Update on the Basunti Leopard

The jungle below the cliff face where my lens cap now resides

This morning the wind was coming off the lake and standing by the cliff face I could smell the sweet odour of rotting flesh. The leopard definitely has a kill stashed somewhere below. This is most probably not a monkey, as it would be consumed in either one or two feeds, but more likely it is a cow that went missing from the village six days ago. “Bhag” is the local name for leopard, which was immortalised as “Bhageera” in The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling.

Decided it might be an idea to see if I could get that illusive photograph of a Leopard in the wild. Dressed in my finest jungle outfit, shorts, tee shirt and sandals; I worked my way through the jungle to the base of the cliff. I was rewarded with a deep growl coming from some dense undergrowth; decided it was prudent to retreat. The leopard was letting me know in no uncertain terms that he was not about to share his meal with anybody else. Walking backwards, which was seriously not easy in this terrain, I managed to get what I felt was far enough away to beat a hasty retreat. Big cats very rarely attack from the front, which is worth bearing in mind when confronted with a similar situation.

Interesting experience, not often you get the hairs standing up on the back of your neck and the slightly strange thought that you just might be the next course on the menu. Somewhere below the cliff face is the lens cap for my camera, which I managed to drop, I have the distinct feeling it is going to stay lost for quite some time.