Leopard Jr.

Of the African big cats, the leopard is by far my favorite. So when Iheard there was a mother with a cub in the area, I forgot abouteverything else and spend many days tracking and photographing them.

For the first two months the mother keeps her cubs hidden in densebush, rock clefts or hollow tree trunks. The cubs will venture fromhiding after six to eight weeks, by which time they can already climbtrees. The mother will leave young cubs for up to 36 hours whilehunting and feeding before returning to suckle them. The cubs areweaned at three months, but will stay with the mother for the first 22months. Only half the cubs from a litter will on average survive toadulthood.

This image was shot at sunrise in South Africa.

Nikon D2Xs, AF-S VR 200-400/4.0, 1/1000 @ f/4.0, ISO 400, beanbag.

7/6 anon. rate. Congrats !!

Beautiful composition, very nice lignting and tone. (7/7 an). Best regards Christine

7/7 anon. congratulations!! The eyes of the feline are amazing, and the bokeh around more! my best congrats to you!!

absolutely gorgeous photo marsel.

That's a marvelous capture Marsel, great work! Regards, Kon

Excellent 7/7

Beautiful

Light, tones and this little beauty. Regards.

Beautiful portrait of this cub. The soft light illuminating the cat makes this really stand out. Great work.

 

Daniel

i can't even count all the times i've been into the bush, and seen everything..., except a leopard... and here you are taking such wonderful photos of them... this year... this year i will see a real wild leopard...

well done, it is a wonderful image!

ralton

Super! Great low viewpoint, excellent lightcondition and terrific eyecontact!

Wonderful shot Marsel, made even more special by the story you added to it. Great stuff!

 

Well composed, lovely rich light and fantastically sharp. The cubs face really pops which makes the shot.

Brilliant light and colors, tack sharp cub! Excellent effort Marsel, regards, Teo

Great shot Marsel, the golden lighting is spectacular and the leopard of course is adorable (though I wouldn't dare to hug it)

Very well done! The light is amazing, a perfect compliment to the cub.

 

Best regards, Pamela

Marcel, the Jr. is the sweetest darling. I love his playful tail.The light is exquisite. cheers Jana

Very, very beautiful

Beautiful!!!!

Great image of such a beautiful creature, love the light.

woooowww!!!!. Expectacular!!!

Simply fantastic! Composition, light and subject are superb. Congratulations.