A wildlife photographer found himself in a pretty tense situation, after a leopard cub he was filming got too close to comfort. Dillon Nelson was watching a mother leopard and her 10-month-old daughter in Sabi Sands reserve, South Africa, when got a very uncomfortable surprise.
Nelson was capturing on camera the mother-cub duo, when all of a sudden, the baby leopard approached him. The filmmaker thought he is at a safe distance, but his blood froze when noticed the curious cub a few inches away from him. Somehow, the 25-year-old game ranger managed to keep his cool.
“I was quite nervous but more excited than anything else,” Nelson said. “It’s hard to describe how it felt during the sighting because I was trying to keep calm and take in what was happening.”
The man was on a safari trip when spotted the two leopards, so when the two climbed on a termite mound, he decided to have a closer look. While the tourists were at a considerable distance, Nelson went to intimate with the wild felines.
“We were following a resident female leopard and her 10-month-old cub as they moved through a very dense monkey orange and bush willow thicket,” the man explained. “The adult went up on to this termite mound to get a better look at her surroundings, with the youngster following right behind.”
But the things got a little bit spicy, when the young leopard went to investigate the cameraman. Though he noticed the leopard and he knew he is the one she was heading on, the photographer had no room to react.
Watch the heart-thumping moment, bellow:
“I saw her approaching, but I already knew it was too late for me to move,” the game ranger said. “I thought I should just keep still and allow her to investigate. She saw what she needed and then proceeded on her way. Definitely a thrilling experience, and one not many people get to have.”
h.t: MailOnline
