michali Posted December 3, 2012 Share #1 Posted December 3, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) M9 & 90mm Elmarit. I’ve recently returned from a client safari, part of the journey took us to Kruger in South Africa. One morning we came across this male leopard sitting in a river bed. He was clearly in hunting mode, so we backed the vehicle out and waited. After about 30 minutes a group of Impala made their way down towards the water. The leopard lay flat on his belly in the reeds and patiently waited. He then suddenly exploded out of the reeds in a blur of fur and took a young male impala right in front of us. Just after he had caught the impala a herd of elephants who were also making their way down to the river, saw him and started trumpeting and creating a commotion, despite this he he did not let go of his struggling prey. Instead he held on until the impala was suffocated and then dragged it off into the shade and did something I've never seen before. He proceeded to tear the fur off the impala carcass, cleaning it, and spitting out the fur, before beginning to feed on it. [ATTACH]349363[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]349364[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]349365[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]349366[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]349367[/ATTACH] Thanks for viewing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 3, 2012 Posted December 3, 2012 Hi michali, Take a look here Leopard & its prey- 5 images- not for the squeamish. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
xalo Posted December 3, 2012 Share #2 Posted December 3, 2012 Wow! Amazing series. I found myself lucky to be on the rear seat for two drives of 70km in Kruger and had the feeling to be in Jurassic Park... How did you manage to get and stay close enough to obtain those images with a... 90mm!? Congratulations, perhaps your used to this, but I guess this must have been quite a unique moment. Cheers, Alexander Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
k-hawinkler Posted December 3, 2012 Share #3 Posted December 3, 2012 Mike, Truly stunning shots! Thanks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iduna Posted December 3, 2012 Share #4 Posted December 3, 2012 Mike, amazing series. you were close and this can be seen in these exciting fotos. The eyes and the thrill of the leopard canbe seen and felt. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauledell Posted December 4, 2012 Share #5 Posted December 4, 2012 Mike, A stunning series of shots (and with an M9) . Great composition, colors, sharpness and the sheer amazement. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bateleur Posted December 4, 2012 Share #6 Posted December 4, 2012 Amazing series Mike, great study of animal behaviour! Regards Charles Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
George James Posted December 4, 2012 Share #7 Posted December 4, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Mike, Superb set of images, but for me #2 really stands out, very well done ! George Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted December 4, 2012 Share #8 Posted December 4, 2012 Even for somebody in your profession this must be an ultra-rare sighting. And superbly captured as well. I would enter the series in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition if I were you. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted December 5, 2012 Share #9 Posted December 5, 2012 Mike - A wonderful series. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
michali Posted December 8, 2012 Author Share #10 Posted December 8, 2012 Thank you everyone for your comments and feedback, as always greatly appreciated. Leopards are my favourite cats, it's always such a bonus to come across one in the wild! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.