Determined Photographer Realizes His Dream of Photographing an Elusive Black Leopard in Africa

Will Burrard-Lucas, a talented wildlife photographer and founder of the remote/trap photography device company Camptraptions made it his mission to capture clear, decisive photographs of a very elusive black leopard (black panther). Burrard-Lucas had heard about this beautiful wild cat but had never seen one up close. This perspective completely changed when Burrard-Lucas visited the Kabini Forest Reserve near Bangalore, India and spotted a black leopard.

I didn’t have high hopes of seeing it in such a short period of time but as we explored the forest it was thrilling just to know the cat was out there. Then, on the second day, we managed to spot the black leopard crossing the road in front of us! …The lucky encounter ignited my imagination and I dreamed more than ever of finding and photographing one of these stunning cats in Africa.

After that trip, Burrard-Lucas was determined more than ever to document a black leopard in Africa. He traveled to the Laikipia Wilderness Camp in Kenya to realize his dream. After setting numerous trap cameras, the resolute photographer sat back and anxiously waited. It wasn’t too long before the remarkably clear, high quality resulting images proved themselves to be well worth the wait.

I deployed a plethora of camera traps each consisting of a Camtraptions wireless motion sensor, a high-quality DSLR camera and two or three flashes. …The next day I eagerly checked the cameras but had no images of leopards. I was disheartened and suddenly felt the enormity of what I was trying to achieve. …I left the cameras for several more nights. ….I had a quick look at the last trap, not expecting to find much. As I scrolled through the images on the back of the camera, I paused and peered at the photograph below in incomprehension… a pair of eyes surrounded by inky darkness… a black leopard! I couldn’t believe it and it took a few days before it sank in that I had achieved my dream.

via PetaPixel

Lori Dorn
Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.

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