Ishita Singh: Recent Episodes
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This is what we had been preparing for!
Despite cutting short 2 days from the search thanks to the bust tyre and the snowstorm, we were optimistic. The day after the storm we were stuck at home because of the closed routes, but our expedition leader Rana took his beast machine Fortuner and broke the snow right up to Kibber! Took him hours and hours. He heard news of 2 snow leopards up in the valley ahead of Kibber – did the gruesome climb with our tracker Dorje in record time, spotted the two and headed back home to Kaza in complete darkness to give us the good news.
The leopards were visible – a male and a female far apart from each other, and the behavior indicated that they were going to be closer to each other at some point soon. Dorje was in Kibber continuing to track the movements, and there was a GOOD chance we were going to see those beauties the next day.
Now, spotting the grey ghost can’t be THAT EASY, can it? Pshhh. Little did we know – D-day was going to be THE COLDEST DAY yet. The sun was out but the temperature showed -19 degrees when we stepped out in the morning. WHAT. After quite an eventful morning with the cars struggling to run in the freezing temperatures, we somehow managed to reach Kibber and met Dorje, who informed us that there weren’t just two leopards – but FOUR! That news pumped us up, and we were off for the climb up to the valley.
I knew this was going to be the actual test of the trip, considering I spent most of 2018 in and out of hospitals. Climbing uphill in snow for 3 hours at 15000 ft. in -16 to -18 degrees was no joke for city folk in general – but especially for someone as unfit as me. Mum Dad did INCREDIBLY well, Ishrat far ahead as happy as ever, and I, huffing and puffing, somehow managed with a blinding altitude migraine in the last hour of the climb. But, as painful as every step was, the views made up for ALL OF IT. What a beautiful, terrifying at times, quite literally breathtaking, and life-changing hike that was. To be quite honest, I would’ve been equally happy even if there wasn’t a leopard waiting for us at the top – the photographs of the hike will show you why.
But, we had special prize waiting for us. And boy WHAT a show it was. Across the massive gorge, beautifully camouflaged, the male and female were together atlast, the female had 2 cubs that were snoozing at a good distance from the couple, always keeping their mother in their line of sight. Both pairs were about 800m away from us, across a huge gorge, completely camouflaged – so it took us a while to focus our lenses and binoculars on to them. Suddenly, something happened that we could have NEVER EVER, in our wildest dreams, imagined we would get to see – the couple started mating! The local spotters from Kibber and Chicham were beyond excited! Snow Leopard Mating was a phenomenon that had not been seen or photographed by many in the Spiti area. Around us, there were a couple more photographers, including a guy from NatGeo who had been living in Kibber for a month, tracking these leopards – boy, he’ll be getting a raise, for sure!
I sat in one position GLUED to my camera for ATLEAST an hour or 2 before realising that my legs were completely frozen and jammed. It took me 20 minutes of walking and jumping around to get them back to normal! Ishrat was already busy using heatpads in his gloves and shoes! In all the excitement, we had forgotten how terribly cold it was. The cold began hitting us again when the sun started to set. I would do a burst of shots, jump for a few seconds, and do some more bursts again. It’s hard to describe what -18 feels like at that altitude when you’re completely outdoors and not even moving. It was BRUTAL. After spending 3 hours watching these incredible animals, it was time for us to head back down.
The hike back down was even more stunning with the sunset creating some insane shots for me. A perfect end to a perfect day. Exhausted and frozen – ‘the team’ was absolutely ecstatic.
What in the world did we just witness?
This was recorded during one of our jam sessions at Sakya Homestay, a self composition by the talented Abhimanyu Pandey. Note: The leopards were photographed from almost 800m away, so the images are tiny and grainy and work only for documentation purposes. Gives me a reason to go looking for them again – a better photograph!
Morning blessings from this littul furball Don’t be deceived by the clear sky and shining sun!
