Friday, June 24, 2011

Leopard

This is Tyson, a very old gentleman who roamed happily on the Munyawana Reserve, minding his own "leopard business". We got to know him well over the years and I was lucky enough to be part of a team who had to dart him to check on the collar he was wearing, and his general well being. What a humbling experience it was to admire, touch, smell, feel his heart beat, in the middle of the night, in the wild. We stayed close by him till he came round safely, and then the whole team drove back to camp in silence. I think we were all wondering what the future was to hold in store for this magnificent cat. Unfortunately  leopards are being decimated in huge numbers, for their skins. Sadly, this was his end as well a few years later.........

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