wildlife photography – Syndication Server

Can you spot the leopard? Photographer barely spotted it in time

Wildlife photographer Henri Olckers had nearly given up on spotting a leopard until he turned his head and saw some spots.

Editor’s note: A version of this post was first published on April 10, 2024.

Wildlife photographer Henri Olckers and his father were driving down a dirt road in Kruger National Park hoping to spot a leopard relaxing on a branch.

“But it wasn’t meant to be,” Olckers recalled to USA Today/For The Win Outdoors. “Or so it felt.”

They were driving on S125 for the first time in the iconic South African park.

“It is a beautiful, quiet 20-kilometer road, running parallel to a dry riverbed on the one side and dense bush on the other,” he told FTW Outdoors. “We were both scanning every tree next to the riverbed.

“Approximately 1 kilometer before the end of the road, we had almost given up all hope when I turned my head away from the riverbed and looked to the right. All I remember was seeing a few spots in the dense foliage, and I slammed on the brakes. I just remember yelling to my dad, ‘Leopard, leopard, leopard.’

“I grabbed my camera with my one hand and steered with the other. I couldn’t decide if I should reverse quickly and risk scaring it off or reverse slowly and miss a photo opportunity.”

He slowly got the vehicle into position. Luckily the leopard remained stationary and he started taking photos.

“It clearly wasn’t used to cars or people because it immediately lowered its head and ears as if trying to hide. Once we switched off the car, it relaxed a bit more, later seeming quite interested in us. After about 3-4 minutes, he got up and walked deeper into the bush where we lost visual.”

Several people viewing the image on Olckers’ Facebook page never could spot it. Among the comments:

“I would have driven straight past. Blissfully unaware.”

“Can’t see any animal, but just love the beautiful vegetation—especially the golden grasses.”

“I couldn’t find.”

“Took a while. I thought I was getting goofed on. I would not survive long in the jungle.”

The spots are what stand out the most, just as they did when Olckers first spotted them.

“It was the highlight of our trip,” Olckers told FTW Outdoors.

Photos used by permission of Henri Olckers.

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Can you spot the leopard with the ‘good disguise’?

Leopards have incredibly good camouflage. It’s amazing the photographer saw this one blending in with the grass.

Editor’s note: A version of this post was first published on April 5, 2022.

Leopards are so good at blending in to their environment that they are often difficult to spot in the wild, as is the case in this photo posted on Facebook by “Africa, this is why I live here.”

It isn’t an easy spot, as evidenced by the reactions by commenters on the Facebook post, a sampling we present here:

“I would have been so dead. It took me forever.”

“I’m amazed the photographer saw him.”

“Nope, don’t see it. Okay, on second look I saw it. But by this time, it’s too late.”

“Oh my goodness, what a good disguise!”

“Wow! Great camouflage!”

“Wow, I finally found it. I would have been his dinner, for sure.”

“It took me awhile.”

“I would have been eaten. Took me so long to find it.”

Watch: Cute red fox dives headfirst into snow and gets its prey

A wildlife photographer set out to photograph snowy owls but wound up with stunning footage of a red fox hunting in a snow field.

A wildlife photographer set out to photograph snowy owls on the outskirts of Edmonton, Alberta, but wound up with stunning footage of a red fox hunting in a snow field.

From his car, Colton Lockridge noticed the red fox hunting a field. He waited to see its reaction. When it wandered off, he decided to set up his tripod and camera hidden in a snowbank and hoped it would return.

He was in luck. It did return.

“I would say I waited a solid hour before it even decided to come back in my direction,” Lockridge told SWNS. “After shooting a little bit, a car drove by and spooked it again, so I waited another while for it to come back in my direction.”

His patience paid off. At the 20-second mark, Lockridge captured the moment the fox succeeded in catching its prey, a vole.

After three hours of waiting and capturing footage of the red fox hunting, Colton decided to stop and just watch. The fox eventually disappeared into a thicket of trees as the sun sent down. He figured it had a 50 percent catch rate when diving into the snow.

Also on FTW Outdoors: Video shows polar bear cub trying to get comfortable atop momma bear

“Their hearing is just astounding as well; you could see it sneak into position and listen carefully,” he told SWNS.

“I also didn’t show how long the fox would sometimes listen for the rodent, but there were times it would stand and listen intently for 30 seconds to precisely hone in where its food was under the snow.”

But you can see the fox honing in during the minute-long video.

Epic humpback whale images captured before Sydney’s lockdown

As a renowned marine wildlife photographer, Rachelle Mackintosh eagerly awaited the arrival of humpback whales in mid-May off Sydney, Australia.

The season opened May 20 as the first whales – migrating northward from Antarctica to Queensland – announced their presence with spectacular breaches and other surface behaviors.

Mackintosh, shooting from Go Whale Watching vessels, filled her Instagram page with images that capture the power and grace of these 40-ton leviathans until June 26, when another COVID-19 lockdown was imposed throughout Sydney.

“Which is basically when the northbound migration begins to peak,” Mackintosh told For The Win Outdoors. “Other places on our state’s coastline are still able to go out and watch the migration, but for those of us in the city it’s all-day pajamas and watching Netflix for our wildlife fix.”

As Sydney awaits an impending decision by the New South Wales premier whether to end or extend the lockdown, Mackintosh agreed to allow some of her images captured pre-lockdown to be showcased in this post.

“This year we’re expecting 35,000 to 40,000 whales to pass by the city, first heading north from Antarctica between May and July and then passing by us again from late August to November as they journey back to Antarctica,” the photographer explained.

“So yeah, there’s still plenty of time to see them BUT this part of the migration is super exciting because it’s when the competition/heat runs are going off, as the males get their biff on and the ladies make the fellas work for the opportunity to breed with them.

“It’s always a hormone rush for the whales and an adrenaline rush for us humans to see it. Knowing they’re out there partying while we can’t really leave the house is making me itchy.”

Mackintosh typically shoots four days a week, but inclement whether kept the boats in the docks for several days before the lockdown.

The accompanying images were captured during the 15 days she was able to be on the water.