Bandipur National Park is a dry deciduous forest located in Karnataka – a southern state that marks the highest tiger population in India. On January 27th, 2019 we were on an early morning safari and spotted a leopard which was sleeping in a tree. The sighting was from a far distance, but that gave us a beautiful frame of the forest.

The sleeping leopard amidst the greenery and colourful bloom of the sacred flower Butea Monosperma – that was a seen like the painting of heaven.

Our guide (cum driver) suggested us to explore another route to have a closer look at the leopard. Though it could be facing opposite, we have decided to give a try and take some shots.

The leopard was still in deep sleep, and the angle of view was not a promising one for a good shot. So we went ahead exploring flora and fauna of the forest.

While coming back, we saw the same leopard on another branch of the tree and still sleeping facing away from us. The atmosphere was getting better and brighter for photography, and the mist started disappearing slowly. We were about to leave from that place, and at that moment suddenly it woke up, yawned and gave us a show.

I was thinking that it is going to get down from the tree, and I’ve positioned myself to frame some closeup snaps. But the leopard slowly moved took out its kill that was hidden between the branches.

And we all got some photos with its kill. After making my frame, I’ve recorded a small part of the scene in a 4K resolution and here is that small video clip.

Following gears were used to record this:

NIKON D850 | NIKKOR 200-500 f/5.6 | WILD ROAR BEAN BAG

This motivated me to create a YouTube Channel to upload such videos and it goes live here. If you like it, please share it and subscribe to watch my future uploads.

Thank you for all the support.