Leopards in the zoo are beautiful too!
Tag: big cat
Lioness in the grass
The intense stare of a lion stalking through the high grass of the green season. We came upon a pride of six or seven lions who had just caught a wildebeest and were busy devouring it. Lions have a strict hierarchy in who gets to eat first. This female was already done and was now looking for a place to rest and recover, while the others were still eating.
Lioness staring at me
Goosebumps to see this female lion, part of a pride of seven lions, staring at me from close by! Photo taken in Pilanesberg National Park.
Cheetah cubs behind a tree
Photographing wildlife can be very frustrating. Not only do you need to find the wildlife, which sometimes happens and sometimes does not, the animals need to position themselves in a photogenic way as well. In a majority of the sightings, especially in a park that does not allow off road driving, the animal is far away. Even if they are close like these cheetah cubs, you still have to find that one spot that gives you an amazing shot – and sometimes that spot doesn’t exist. So here are two cheetah cubs, looking in the right direction, quite close to us, photographed through a tree…
I guess I need to try again soon!
Leopard after the kill
This leopard had just caught a big bushbuck in Pilanesberg. I’m not sure how that was even possible, I’ve never seen bushbuck there, and he just catches one! He was still panting heavily in the shade of a bush. His kill was lying a meter off, too heavy to be carried up a tree. Later, that night, a couple of lions chased the leopard away and feasted on his kill. Such hard work, and so little joy from it!
Bashful lion
A beautiful male lion bashfully looking away. What an incredible feeling to be so close to these animals, and to notice that they don’t even see the open safari vehicle that you’re in! At first my hands were shaking, but with time I have confidence to come away unscathed…
Leopard in a hammock
I don’t care who you are, the pressure is on to go to the next task immediately. What happened to the days of hanging out in the hammock all afternoon?
– Josh Brolin
Melancholic leopard
My practice leopard in the National Zoological Garden in Pretoria. Looking a bit melancholy here!
The lion and the optimist
“An optimist is someone who gets treed by a lion, but enjoys the scenery”
– Walter Winchell