A wildlife photographer has recently left his fans baffled after he shared a couple of utterly breathtaking snaps on Instagram. “The Eternal Couple” is how photographer Mithun H describes his work of art. It shows an odd leopard – black panther couple posing for a once in a lifetime photo.
The majestic creatures have been spotted in the forests of Kabini in Karnataka, India. The renowned photographer is been keeping an eye on the tow felines for over four years and even though the managed to get some breathtaking snaps of both of them, separately, this is the first time Cleopatra the leopard and Saaya the black panther have been spotted together as a couple.
“Saaya and Cleopatra have been courting since 4 years now and whenever they are together it’s a sight to behold,” the photographer wrote on Instagram. “The forest comes alive as they trot nonchalantly in his fabled kingdom. Usually in the courting pairs generally it is the Male who takes charge and moves around with the female following close behind. But with this couple it was definitely Cleo who was in charge while the Panther followed. This was shot on a surreal winter morning when a single Deer alarm led me to this breathtaking sight.”
But since snapping such a shot could not had been easy, Mithun said he had waited for six days to capture this majestic couple on camera. “I had to wait for six days for this in the same spot since I could hear the Panther and Cleopatra mating about 100 metres away in the thick undergrowth but could not see them due to limited visibility,” he told The Indian Express. “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 six days.”
Recalling the moment, the enthusiastic photographer said he can “relive that moment every single day of his life. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Featured Image Credit: Instagram