06/08/2017
Black Panther @ Kabini
It's very rare that you wish to light up a ghost who is darkness personified!
Yesterday evening we missed him, so we tried the same spot first thing in the morning today, but no luck! Then it was a huge male tiger who distracted our attention as we went about exploring the other routes in the forest. After a while, we were again at the same place, and this time the whole area was filled with langur alarm calls. The majestic cat rested on a teak tree branch calmly, not bothered by the monkeys. It was still 7.15AM which meant we had pretty much the next 2 hours with him, unless he decided to move out.
A little while later, there came another surprise as the langurs again warned of another predator moving around. This time it was a beautiful young female who is probably courting with him. She perched on a nearby tree to get a visual on him and then disappeared in the thick undergrowth, not to be seen again. The Black Panther held his position and occasionally put his head up to check things around.
This sighting comes in third time lucky for me since the previous couple of times I had only been able to get record shot type of pictures. But today, I have quite a few that are actually contenders for the wall. A superb vacation is always the one that ends in a high!