Last communication point – “if we are not down by 6.30pm, come looking for us.” The most photographed famous Key Gate From Kibber. Can you believe this? I still can’t.
Spot the colorful Kibber Sanctuary Gate
And the trek begins, leaving Kibber far behind. Our spotter Dorje waiting for us slow pokes. He was carrying my MASSIVE prime lens, 2-3 Litres of water in that bag. CHAMPION! Kibber
Chicham village on the other side of the Gorge, with their newly built bridge. ded.
What are these views.
Spotted the little cub! Walking up to his/her sibling!
Snoozing away The couple on the other side, COMPLETELY camouflaged. My camera could barely focus! Did not move from this position for hours! Cubs heading down to find a new napping spot, better view of their mother. There are two leopards in this shot. Can you spot both? Still camouflaged, had to quickly focus back on the couple when the spotters shouted “mating!! mating!! mating!!”
They’re at it again! Got up and did the deed around 3-4 times till sunset; with lots of long naps in between. The cubs basking in the last light of the day. :’) Heading back down, with frozen legs and hands. The team shot! Dorje and our little guide dog who led us all the way back to Kibber Gorgeous colors, gorgeous sunset. Couldn’t believe where I was.
The beautiful day wasn’t over yet. This was THE ONLY clear night of the entire expedition, and I could not leave the mountains without some astrophotography. Reached Sakya at night, and headed out to their balcony in -20 around 10pm and spent around 30-40 minutes getting whatever I could till I literally froze. Tsering’s dogs Chinchin and Bruno gave me company outside and we managed to get these shots! WHAT. A. DAY.
View from Tsering’s Home.
Thank you Spiti. Thank you.
This is what we had been preparing for! Despite cutting short 2 days from the search thanks to the bust tyre and the snowstorm, we were optimistic. The day after the storm we were stuck at home because of the closed routes, but our expedition leader Rana took his beast machine Fortuner and broke the […]
The first couple of days in Spiti were spent acclimatising and quite honestly, just chillin’ at our base in Kaza, Tsering’s beautiful home. The 2nd and 3rd day was mostly spent indoors due to a 24-hour long snowstorm, but games, conversation and jam sessions kept our spirits high! We lucked out as we had some incredible company – some of India’s finest climbers, a scholar who also happened to be an amazing musician, our own bunch of adventurers from Bazpur, and ofcourse, Tsering and his lovely family.
The following images are before and after we went looking for the leopard – exploring the accessible bits of Spiti.
Guaranteed (Instrumental) by Eddie Vedder
“Don’t come closer or I’ll have to go
Holding me like gravity are places that pull”Eddie Vedder
Thanks to our climbers, we were able to see this grand waterfall that they had scouted to climb. What an unreal place.
Rana and his Beast!
The storm’s coming.
Whiter and Grey-er
During the snowstorm, we were all huddled up indoors – warm and comfortable thanks to the luxurious bukharis in every room!
What a view to wake up to.
On the 3rd day, the sun was out – causing many avalanches across the valley. This particular one was right next to Sakya Homestay – but the PWD got to it right in the morning!
All 14-15 of us living at Sakya Homestay headed out to Sakya Abode to help out in clearing the roofs!
Every time one stepped out on the streets, 2 or 3 dogs would come and greet us, waiting for some cuddles. Some of the smartest, strongest and most loving dogs ever!
After shovelling the snow down the roof, it was jumping time!
Kunphen Monastery
Even prettier in the snow!
And the avalanche was cleared out by the afternoon!
Noone can get bored with these two around! Chin-chin and Bruno! Miss these cuties!
What a crazy little cutie pie, this one!
Like a painting!
KAZA.
Down by the river.
