An Indian wildlife photographer has captured one of the most stunning recent images of big cats in the wild. The amazing 'shadow shot' known as 'The Eternal Couple' captures a leopard, known to conservationists as Cleopatra, standing in front of a black panther. It is believed that they were mating close by.
Mithun, who is based in India and has worked for shows such as 'The Real Black Panther' for Nat Geo Wild, captured the shot after 6 days of waiting in the South Indian Kabini forest. The image soon went viral after being posted to his Instagram account. It is just one of many great photographs in the photographer's collection that he has shared online.
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In an interview with tenderly, Mithun laid out how he captured the amazing shot and how his love of photography developed as a young boy growing up in Southern India. He said:
"I can still close my eyes and relive that moment every single day of my life. You don't see that often. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There was certainly a lot of waiting and patience that went into it. I had waited 6 days for this in the same spot since I could hear the panther and Cleopatra mating about 100 meters away in the thick undergrowth, but could not see them due to limited visibility. They had made a large kill and would not move until it was over. That is where the knowledge and years of experience of following and tracking the panther came in handy. I just had to wait at one of his favourite paths, since that was the place he would get her, since that was the edge of his territory, and this he did after 6 days. It was a fruitful wait, though. I could wait for 6 years for a moment like this."
The photographer also spoke to PUPPERISH about his love of big cats:
"Although I love every form of wildlife and love my birds as well, big cats were always a fascination from the beginning. Leopards, in particular, were my first love. The agility, the grace of this feline on the trees just fascinated me to no end. I would spend hours watching them lazing on a tree with their little ones. Have named and followed their individual journey in Kabini for the last 12 years now. It all started with one of my favourite Leopards whom I called 'Monk' (a big male) and 'Moon' (the female), and their generation still going strong now."
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Black panthers and leopards are, in fact, the same animal and all that separates them is their different colours. For this reason, black panthers are known as 'melanistic leopards'. Their pigmentation is caused by an inherited recessive trait meaning that spotted leopards can give birth to either black panthers or leopards.
The species is classed as vulnerable by conservationists and there are worries that habitat erosion could lead to a diminishing of their numbers in the wild.
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