African Leopard at Santago, a photo from Hertfordshire, England

Photographer's Note

This picture was taken at the Santago Rare Leopard Project which acts as a breeding center for these animals, some only a few hundred left in the world. When Peter James didn't have enough money to pay the veterinary bill, he came up with an idea: give close-up access to photographers for a reasonable fee. It's been a great sucess - the doctor's bill have been paid and now he's created back drops for the cages and now other breeders/conservationists are looking to do the same in Europe.

When asked if the leopards would be released into the wild, Peter James, the keeper, told me that "perhaps their grandchildren. Unfortunately, many of the countries where these cats live, they are still hunted with little or no government protection."

This day at Santago is an example of photography helping with wild life preservation for future generations. If you would like to see another picture of this leopard and more information about the project, take a look at this on TrekNature.

Liora, Jan100, mikhalych, digi-mom, digiken, erthmuffin, ChrisJ, LCannon heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

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patrick_belaire (363) 2004-07-18 6:18

Magnifique spécimen, l'instant est bien capté.
Bravo !

J'ai effectué une petite retouche pour mettre un peu plus en valeur le pelage de l'annimal.

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Liora (1857) 2004-07-18 6:48

A wonderful photo Dan! Perfect photo - sharp, and taken from an excellent angle.
Your note is very interesting as well - the project sounds like a brilliant idea, and I can only hope that some day, some of this wonderful cat's off-springs will live in the wild.

Jan100 (158) 2004-07-18 7:49

Wonderful, crisp, clear photograph. What is the black bar on the left hand side and where is his other ear :)

Great idea and great photo well done.

mikhalych (1319) 2004-07-19 7:25

Good angle and focus. In his eyes one can see that this kitten won't joke :)
Interesting note too.

digi-mom (1064) 2004-07-19 8:28

I think he's beautifully presented, and the bar doesn't detract too much, especially when you understand the circumstances, as you do in your notes. Nice details captured, I like the reflection in his eyes. What a great story.

digiken (105) 2004-07-19 15:41

Dan,

Nice shot. I'm not sure I'm crazy about the diagonal bar of the cage/enclosure, but I like the high contrast and sharpness of the imagage and how there's a slight, lighter halo around the leopard which helps it to stand out against the background. I like the framing, though I'm not sure whether I'd have included more or less of the leopard's leg.

ChrisJ (171822) 2004-07-22 3:14

Great wildlife shot. Good sharp focus & backlight.

saparot (1861) 2004-07-24 15:57

Which majestic glance... beautiful animal.
Photo good clear.
Good Job.

Noeleon (0) 2007-03-19 2:58