[Leica] Black Leopard Experience

[Jayanand Govindaraj]

Douglas,
Thanks for looking.

Actually, I was much safer with the leopard next to me than I would be
trying to cross the road in many of our urban areas! We are not food for
them, nor do they perceive a threat, so why would they attack? Animals are
far more trustworthy in their behaviour than humans.....

Cheers
Jayanand

On Tue, Aug 20, 2024 at 5:07 AM Douglas Barry <imra at iol.ie> wrote:

> That is one mean and magnificent looking pussy, Jayanand. My favourite
> in this collection is probably Eye Contact as you can see the markings
> very well.
> Mind you, going on your comment later to Lluis that the beast was right
> beside your open sided vehicle, I consider you've nominated yourself in
> the year's LUG bravery awards. Seeing as my own two black cats are like
> lightning when they are within leaping distance of a mouse, I don't
> think it's a position of proximity, I'd want to find myself in.
>
> Douglas
>
>
> On 05/08/2024 16:13, Jayanand Govindaraj via LUG wrote:
> >   I returned a few days ago from Laikipia in Kenya, off the beaten track,
> > and gaining currency in wildlife circles as a place to go for unique
> > encounters with a wild, 3 year old black leopard called Giza.
> >
> > Laikipia is in the North Central part of Kenya, and is a place to go for
> > leopards, (one) black leopard and wild dog sightings - and as it is
> located
> > in a private conservancy, you can be out till 9pm. Thanks to this, night
> > sightings of leopards are plentiful. Giza, too, did not disappoint, she
> > showed herself in more than 50% of the drives we did, and she had no fear
> > of vehicles, making the sightings really satisfying. The service at the
> > River Camp where we stayed was excellent, and the staff did whatever they
> > could to keep us comfortable. That is the good news.The bad news is that
> > accommodation is rustic/basic and the food was of indifferent quality. A
> > landowner suddenly found that a black leopard cub was visible on his
> lands,
> > and hastily built a few structures and started charging exorbitant
> amounts
> > (over US$1000 a day per person) for the experience - which is tailored
> more
> > towards the general tourist rather than photographers, but it is early
> days
> > yet, and they will surely learn to cater to photographers in the days to
> > come.
> >
> > The experience is most certainly unique and out of this world, and
> probably
> > is the only one of its kind available, that I know of, for close
> encounters
> > with black leopards, but comes at a high cost, especially given the basic
> > quality of the boarding and lodging. The demand is certainly there,
> though,
> > as they are booked solid till July 2025!
> >
> > On reflection, I am indeed glad that I did go there.
> >
> > A dozen photographic studies of Giza are available here:
> >
> > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Laikipia/
> >
> > Please see LARGE
> >
> > Comments and criticism, as ever, welcome.
> >
> > Cheers
> > Jayanand
> >
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