Pune Student Who Waited 2 Hours To Click 'Perfect Shot' Of Black Leopard Surprised Photo Viral 1 Year Later

When it comes to wildlife photography, patience, passion and luck are key to capturing surreal shots, but it's easier said than done.

Wild animals are going to do what they¡¯re going to do, one cannot ask them to look at a certain direction or stand where the light is good. It's all about luck and the right timing, this Pune student seems to have gotten in right in one shot.

Abhishek Pagnis

For Abhishek Pagnis a family vacation to Tadoba Andhari National Park in Maharashtra turned out to be something he'll never forget.

A Pune-based engineering student, Pagnis photographed a semi-melanistic leopard during a trip to the sanctuary almost a year ago. On June 25, 2019, the amateur photographer had taken to his Instagram handle to share the picture with everyone.

Also Read: Wildlife Photographer Shares Rare Pic Of Black Panther & Leopard Couple In India's Kabini Forest

¡°This was clicked in June last year and went viral only today morning after someone posted it on Twitter,¡± he said. The young student photographer is amazed at how the picture impressed netizens after a whole year.

Abhishek had shot the picture from 20 feet away and that too in the summer of 2019.

"It was my first ever wildlife trip where we were looking mostly for tigers. We started looking for leopard on our last day of safari after having enough sighting of tigers," ANI quoted Abhishek Pagnis as saying.

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Male Melanistic leopard/ black panther. . . "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist". . . . Tired from handling the camera all day for all the safaris, here I was on my last one and in the last hours. All drained from the shuttering of the cameras, capturing the stripped killer in the scorching heat. Moving on to the spot for something I was sure we won't see. With the sun being gone hours beyond our heads, the wait was on, hoping for atleast a quick glance. Eyes running through every movement in the woods and ears all fixed on the barks of the deers. Couple of hours passed and I am still hoping for a miracle before the dream run ends. And suddenly it all went quiet with all the deer heads focusing in the woods like they were guides. And there he was, an unnoticeable black figure moving uninterested in his prey. I rooted for the camera and positioned quickly on that spot, my mind and body all fired up forgetting . The melanistic leopard was there, just strolling unaware of his beauty. I zoomed at him and saw the bright eyes staring back with fading rossetes into blackness on his body. A sighting less than half an hour made the best moment of the safaris. . . . . . #indianphotography #incredibletadoba #bbcearth #indian_wildlifes #indianwildlifeofficial #bigcatsindia #earthinfocus #natgeoyourshot #nationalgeographic #discovery #natgeoindia #nikonindia #bigcatswildlife #wildwoyages #indianafricanwildlife #nikonasia #ntc_feature #ntc_natwild #pawstrails #featured_wildlife #ngtindia #ThroughYourLens #CandidInTheWild #Incredibleindia #Earthcapture #nikonindiaofficial #_mig #WildIndia @indianwildlifeofficial @zealwildlife @incredibletadoba @natgeowild @naturegram_india @natgeoindia @shaazjung @indian_wildlifes @animalplanetindia @bigcatsindia @wildlife.hd @indianwildlifeofficial @featured_wildlife @the.animals.daily @bbcearth @nikonindiaofficial @claws.n.wings @randeephooda @wildtrails_recent_sightings @indian.photography @nikonindiaofficial @natgeoyourshot @sonybbcearth

A post shared by Abhishek Pagnis (@abhishek.pagnis) on Jun 25, 2019 at 8:34am PDT

He shared that he had to wait for around two hours to get the ''perfect'' shot, which was taken around 5 pm in June. Speaking more about the experience, he wrote on Instagram: 'I rooted for the camera and positioned quickly on that spot, my mind and body all fired up forgetting . The melanistic leopard was there, just strolling unaware of his beauty. I zoomed at him and saw the bright eyes staring back with fading rossetes into blackness on his body. A sighting less than half an hour made the best moment of the safaris.'

Also Read: Watch: Local Family Spots Rare & Elusive Snow Leopard Walking Along A Road In Himachal Pradesh

Pagnis said that before the leopard was sighted, he heard some alarming calls of the animals, including deers and langurs.

Recalling the moment before the wild cat appeared, Abhishek Pagnis said, ¡°The animals around raised an alarm and started making noises. When a predator animal such as a lion or tiger is nearby, prey animals like deer and monkeys let out alarm calls to alert others. This was our cue to stop our vehicles and prepare the cameras.¡±

#Bagheera from Tadoba. This is how actually the melanistic leopard looks like. Rosettes are clear when looked from close. This beauty captured by @abhishek_pagnis. pic.twitter.com/eOygYfCzwp

¡ª Wild India (@WildIndia1) July 27, 2020

In another incident earlier, a photograph of a black panther had created a stir on social media. Reacting to it, Mr Pagnis said, "That was a melanistic leopard, which is also known as a black panther and it was clicked in Karnataka's Kabini forest. However, who I captured was a semi melanistic leopard which is different from the other."

Also Read: Bagheera Is Real? Rare Black Panther, Darker Than The Color Of Night, Spotted Taking A Stroll

"The leopard was behind the bushes drinking water. We had 20 minutes of decent sighting followed by almost 15 minutes of very good sighting for photography," he added.

Pagnis is now considering pursuing a career in professional wildlife photography.