Literature

Although according to statistics there are high populations of leopards in Africa, this for me most beautiful of all big cats is almost never seen. Leopards usually come only early in the morning or late in the afternoon into the open savannah in order to hunt - otherwise they are almost invisible in the thicket of the bush forests. On the one hand to escape the heat in the shade of the bushes - on the other hand because they fear lions and hyenas, which seek at least their prey, but also their lives. A leopard is able to strike a prey of up to three times its body weight and then "secure" it on a strong branch, meters above the ground. So if you are lucky enough to see a leopard at all, it is usually from a distance high up in a tree.
On my trip in October I had several opportunities to see this situation. For hours I waited for him to come down - but when it works … As always, my goal was to photograph this incredible creature walking straight toward me. Difficult enough in the matter itself, for this I always love the eye contact at his height. Edward is the best driver in the Mara. Only with his help I was able to not only wait for him in his walking direction - hanging out of the car with an extra low camera angle he was curious enough for a small moment to look directly at me - what a beauty you are!