LUZAAN LARGE

IG: @luzaan_wildlife_photography Canon EOS 77D

Sigma 150 – 600 mm lens

LUZAAN WRITES: We were in the Kruger Park, driving the S25 from the Afsaal picnic site to Crocodile Bridge. Another tourist stopped us and told us about a leopard sleeping next to the Biyamiti bridge. We drove 20 km to the bridge and, after scanning the area for a long time, we finally found it. We watched the leopard for about 20 minutes before two other vehicles arrived. The leopard slunk off into the grass but we decided to be patient and see if it would return.

Indeed, about 15 minutes later, when all the other vehicles had left, it ran right past our bakkie!

TOAST SAYS: Seeing a leopard is no joke. Even in the southern parts of the Kruger Park, where leopards are seen regularly, it’s still a thrilling sighting. But you’re not the only visitor who wants to see one of these big cats, and a sighting sometimes feels more like a traffic jam than a special moment in nature.

(How great is it when other tourists stop to tell you about a sighting down the road? Imagine how nice it would be if people did the same elsewhere, like in the supermarket, to alert you that twin-ply toilet paper is on special?)

You need luck and patience for a good leopard sighting. Luzaan went looking and found the leopard, but she also waited – probably with her fingers crossed, because how many times do you wait and nothing happens? Then she got really lucky when the leopard walked by so close to her vehicle that she could take this photo. It feels like the cat is in the car with them.

Magnificent shot!