The first one I saw was a young one perched on a tree in the early hours of the morning. I got to see him playing with twigs, climbing up different tree branches and glaring at us intruders. It was a wonderful experience to see this young leopard playing his antics.
The second one was an adult male that was sitting on the jeep track in the late afternoon. Jungle safari jeeps had surrounded the Sri Lankan leopard on both sides of the road and all the tourists were going clickety-click with their cameras, but he continued resting. It was as if he had no care for the world around him at that moment. After all, he is king of Yala and is at the top of the food chain here.
After resting on the jeep track for 15 minutes and giving tourists on both sides a great photography experience, he walked slowly towards my jeep before heading into the bushes.
These two sightings of the Sri Lankan Leopard made this a memorable day for me at Yala National Park. There is something about the tiger and leopard. Their sheer presence can send your adrenalin pumping and pulse racing!!
Lucky you . Great capture.
ReplyDeleteThank you! I got really lucky here :D
ReplyDeleteAwesome wildlife snaps. keep it up!!!!
ReplyDeleteNature's rear species.....
Nice captures!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you Prashanth! I think the B&W also has its own charm even for a wild subject such as the leopard!!
ReplyDeleteGreat catches! Interesting to see it just crossing the track like that.
ReplyDeleteI know! We wildlife photographers live for such a moment! I was so overjoyed that day as this guy posed for a good 15 minutes before walking across the jeep track.
ReplyDeleteThey were on a fairly routine excursion to spot leopards in Rukwila, Yala National ... It was unusual to see such a bird in Sri Lanka, Mr. Ramanayake ... local wildlife officer P. Jayawardana, but without any photographic proof.
ReplyDelete