Birds, bees and leopards!

29 07 2011

It was a simple case of boy meets girl – except the boy is a stealthy killing machine, capable of dragging a little more than his own body weight up a tree with only his teeth and claws, and his lady the same, with a pinch of feisty sprinkled on top!

Making baby leopards is a complicated affair. Firstly, leopards are solitary animals, and although they do meet up from time to time, there is always a lot of hissing, growling and general hating. Secondly, the male has a barbed penis, enough to cause any relationship to struggle… What this means is, when leopards mate, there is an explosive reaction after each session. Great to photograph!

I spent a lucky day with just such a couple, and witnessed the passionate sexcapades.
After each session, the female does her level best to smack the living daylights out of the male, (remember the barbed penis), and he tries his best to get out of the way of said claws! The result: a series of images I am quite chuffed with, and a few fresh scars for the young lover!