Rangrik Bridge
The first couple of days in Spiti were spent acclimatising and quite honestly, just chillin’ at our base in Kaza, Tsering’s beautiful home. The 2nd and 3rd day was mostly spent indoors due to a 24-hour long snowstorm, but games, conversation and jam sessions kept our spirits high! We lucked out as we had some […]
They say you have to be a little crazy to do Spiti in Winters, but you have to be absolutely INSANE to do it with your family. Our interests and ideas when it comes to the outdoors and wildlife have always matched beautifully and have been unforced – but this was something else altogether. With […]
They say you have to be a little crazy to do Spiti in Winters, but you have to be absolutely INSANE to do it with your family.
Our interests and ideas when it comes to the outdoors and wildlife have always matched beautifully and have been unforced – but this was something else altogether. With extremely low temperatures and high altitudes; fear of snow storms, avalanches and being stranded in the middle of nowhere; driving on slippery snowed-out barely-there roads; electricity, working toilets and OXYGEN being the biggest luxuries, the four of us were all set for the expedition and honestly could not have asked for better team members.
With our Leopard spotting luck going well these last 2 years, we decided to stretch it and track the elusive Grey Ghost of the Himalayas, the Snow Leopard. Seeing a snow leopard is every wildlife lover’s dream, probably the ultimate wildlife experience on the planet – clubbing it with a white Spiti experience? Beyond perfect. We signed up for the Snow Leopard Expedition with Rana Sidhu, a mountaineer and explorer with unlimited knowledge of the mountains, and we were off.
The following photographs cover the ‘getting there’ journey which ended up being a different kind of adventure altogether.
Accompanying the story with Doria by Ólafur Arnalds The first view of the Greater Himalayas from Narkanda Day 1 and we’re stuck already. * *
Rana and Sonu winching us out.
Narkanda to Pooh Car wash, Himalayan style! It was there that we discovered that our front tyre was COMPLETELY flat and destroyed. Finding a temporary solution till Pooh, while Dad was making calls to figure out a way to get a brand new tyre in the middle of nowhere. * The hilarious tiny spare wheel * Managed to drive with that spare wheel to reach our next pitstop, Pooh.
It was the perfect place to be stuck, honestly. Comfortable at the Army Post in Pooh. Waiting for news of the tyre.
Thanks to some INCREDIBLE humans, the new tyre travelled from Chandigarh to Rampur overnight and reached us at Pooh around 11 am the very next day! Day 3 was spent at the Army workshop, getting the tyre set and working – lost a day in Kaza, but ended up acclimatising better!
Day 4 Morning, we were off to Spiti.
Khab. One of my favourite spots – the confluence of Sutlej and Spiti River.
This view always makes me feel like we’re close to home.
Found this spray painted at the Kazigs. Mix feelings about it though.
Cuties!
Climbing up to Nako and Malling Nala… again, one of my absolute FAVOURITE roads.
The view and climb takes your breath away, quite literally.
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Spiti River
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Malling Nala
Ugh, my heart. * *
And suddenly, as we approached Tabo…. it all turned white.
And it kept getting whiter and whiter.
- Lingti
And we were home.
It’s been more than a year to the Kenya trip, but the memories remain fresh as ever.
Every day was different, every game drive was different, every experience was different and just so special. I can never pick a favourite day or a favourite moment!
We used to see a lot of different prides of lions everyday, but most of the times the cubs were sleeping in the bushes. But, these two mornings were extra special. The cubs were out, active and super playful! On the first morning, there were two Mamas, sitting far away but always keeping an eye on their babies – while the little ones ran around, jumping on each other, acting out hunts! It was so hard to not get off the car and join them!
On the second day, we caught up with a different pride – and spent the entire morning, just watching them play! It was incredible – babies and mothers across all species ARE JUST THE SAME! This time we had 3 Mamas and a big bunch of cubs, all playing together – for ATLEAST 2 hours! The Lionesses were just as involved in the playtime as the cubs – but, always alert, looking around every few minutes. Eventually, around mid-day, the Mamas decided it was time to leave for their naptime, and started rounding up their reluctant kids! So typical! I think I caught one giving her cub the death stare too!
