Close up photo of a splendid leopard

Head and whiskers of a leopard

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The leopard is lonely and territorial and hunts essentially at night. Leopards technique is to get as close as possible to their prey and bounce to kill. It is quite rare to spot a leopard during daylight. Most of the time they are hidden in trees where photos are impossible to make.
We spotted this leopard in the end of afternoon, walking in the bush. We followed it in our very suitable for photos safaris equiper camper 4x4 until the predator decided to lay down in the bush. We luckily were able to stay quite close to the leopard, but in total safety in the vehicle. I just opened the window so as to put my 200mm lens on the frame of the door to maximize the stability.
Then I waited for the leopard to show as many behaviors as possible so I could shoot interesting photos.
The sunlight was beautiful and shed a splendid light on the leopard.
This leopard photo is the most beautiful wildlife photo I took during the safaris in Namibia and Botswana.