The Chase

[MonikaC]

On our 1st day in the Masai Mara, we found this leopard (named Pretty Girl) walking in and out of the bushes. There were probably at least 8 other vehicles circling around, trying to keep track of her. Suddenly, she bolted out of the bushes, pursued by a baboon, only to disappear into other bushes. The following scene, of all the safari vehicles jockeying for position reminded me of Keystone Cops. It was quite amazing that nobody collided with anyone else, though there were some close calls. I'm still working on the processing as her coat was almost the same color as the dirt, so any C&C would be very welcome. I used the brush adjustment tool in LR to decrease the exposure & increase the contrast on her, then did the reverse on the background. A 2nd pass on the leopard & this time I included the bushes.

To give you an idea of the traffic here:

 

[JimFox]

Nice work Monika. I like how you pulled the leopard out from a dusty background. So a Baboon was chasing it? You were privy to all sorts of animal interactions when you were there that the rest of us just wouldn't have any reason to even think about.

That is amazing how close it got to the vehicles, and I see now that they don't have hard sides, just canvas and plastic. It's a good thing that leopards don't want to snack on humans.

 

[Leslie Hunter]

How interesting.

 

[AlanLichty]

Interesting pair of shots. I have to echo Jim's comments about how little is between her teeth and you. I like your processing to isolate the cat on the run in the first image.

 

[MonikaC]

Nice work Monika. I like how you pulled the leopard out from a dusty background. So a Baboon was chasing it? You were privy to all sorts of animal interactions when you were there that the rest of us just wouldn't have any reason to even think about.

That is amazing how close it got to the vehicles, and I see now that they don't have hard sides, just canvas and plastic. It's a good thing that leopards don't want to snack on humans.

Apparently leopards eat baby baboons, so whenever adult baboons see leopard, they attack them. "Sworn enemies" our guide called them.

One group of people had a little baby with them, and whenever the baby cried, that sure got the attention of the big cats. After the 1st time we witnessed it, the driver/guide drove off pretty quickly. The 1st time, though, he let the baby cry even when the big male lion advanced on & encircled their vehicle. Obviously the mom had said something like she was sure she could quiet the baby & wanted to stay as they didn't leave until the 3rd round of crying.

 

[Douglas Sherman]

This is an interesting series, Monika. Keep them coming.