The Big Five—Leopard #2
Leopard #2 was a small, young female. We found her at around 6:00 a.m., scratching on a tree in the dark. You are not allowed to use a flash on the animals in the preserve for obvious reasons, so I was pretty pleased to get ANY shot that was a recognizable leopard!
The game wardens pride themselves on knowing "their" cats, but they were surprised by the presence of this one. Apparently she had wandered into new territory. While they were thrilled to be able to produce another leopard so quickly, they were concerned for her safety. They said the dominant female in the area would not be happy, and would be prepared to fight to drive this little one out, even if it meant killing her.
I did manage to get this shot of her in motion—lit only by the headlights of the other safari truck. She sauntered past us and went off into the brush.