All in all, it was just the perfect morning game drive, and a beautiful end to our stay at The Lion Camp in Olare Motorogi Conservancy!
Accompanied with the classic “Just Can’t Wait To Be King” from the Lion King. Because, obviously.
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Cosying up to Mama in the morning!
Look at those wide, beautiful, curious eyes!
Brothers! One of them entering his “teens”
“peep peep truck backing up”
“UGH GET AWAY “
“ok ok I was kidding… don’t be mad”
DAY 2
Pride 2: Mama glaring at us, all alert.
The Lionesses eyes were always up…
… and there they start. Absolutely carefree…
“You distract her in the front, I’ll get her from the back!”
Ugh, mere baal mere baaaaal mat kheecho!
But mothers are mothers … unconditional love.
Keeping this one down with her paws, in such a non-chalant way..
Mummy no. 2
Pakad liyaaa
K.O !
Umm, you’re rolling in poop, my friend…
To our surprise, the Lionesses were playing with EACH OTHER! Minus the kids! I had never ever seen this before!!
The three Mamas having their own fun!!
… while the little ones were busy themselves
Ah catch me if you can!
Peek-a-boo!
Okay…. it’s time to go…
Come along, kids!
“Mummy please, 5 more minutes?”
I SAID, ITS TIME TO GO!!! death stare
One last pose for us!
It’s been a while since I looked at these images, but the minute I saw them today – the overwhelming feelings came rushing back.
We had already seen one hunt by this day and were more than satisfied by the boring and slow 10 hour stalk+kill by the 5 brothers. Little did we know we had a special personal show waiting for us the next morning.
We found this female Cheetah chilling all by herself in the morning, on our last day in the Olare Motorogi Conservancy. After a few minutes of watching her relax, we could see her mood and behaviour change – she started looking around, and within minutes locked her gaze onto some baby Grant’s Gazelles. Boy, was she hungry.
She seemed a little hesitant to move on at first, and we realised she was afraid that the Topi (another antelope found in the Mara) grazing closeby would raise the alarm if he saw her. Our amazing guide Meshack helped her out there and took our jeep between the two animals, carefully keeping a good distance from both of them – The Cheetah couldn’t see the Topi anymore, and Topi couldn’t see the Cheetah.
Within minutes of our move her posture changed completely, she took her stance and was ready for the attack.
A slow trot at first, changed into a full blown run and within 5 seconds she had the gazelle in her mouth. I photographed the trot, but couldn’t get myself to hold the camera for the grab – I wanted to see it with my own eyes this time.
Amazement, awe, disbelief, horror, pain – so many emotions. I was shaking and shivering for a long long time after. We had wanted and hoped for this moment, to watch her grab her food – but it turned out to be an incredible, but brutal sight to see. Specially, with the Gazelle’s mother at the back watching the Cheetah suffocate her baby.
The suffocating grab went on for a while. The Cheetah tried her best for a quick kill, and would start eating when she couldn’t sense any movement, but unfortunately the Gazelle kept fighting it for a while. Gruesome and hard to watch.
We watched her eat for 5-10 minutes and decided to leave once it got too gory for us (read, ME). We’ve all seen hunts on Natgeo and Discovery, but being part of their environment and witnessing such an act in real life really was life-changing.
This is the law of nature. The circle of life.
Infact, Nature presented us with another beautiful gift and we came full circle by witnessing a baby Grant’s Gazelle being born the next day in another Conservancy. Saving that for the next post
Mother Nature is truly amazing.
Please note: A lot of the images at the end are sensitive and include blood/gore and many can find it disturbing.
Our first Look
Climbed a small tree and gave us these incredible poses
What a beauty
Came back down the tree and started looking around… I’m assuming she spotted something from the tree!
Locked her gaze onto her prey.
By this time we had moved between the Topi and her, and she immediately started moving towards her prey. Just look at that posture with her neck stretched out!
Her initial run…
There she goes.
And it was over within seconds. I can never forget this gaze.
