Mumbai-based photographer spots the leopard stalking and playing with prey minutes before eating it; her brother-in-law captured it in a series of photographs
The team on the jeep saw the leopard stalk the fawn, grab it by its neck, and then release it, after which the two ran around each other, before the big cat caught the deer again and ate it. Pics/Ravi Shanker
A Leopard cannot change its spots, but it can surely make you think otherwise. Dr. Smitha Moorthy, a city-based wildlife lover and photographer was in for an unusual treat during her visit to Ranthambore National Park on April 4, when she saw a leopard playing with a small spotted deer, before eventually gulping it down for dinner.
Her brother-in-law Ravi Shanker captured the unique moment in a series of photographs.
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Thought it was a tiger
"We were on a safari in Zone Two of the park when suddenly, our guide asked the driver to stop the jeep as the spotted deer were making alarm calls. At first, we all thought there might be a tiger around, but when we looked into the direction where the spotted deer were looking, we saw a sub-adult leopard stalking a spotted deer fawn."
The team that was present in the jeep anticipated seeing a spotted deer fawn being hunted by a leopard. So, all of them steadied their cameras to capture some precious shots. However, what happened in the next few minutes surprised them.
"Within seconds, we saw the leopard sprint towards the spotted deer and grab it by its neck. We thought that it would choke the fawn to death, after which it will start eating it.
Dr Smitha Moorthy
Surprised in seconds
But within seconds of grabbing the deer, the leopard loosened its grip over its neck and the fawn started running.
"The leopard also followed the fawn slowly and to us, it appeared as if it was playing with the fawn because the same sequence was repeated again," said Moorthy.
"The fawn was eventually killed by the leopard, but whatever happened before surprised all of us. I felt really bad for the young deer as it struggled for survival," she added.
Unusual behaviour
Naturalist, wildlife researcher and photographer Rajesh Sanap said, "Leopards are one of the most elusive big cats and spotting them in their wild habitat is very difficult. If the pictures are to be believed, it is a really unusual behaviour."
Moorthy signed off saying, "I would like to thank Kaustubh Upadhye and Junglelore, without whom this wouldn't have happened."
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