Photo of the Day #918: Black leopard

He is my cousin.

I think that's one of the best face portraits of a big cat that I've ever seen.

Usually you get a photo of the cat either:

1) Snarling at the camera (and these can be pretty cool).
or
2) Staring placidly off into space.

This one is different. It also has action and character. There is also a fairytale threatening quality about it: "'I'm going to eat you,' said the Black Panther to the Brave Little Something-or-Other..."

You should enter this one in some contest, or try to use it in one of your books. Or possibly sell it to a stock photo place. (Sadly, I don't know how you'd actually go about doing that.)

Good closeup. Something I've always read is that black leopards are common in Asia, but almost never occur in Africa. I've yet to hear anyone explain why.

What a wonderful photo. He looks gorgeous and deadly at the same time. Great shot!