The mother was far behind at this point watching the whole scene… didn’t have the heart to photograph that.
No words. My camera was shaking.
She started eating whenever she thought the Gazelle was dead…
Unfortunately, the little one kept fighting. This was extremely hard to watch.
The classic lipstick.
Still trying her best to kill.
Hah this little guy stood behind her the whole time – waiting for his turn. Kind of funny!
Ok, time for us to go.
My FAVOURITE from the cat family! Found these famous 5 sub-adult brothers the very first day in Mara, peacefully sleeping after a full meal. Did our first sundowner with them – I’m sure these lazy bums didn’t move from there for a good couple of hours.
On the fifth day, we were specifically looking for cheetahs as we hadn’t seen any since our first encounter – we’d been too preoccupied with the migration, leopards and lions. Luckily, we found these dudes again around 7 am that day. They hadn’t hunted since 24 hours and we were sure that it was going to happen any minute now; Cheetahs don’t have particularly useful night vision and they do their hunting in the morning and evening, when they’re less likely to have a hard-earned meal stolen from under their noses AND also avoiding the mid-day heat. Little did we know, we were looking at the laziest bunch of hunters EVER! They made their first attempt around 8 am and didn’t catch anything till their 5th or 6th attempt at 5.30 in the evening!
BUT, we waited.
We waited for 10 hours, with a brief break for lunch where we left them for 2 hours – came back only to find them in the EXACT SAME position, sleeping under the SAME tree. I think out of those 10 hours, we just watched them sleep for some 5-6. But, man they were rockstars. They would get up after a couple of hours, start their gorgeous walk together in a formation – 2 in front, 1 in the middle and 2 at the back. They would just walk towards the herds, like they freakin’ owned the place, and two of them would randomly start running. As cool as they looked, they were pretty lousy at hunting and only managed a baby impala in the evening, which was DEFINITELY not enough for 5 cheetahs. But, their connection with each other, their stunning walk still gives me goosebumps! They looked like total badasses.
We were pretty thrilled that we saw a hunt, even though it was from far away and with many many other jeeps – little did we know the next morning we would meet the brilliant Kamanka (another gorgeous Cheetah), who was going to give us the most incredible experience of our lives. A quick, AMAZING hunt – and just for us. But that story deserves its own post!
For now, enjoy these carefree rockstars.
(No music for this one! Still looking for the perfect track!)
Day 1: First look… Ooooof I love you!
What a brilliantly disproportionate beauty, this animal.
Ok ok, go back to sleep.. we’re leaving now
Sundown on our first day at Mara… beyond perfect.
Day 5, first look. THANK YOU FOR THIS SHOT, gorgeous!
Hungry boys.
And they start walking… GODDAMNIT! My friend was right, looks like a band photograph!
Before and after every attempt, they would find a tree and mark it!
Attempt no. 1. After their glorious walk, one of them would just start running randomly! HOW on earth will you catch something like this boy?
It was STUNNING how the wildebeests would suddenly come together once they saw the cheetahs walking. They wanted them to know that they’re dealing with a big herd…..
Just look at them line up behind this guy!
Lining up again… wildebeests aren’t SO stupid afterall!
That wildebeest at the back was one of the guards of the herd. He did not move for HOURS on end, eyes hooked on to the Cheetahs. It was incredible watching their behaviour!
Ok, its 3pm, now the boys are desperate.
“What do we do boss?”
“Sleep a little more maybe…? 6 hours clearly wasn’t enough”
Their 3rd of 4th failed attempt!
Now THIS was their final walk before the actual grab. We were pretty far away and all the jeeps were giving them space to spread out…
AND they caught a little Impala
And were finished with the little guy IN SECONDS!
And their grooming started again! Classic feline behaviour!
“Ok, now what. That was less than an appetiser…”
Glancing across the plains for their next course!
And we start again!!
Super hungry boys.
On to the next one!!!
Goosbumps, again.
