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Pic of the Week #39

on Aug 18, 2017

First facial portrait of Kigelia

Kevan Dobbie Kigelia 003 Final

This photograph that I have selected is the first ever photograph that I took of Kigelia’s facial portrait.

What is it that makes this photo so special to me? On this specific day of locating the Kigelia female, I hadn’t really seen her properly or up close before. This female leopard is the oldest cub that is still in a neighbouring territory to her mother, the Little Bush female. She has taken over the territory of her mother around the area where she grew up close to Little Bush Camp and her mother since developed a new territory between Selati Camp and Bush Lodge.

Firstly, before I started at Sabi Sabi as a ranger, I had seen numerous photographs on the social media platforms of this female leopard, and I had a desire to actually see her and watch her grow up into an independent leopard. With that being said, I luckily have been able to do so, even to the point of witnessing her first-time mating with a male leopard that we refer to as the Kashane male. At this point in time, Kigelia and Kashane have been seen mating three times, and hopefully this time she will conceive and then not only will I have witnessed Kigelia grow up to independence, but also witness her raise her first litter of cubs.

Here the team of rangers are crossing fingers for this spectacular female leopard of Sabi Sabi for the future and that she remains a regular resident so we can witness her beauty and elegance as she develops further on in life.

Equipment Used

  • Camera – Canon 600D
  • Lens and Focal length – Canon-EF100-400mm f-4.5-5.6 L IS USM at 400mm

Settings used to capture this image

  • ISO – 800
  • Aperture – 7.1
  • Shutter – 1/320

Editing used on this image

The editing I carried out for this image was minimal as most of the settings used portrayed the image I had in my head. I did however increase exposure and clarity to give the light required as it was a dull cloudy morning and natural light was absent as well as clarity to create detail of the facial expression and minor details this leopard possesses (spot pattern, whiskers etc).

  • Pic of the week by Kevan Dobbie (Bush Lodge Ranger)
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