Tadoba Leopards

Getting up at 4.00 am and being in the right place at the right time certainly paid off for our last drive. With a very close encounter of a male Leopard and his mate within minutes of entering the reserve. As these images taken in Tadoba National Park show.

As the sun rose we could see that this mornings light was going to be excellent for photography. Being at the front of the queue also meant that, should we come across any wildlife, we would be there before the other jeeps arrived. On this occasion we hadn’t traveled far into the park before we heard the sound of a cat snarling. It was now a case of waiting to see what would happen. This time luck was on our side.

The female was the first to make her appearance sitting for a good five minutes by the track, waiting for the male. He had reportedly  been following her for the past few days. Within minutes the male Leopard showed himself. We were then treated for the next 15 to 20 minutes to watching the mating ritual of these elegant members of the cat family .

 My favourite wildlife images so far.