View allAll Photos Tagged Leopard
Fast Fact.
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Protection status: Endangered
Leopards are graceful and powerful big cats closely related to lions, tigers, and jaguars. They live in sub-Saharan Africa, northeast Africa, Central Asia, India, and China. However, many of their populations are endangered, especially outside of Africa.
The leopard is so strong and comfortable in trees that it often hauls its kills into the branches. By dragging the bodies of large animals aloft it hopes to keep them safe from scavengers such as hyenas. Leopards can also hunt from trees, where their spotted coats allow them to blend with the leaves until they spring with a deadly pounce. These nocturnal predators also stalk antelope, deer, and pigs by stealthy movements in the tall grass. When human settlements are present, leopards often attack dogs and, occasionally, people.
Location: Bali Safary Park
See also this shot at National Geographic Magazine.
Liski must have been one tired cat - looks like she poured herself over the rock, all ready for a nice nap!
Liski the female Amur Leopard
You have to consider yourself very lucky if you get a chance to see this very elusive beautiful cat. I took this shot in South Africa at Sabi Sabi game reserve which is very close to Krugar National Par k. I was in awe looking at this beautiful creature which has the strength to pull a full grown Impala up a tree. Their spotted pattern is designed to make them blend into their surroundings as you can see here.
Photographed from a safari vehicle in the Serengeti, Tanzania
=> Please click on the image to see the largest size. <=
Whenever I was looking at the face of a leopard while we were in the Serengeti, I was glad that the closeup view was because of my lens and not because I was within reach of it's claws. The leopards we saw and photographed were always calm but intimidating.
Ogni volta che guardavo il volto di un leopardo mentre eravamo nel Serengeti, ero contento che la vista del primo piano fosse dovuta al mio obiettivo e non perché ero a portata di mano degli artigli. I leopardi che abbiamo visto e fotografati erano sempre calmi ma intimidatori.
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Another photo of the beautiful leopard we saw during a drive around Kruger National Park. From memory it was on a drive from Lower Sabie to Skukuza - we saw four leopards this day, two in trees and two on the ground.
We saw six leopards whilst in Tanzania and it was definitely a case of saving the best till last. This one was in a tree right next to the road and allowed me to take a few photos before climbing down and disappearing into the long grass
Ruaha National Park | Tanzania
What an absolute privilege to have the opportunity of getting up close and personal with the big cat that everyone wants to see in the wild. This beautiful male leopard was lying on a rock and partially hidden from view when our guide spotted him. He was in an extremely awkward position but, with a bit of careful mavouvering of the vehicle, we managed some clean shots through trees and bushes. Not only was it another fantastic leopard experience for us, but because he was up on the rocks it gave us some pretty special eye-level photos. I don't usually say this, but 'view large'.
Such a sight to see--- this leopard was in a tree with its kill, having its dinner. The raw power of the cat, and the sheer beauty of his grace and strength were a sight to behold.
We watched in awe for nearly an hour as it dined rather obscured by the leafy branches, and then came out on a branch to clean its whiskers and lounge in the setting sun.
The camera GPS and this photo map says we were in Tanzania for this shot, but we must have been just on the border in the Masai Mara of Kenya, because we hadn't crossed the river into Tanzania yet.
More photos to come! Here is my African safari album link