Leopard in Tall Grass
Despite their beautifully colored coats, large cats like leopards, jaguars and tigers all blend in quite nicely with their respective habitats. The alternating dark and light fur provides perfect camouflage amidst the light and shadows of the grasses and shrubs. This particular leopard is the one year old that I posted about a year and a half ago. We came upon a very rare find on safari — a pangolin (see post here for more on that encounter) and I was very excited to get out of the vehicle and down on the ground for some great eye-level action of one of Africa’s most elusive creatures. I couldn’t believe my bad luck when the guide told me that I had to stay in the vehicle — because there was a leopard stalking in the nearby grass. The leopard was right next to our vehicle and I didn’t even see him. How dare he ruin my shot. Of course, I quickly realized that it was actually amazing luck — not only to photograph a pangolin, but one being stalked by a leopard. We stayed there and watched them play their game of cat and mouse (the pangolin, of course, in the unfortunate role of the mouse) until the sun went down.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/250th of a second
Fooled once shame on you —- Fooled twice shame is mine can’t survive —- By trust in sight alone .
It was great to go back and look at the pangolin photos. Amazing how a big cat can have gestures like a house cat – that exploratory paw reaching out, for example. Your mind must be filled up like a fantasy set with all the strange and wonderful creatures you’ve seen. Maybe even a caracal and an aardvark?
Thanks Ann, that leopard/pangolin encounter was one of the best wildlife moments for me. Aardvarks and caracals are yet to be seen and at the top of the list.
This shot is beautiful, but I loved seeing the images of the pangolin which I had never heard of or seen before. It looks like a prehistoric creature. Fun stuff.
Very prehistoric looking. One of my favorite sightings of all time.
great pic, which one is the mouse or poidin you are taking about.
Thanks Michael, in this case the leopard is the cat and the pangolin is the mouse.