Nature photographer Henri Olckers spotted a leopard hiding in the tall grass in South Africa’s Kruger National Park while driving past. The leopard is so well camouflaged that other visitors struggled to see it.
Olckers tells PetaPixel that he tries to visit Kruger National Park at least twice a year as he’s a “very passionate amateur wildlife photographer.”
“Leopard sightings are my favorite, so it’s always a highlight of my day when I see one.”
In this instance, Olckers attributes his leopard encounter to “luck” and “timing,” essential ingredients for any good wildlife photo.
“We were driving along the S1 tar road and had not seen many animals that day, so we didn’t expect to find this leopard walking roughly 20 meters next to the road,” Olckers explains. “We hit the brakes and reversed and within seconds, she had settled down in the long grass.”
When other visitors stopped to try to get a look at the leopard, Olckers had to point out where she was hiding. Even knowing precisely where the leopard is, it is still hard to find in the photos.
For those who have yet to find the leopard in the image above, it is circled below.
Even More Camouflaged Challenges
Olckers shared some other photos of the hidden leopard with PetaPixel, and the elusive cat is no easier to find.
Henri Olckers Has Plenty of Other Leopard Photos
Even though Olckers’ eagle eyes allowed him to watch and photograph the leopard, the large predator had other ideas and was as uncooperative a subject as most wildlife often is.
However, the passionate wildlife photographer has plenty of other great wildlife images where everything came together nicely on his Facebook and Instagram pages.
Wildlife Loves to Hide
PetaPixel has plenty to offer any photographer who enjoys this type of challenging visual exercise, including a very sneaky mountain lion stalking an elk, another hidden leopard that might be even harder to find, and a series of photos of a sneaky snow leopard that illustrate just how hard it is to get pictures of one of nature’s most elusive predators.
There are many challenges when doing wildlife photography, not the least of which is actually seeing wildlife. Although these photo challenges may seem like they’re only fun and games, they are great ways to hone vital skills.
Image credits: © Henri Olckers