A couple more failed attempts…
…But they just couldn’t get anything else.
Unfortunately for them, it got dark and started pouring! They were gonna have to spend the next couple of hours hungry!
But the day ended beautifully for us…
Spent the entire day with these boys, and we loved every bit of it.
Double Rainbow sundowner. I love you Kenya.
My FAVOURITE from the cat family! Found these famous 5 sub-adult brothers the very first day in Mara, peacefully sleeping after a full meal. Did our first sundowner with them – I’m sure these lazy bums didn’t move from there for a good couple of hours. On the fifth day, we were specifically looking for […]
This incredible phenomenon, one of the wonders of the world, where millions of wildebeests (with some zebras and gazelles) move between Tanzania and Kenya in search for food – was something we were not expecting see. We knew we would see some huge herds here and there since the movement had already begun, but had […]
This incredible phenomenon, one of the wonders of the world, where millions of wildebeests (with some zebras and gazelles) move between Tanzania and Kenya in search for food – was something we were not expecting see.
We knew we would see some huge herds here and there since the movement had already begun, but had zero expectations when it came to seeing the most crucial part of the movement – the river crossing.
But, our lucky streak continued. On the 4th day, we went to one of the crossing points (There are a certain no. of marked areas where the wildebeests collect to cross). Even reaching that point was incredible – must’ve crossed thousands and thousands of wildebeests on our way, with little herds of Zebras among them (Actually called a “dazzle” of zebras). It was pretty hilarious watching the wildebeests run, with one “guard” trying to keep them in line.
We got to one of the main points, saw that the animals (some hundreds of them) had started collecting at the river bank and were creating ‘pressure’ before the first BRAVE one got in. Unfortunately, on the other side, there were 5-6 hyenas feasting on an old carcass – That made the herds disperse, and we had to wait for a couple of hours before they actually found the courage to start crossing.
A LOT of things happened next and I cannot put that down here for many reasons – most importantly, we might just get into trouble! So, this story is going to be censored and will remain our secret little adventure.
But the feeling – their panicked voices, the UTTER CHAOS, absolute confusion, my throbbing migraine while watching the crocs go underwater again and again (they were too lazy and full and didn’t get anything though), our hearts in our mouth – it was absolute MADNESS. A warped and crazy version of an adrenaline rush for us! Their horrified, scared voices kept ringing in my ears for the next couple of hours.
These image don’t quite catch the commotion, which is why I NEED TO GO BACK FOR THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN!
One of the most extraordinary experiences ever.
Backing this story up with the “Stampede” soundtrack from Lion King. Hans Zimmer, you genius :’)
“Look Sire, they’re on the move.”
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The break of dawn. Getting closer and closer to the river. Just THOUSANDS of wildebeests, everwhere we looked.
Literally, everywhere.
The first rays.
Reached the crossing points and found these bunch of adorable hippos! Also happens to be the deadliest animal in Africa!
The only one we EVER saw outside water! Quickly ran away into the bushes.
These Zebras had already crossed and like us, were waiting for the others. After a while they all came down to the bank, cautiously drinking water – trying to show their family on the other side that the coast was clear. But it really wasn’t – Can you spot the Croc in the river?
Ugh, I love it when B/w photos aren’t really B/w!
And then suddenly, the movement begins…
And everything turns brown!!! Absolute chaos.
And there they go!!!!!
Luckily, after a while, the crocs came out and were sunbathing! Looked like they were already done with their breakfast.
The last line.
JUST LOOK AT THE NUMBER!
Our hearts cried for this little one. The last one in the herd, screaming and panicking as he couldn’t get out of the water – with a croc right behind him. His mother stayed back and guided him out! Took some 10 minutes – very scary 10 minutes!
Can never forget this feeling.
