It was our 12th safari drive in India, our first in Kabini... and we hadn't spotted a tiger yet. My wife was questioning if tigers even existed any longer. I had read that tigers were spotted once in a while in Kabini, but there was a better chance of seeing a leopard. Tired of spotted deer, langur and peacocks, we desperately wanted to catch sight of a big cat... leopard, if not a tiger.
About twenty minutes into our drive, our guide (an enthusiastic Basavayya) received a call on his mobile. His expression indicated that something exciting had been spotted. "If you will permit, we will now drive very fast because a leopard has been spotted," he whispered. Of course we permitted him...
We reached the spot a few minutes later; there were two other vehicles with people excitedly pointing towards the dense deciduous forest that marks the Western Ghats. "Look at that curved branch between the two trees ahead, there's a leopard lying on it," Basavayya instructed us. Which two trees? There were many curved branches. This is what we could see with the naked eye.
While the others in the vehicle tried to time-share the guide's binoculars, I used the 500mm end of my Sigma to scan the area that the guide was pointing at. This is what I saw.
Finally, something! Of course, as a I clicked a few shots of the leopard, I realized that there was too much distraction in the background and one of the trees was blocking the leopard's head. Our guide realized that I was not getting a good shot and asked the driver to move the vehicle ahead. Now, I could get a better shot. I also got some time to adjust the camera exposure settings.
A few clicks later, I was not satisfied. What's the point if one can't get the face of the animal (even if its eyes were closed). I hoped (aloud) that the leopard would shift its head towards us, and maybe even look at us. How long could we wait? And should we not vacate the space for other vehicles to occupy? Basavayya noticed my predicament... he said, "Let us wait till our photographer gets a good photo."
And wait, we did, for almost twenty minutes. I kept the camera focused on the leopard (thanks to back-button focusing and my new bean-bag), waiting for something to happen.
Suddenly, the leopard's head moved and it turned towards us.
Wow! The binoculars were passed around again. I kept my eyes focused on the leopard and my fingers active on the shutter button. Maybe it would yawn or do something interesting...
Yes, it did... a :p to all of us for disturbing its lazing hour! Here's a closer crop:
Having ticked us off, it went back to its resting pose, but now, face turned this side.
A few minutes later, we left that spot, satisfied that our patience and Basavayya's persistence had paid off. He grinned and said, "Sooper photo, sir!"
