Mithun H
is a wildlife photographer who has a great passion for large felines. Once,
Mithun received a huge opportunity to spend some time observing two large cats
at the Kabini Forest Reserve in Karnataka, India. There, he succeeded in
capturing the two of his favorite cats, Saaya and Cleopatra in the pose of a
lifetime.
He had a
better understanding of his requirements. Unfortunately, the cat couple was not
that cooperative. Therefore, Mithun struck out while the large felines were
enjoying a big kill. He sat expecting the couple to move away together after
finishing their meals.
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Both the
leopards and the black panthers are of the same family. They have open
opportunities to interbreed. And also their offspring are normal and not
considered hybrids.
The
female creature in this scene is the leopard and the male one is the panther.
They've been a couple throughout four years. But, Mithun's duration of
observation is a lot more than that period. “The female Cleopatra has been a
heartthrob of Kabini since 2009. I have followed her for 12 years now – ever
since she was a tiny cub. The panther Saaya entered our lives in 2014 as a
sub-adult shy cat trying to establish territory. It was only in 2016, when he
finally asserted his dominance, that he paired up with Cleo for the first time
and I have followed their journey since.”
“I can
still close my eyes and relive that moment every single day of my life. You
don’t see that often. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This is where
the knowledge and years of experience of following and tracking the panther
came in handy. I just had to wait at one of his favorite paths, since that was
the place he would get her since that was the edge of his territory. And this
he did after six days. It was a fruitful wait though. I could wait for 6 years
for a moment like this.”
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