Chapter Two - The Great Leopards of the Serengeti
Having dealt with the cuddly end of the spectrum in chapter one, we now get to the more serious part.
Leopards, They are big. They are undoubtably beautiful.
They are superbly camouflaged predators.
They are solitary creatures, not a particularly effective evolutionary step, lions outnumber them by five to one, but it sure helps make them difficult to photograph.
This one is feeling hungry, time to go.
Leopards are very adept at climbing trees. Getting down is less easy than getting up. Ask any fireman.
They are so massive that, if they jumped from the tree, the would break their legs. Instead they must ‘run down’ the trunk.
To hunt, you need a clear head.
We came across this beast hanging around in a fig tree. Relaxed and alert at the same time.
She was with her daughter, chatting about family life, when this herd of photographers drove up.
At first the youngster was bored; she had seen these strange apparitions before, and they had seemed of little importance.
But she was becoming nervous.
She could not sit still for long.
She was alert to the movement below her. Those strange creatures with strange behaviour. Were they harmless or not?
Most photographers are thankfully considered low risk. However there are some things that we snappers should pay attention to. We should remain quiet and move as little as possible. These tactics are not universally followed. One big problem with animal watching is their timid nature. A truck-load of jabbering tourists with noisy cameras and even noisier mouths is not conducive to good photography. Whispering is good. Electronic camera shutters are good. Shouting "Oh look at that gorgeous kitty!" is not!
And one final thing; DO NOT USE FLASH!
This is why you should NOT trip the light fantastic directly into the eyes of predators.
On being startled by the bright light painfully reflected through her retina, she ran down the tree
and, luckily for the culprit, only flicked her tail at them before running off to hide in a different tree,
remote from the paparazzi.
Her mother looked on
Stretched
And stayed put.
In this case, the errant photographer escaped with his life. Others are not always so lucky.
This passing warthog for instance did not fare so well. I’m pretty sure it did not even have a camera!
This was a fully grown male warthog. They weigh a lot. This big male leopard had simply dragged it up into a tree, protecting it from those master scavengers, hyenas.
The powerful jaw muscles rip the tough skin from the poor beast.
The large carnassial (rear molars) cut through bone and skin alike.
There was almost nothing left of this entire animal.
They are incredibly adaptable animals. They will eat all kinds of prey. Here's one we prepared earlier...
So next time you walk under a tree, try to look invisible...
Coming next:
Or maybe, The walking dead....
Your story line definitely adds another interesting layer to the fab pics - whether it's complete tripe is another matter!
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