Show us your leopard pics...

[IamFisheye]

We had a good number of Leopard sightings in Botswana, late Sept. this year. Including the pair mentioned in the Kwando Sightings Report Sept 2013 at Kwara. I haven't loaded them all up onto Flickr yet, so here's just a taster.

Female @ Lagoon

We had an eventful final morning at Selinda, Dogs, Hyena, Buffalo crossing the spillway and then not 1 but 2 Leopards on the way to the airstrip. We got about 30 minutes with the 1st one and 5 with the second (due to flight time). Typically the plane was 45 minutes late.

Here's that male at Kwara

The 1st one at Vumbura. Possibly my favorite encounter, She was on a fallen tree and at eye level. Bit of a rush job and the light was poor. This was 300mm handheld @ 1/30. Thank goodness for IS.

I've just had this one printed (15 x 12) and framed.

There's more to come (and I'm looking for some spare time to write a trip report soon).

[Soukous]

This is a female leopard called Xikavi (Shikavi) We followed her one evening as she made her way to join one of the resident males in Sabi Sand.

OMG, It was taken using a Nikon!!!!!!!!

 

 

[Pennyanne]

 

 

Taken in Lower Zambezi National Park, September 2013. I hope this works as I am practicing inserting photos before I do my trip report.

[Pennyanne]

Lower Zambezi National Park. I am trying a smaller size photo.

 

 

[Noelle van Muiden]

 

Mvula - Taken at Cheetah Plains, Sabi Sands, November 2013.

 

He was full as could be and decided to strut down the road, scent marking, and then lie in the grass for awhile panting. Then, as it got dark, he carried on back down the road scent marking, sniffing trees, and just being his gorgeous self.

 

Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 55-300mm lens: 1/13sec, f/5.6, 300mm, ISO 3200, Flash did not fire

 

©Noelle van Muiden - www.rvmwildphoto.com

Edited November 26, 2013 by Noelle van Muiden

[Noelle van Muiden]

 

Zawadi - Taken on the Mara North Conservancy, Kenya

 

I was lucky enough to be a Relief Asst. Camp Manager in the MNC, adjacent to the Maasai Mara National Park, Kenya in 2010. One of the lucky perks was going on the occasional Game Drive, (great for me as my passion is for Field Guiding and I am still doing that today.)

 

We went in search of leopard in the pouring rain and were blessed to come across Zawadi, (also known as Shadow from her BBC film days.) She was walking through Leopard Gorge - if I remember correctly - and danced up some rocks. She then disappeared from sight only to rush out seconds later on the tail of a Scrub Hare, (excuse the bad pun.) She caught the hare right in front of us and then walked next to our vehicle and up the opposite side of the gorge, just mere meters from us. She then took out tufts of fur from it's stomach and dived into her snack. GREAT SIGHTING!

 

 

Sadly, the only photos that remain are these Low-Res images I emailed to my Mum from my very slow internet. The High-Res and noteworthy photos were lost when our external hard-drive was repatriated, as it were, to parts unknown. Sigh...

 

©Noelle van Muiden - www.rvmwildphoto.com

Edited November 26, 2013 by Noelle van Muiden

[Wild Dogger]

Leopardess at Chikwenya, Zambezi Valley

[Wild Dogger]

Hwange Leopard

[Soukous]

This is Xikavi, a female leopard in Sabi Sands

[RPM]

The sun was going down. I had a Tusker beer in one hand and my camera in the other. Olare Motorogi September 2013.

 

 

The following evening we saw the same leopard with her cub. The cub was having some fun.

 

[Soukous]

This was a lovely moment.

We'd folowed this female leopard for about half an hour. The sun had set and darkness was descending. She disappeared for a moment and then emerged from the undergrowth to drink at the swimming pool of an old lodge that is now used as staff quarters.

 

Sabi Sands.

 

[Soukous]

brotherly love

 

2 very contented young leopards

 

[Soukous]

After sitting with these leopards on several occasions over the course of 3 days we were finally able to get a sighting of all three of them together. Just as the sun was going down they came out into the open.

Not the best angle, but it was fascinating to see how different they looked when they were together.

 

[Soukous]

A young leopard relishes the prospect of fresh impala for dinner

 

[Soukous]

A magnificent male leopard relaxes at Sabi Sand

 

[davidedric]

Butter wouldn't melt in my mouth

 

 

 

 

 

 

Still got my teeth though

 

 

 

 

Same leopard, same tree!

 

Nsefu sector, South Luangwa NP, Zambia. September 2013

 

[TonyQ]

@@davidedric

Nice pictures. We were in Nsefu (the Robin Pope camp) in late August 2013 and saw lots of leopard. Which camp were you at?

[davidedric]

Hi Tony,

 

Yes, I have stayed in Nsefu, and indeed (the old) Tena Tena. This time we were staying at the Coppingers' camp "Tafika", which is just outside the north boundary of the park (though the animals don't know that!). Tafika is our top camp in Luangwa (the Coppingers also have bush camps on the other side of the river from Nsefu, and camps in North Luangwa).

 

I guess you watched the BBC documentaries on the end of the dry season, with them based at Nsefu.

 

Yes, we saw lots of leopards, more than I would have expected. I asked the guides if there were more present, and they weren't sure - but there are certainly more daytime sightings. They think that the amount of filming going on may be changing behaviours, and may be hurting the leopards. When we were there, there were no fewer than three film crews staying out all night after leopards, and that was before the BBC lot got going. Interesting.

 

Dave

 

.

[Geoff]

Another Luangwa leopard. Near Kaingo 2008.

 

[Csaba]

These were taken in The Serengeti last year. Not the best quality photos but I thought that it was a very interesting sighting. The two leopards in the trees are juveniles. Their mum was in a tree out of shot to the right. I wasn`t aware of her presence when I took the photo unfortunately. Our guide said that she had seen a lion climb up one of the trees to get at one of the leopards a few weeks earlier so there seemed to be a fair bit of bad blood.

 

 

Close up of leopard no. 1. It was taken from the other side of the trees.

 

[bettel]

Nxabega, Okavango Delta

 

 

 

 

[Soukous]

@@bettel, those leopard pix are super.

[Soukous]

2 young leopards playing

 

Timbavati

 

[Soukous]

Xikavi, a female lopard at Sabi Sand

 

we followed her thorugh the bush without knowing where she was going. Then we spotted the kill hanging in a tree. At first we though she was stealing another leopard's kill, but we eventually concluded it was hers.

 

 

The kill looks like a young nyala.

Edited March 6, 2014 by Soukous

[marg]

dinner up in a tree....Selinda