By the 4th day (still had around 10 game drives left!), we had seen everything we wanted to – infact, a lot more than we had imagined. After witnessing the Great Migration in the morning, we were too overwhelmed through the day and couldn’t get over what we had seen. In the afternoon, our guide, Meshack, turned to us and said – “now what do you want to see?”. Really didn’t have an answer to that! So, he suggested that we go back to these Lions that we had spotted in the morning and photograph them in the rain.
It was mating season , and we saw couples (EVERYDAY) that had separated from their prides and were celebrating their honeymoons. This particular couple didn’t move from this area for atleast 2 days – and we kept crossing them on our way back to our camp! Mostly asleep, they would get up every few hours, do the deed, yawn a few times and then go back to slumberland.
It was pretty amazing how this Lion was particularly protective of his Lioness and would watch her every move, while she seemed quite relaxed. But this evening was too special – Mother Nature had given me the PERFECT set.
Perfect lighting, perfect sunset, pouring rain, STUNNING ‘models’ in just the perfect location, and some … romance.
Adding another Lion King classic to this – How could I not? This is the non-animated version of “Can you Feel the Love Tonight”!
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Too beautiful to censor!
Hubby doesn’t seem too happy anymore…
Coordinated yawning too…
Time for us to go… Goodnight lovers.
By the 4th day (still had around 10 game drives left!), we had seen everything we wanted to – infact, a lot more than we had imagined. After witnessing the Great Migration in the morning, we were too overwhelmed through the day and couldn’t get over what we had seen. In the afternoon, our guide, […]
After many many failed attempts at spotting a Leopard in India, this trip was specifically planned for Ishrat and his love for this beautiful cat – little did we know what other wonders Kenya was going to show us in these 2 weeks.
But, the first story is about Fig.
We got to our second Conservancy in the Mara region and met with our amazing guide, Meshack. (We give 90% of the credit to Meshack for these photographs – always giving us the best compositions and angles!) 5 minutes into our first game drive of the day, we found this sleeping beauty. I hadn’t even fixed my beanbag properly yet!
Flustered and in awe.
She woke up after a w hile and went to her tree where she had put last night’s hunt – only to be scared away by some nasty Baboons. They followed her into a bush and attacked her for a few seconds (Caught that on video – hate those Baboons!). She got badly injured, which we realised later the next day when we found her again.
After some 40 minutes or an hour, she made sure the Baboons had gone away (Probably because of the jeeps coming in to see her). She crept out of her bush and headed back to her lunch. Despite her wounds, she took some beautiful leaps up the tree, threw the wildebeest down, carried it inside a bush again and enjoyed the meal.
Wish we could’ve just watched her all day!
Point to note: I’m not a Wildlife Photographer, I’m a portrait photographer – And I went in for these game drives keeping that in mind. I wanted to photograph and frame these animals the way I have always photographed people. And thanks to our wonderful guide, and also a mad amount of luck – I managed to do just that. . Adding a Lion King Soundtrack to it – because, obviously. .
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The First Look
Always wondered why Ishrat was always so obsessed with Leopards – now we know. Haven’t seen anything so beautiful.
Wake up sleeping beauty.
Spotted by the Baboons
I wanted to go kiss this forehead like I do with my dog >.<
After the Baboon attack, Fig hid for an hour or so. This is when she started crawling out cautiously …
Still keeping a look out.
There she comes out.
My heart.
One last check on the lunch.
Up she went for her lunch.
Slowly and calmly, dropped the wildebeest down.
Still super alert.
My favourite shot.
This petite little thing dragged the whole carcass into her bush.
Went back looking for her the next day and found her sleeping in a small stream – Visibly in pain, and kept licking her wounds. We left her there as we didn’t want her to get distressed. I hope she’s well and with her two cubs now!
Miss you already Fig! Hope to see you soon again with your grown up cubs!
After many many failed attempts at spotting a Leopard in India, this trip was specifically planned for Ishrat and his love for this beautiful cat – little did we know what other wonders Kenya was going to show us in these 2 weeks. But, the first story is about Fig. We got to our second […]