, “Leopard video busted in the ninth second”, confirmed that even though it was plausible for leopards to wonder the streets of Mbombela, this video was definitely busted…
Page views: 39 316

1. Everything you must know about speeding fines and cameras (September 9)

Traffic fines are one of life’s bullets that people would do almost anything to dodge. Some claim they have never received them, others say they have been issued illegally.Lowvelder journalist, Helene Eloff met up with Mr Simon du Plessis, project director at Medaco – a service provider which administers traffic fines on a provincial level – to clarify a few key issues regarding the issuing and payment of them.
Page views: 40 978.