This is the jaw-dropping moment a leopard hunting down and pouncing on its prey was immortalised on film.
Photographer Bhargava Srivari, 29, captured the rare and breathtaking moment whilst he visited the Maasai Mara National Reserve in Kenya in November.
The majestic beast is pictured pouncing on the unassuming antelope. The two seem to wrestle, before the antelope finally succumbs to the ruthless big cat.
Photographer Bhargava caught this incredibly rare moment of a leopard hunting an antelope in Kenya on film
Seeing an antelope being hunted by a leopard is incredibly rare and the ‘stuff of dreams’
29-year-old photographer Bhargava said all the leopard had to do was leap up and grab the antelope when it walked close enough
The photographer saw the leopard was hungry, so he spent a few hours watching the big cat to capture the hunt on film
‘Seeing a leopard in the wild is quite rare in itself, and seeing one hunting down an Antelope is stuff made of dreams. So when I got an opportunity to witness it, I didn’t miss the chance,’ said Bhargava.
He said he spotted the leopard and could see it was hungry, so he chose to stay the course, and grab the opportunity to capture the unique moment on film.
‘We spotted the leopard and noticed it was hungry so we knew it would try to make a kill and hence spent a few hours with it. I felt incredibly lucky witnessing this rare event,’ Bhargava said.
Describing the encounter between the two animals, he said: ‘There was no chase initially because the leopard was hiding in the grass in front of the antelope, so all the leopard had to do was leap up and grab the face of the antelope when it walked close enough to the waiting leopard.’