Lots o' Leopards

I recently returned from three weeks in South Africa, which featured a visit to Morkel's favorite stomping grounds in the Kalahari, as well as a return to one of my favorite spots: Mala Mala Game Reserve.

Mala Mala and other neighboring reserves are based in the Sabi Sands, which borders Kruger National Park. Wild animals roam in and out of the properties, but given that they are on private property, visitors have greater access to wildlife (you can go off-road) and many of the animals are used to the presence of vehicles. The encounters can be pretty intimate.

The area is known especially for leopards. Mala Mala claims 30-40 individual leopards that may be wandering in and out of their property at any time. On this trip we saw 11 individuals, including a whopping 7 in one day. This is the cub of the Kikilezi Female (leopards in MM are named for their territories), about 4-5 months old. Mom was away hunting, so the cub spent its time trying to find a comfortable position for a nap in this tree. This is also December in my 2013 Leopard calendar, and I've gone with the "calendar crop" for this image.

Canon 5D Mark III
Canon 500mm f/4 IS
ISO 800
1/400th
f/5.6

Max