In this case, a leopard cub that he was filming got too close for comfort. During a trip to the Sabi Sands reserve in South Africa, Dillon Nelson was watching a mother leopard and her 10-month-old daughter. He then got a very unpleasant surprise.
Nelson was taking pictures of the mother-cub duo when, all of a sudden, the baby leopard came right up to him. He thought he was safe, but when he saw the curious cub a few inches away, his heart stopped. Somehow, the 25-year-old game ranger kept his cool.
Nelson said that he was a little nervous, but he was more excited than anything else. “It’s hard to describe how I felt during the sighting because I was trying to stay calm and take in everything that was going on.“
The man was on safari when he saw the two leopards. When the two climbed on top of a termite mound, he decided to get a closer look. Nelson went to get close to the wild cats while the tourists were a long way away.
He said that “we were following a resident female leopard with her 10-month-old cub as they made their way through a very dense monkey orange and bush willow thicket.” In order to get a better look at her surroundings, the adult went up on this termite mound with the youngster right behind her.
It was when the young leopard went to check out the cameraman that things got a little more interesting. Though he saw the leopard and knew he was the one she was going to, the photographer had no choice but to stay and watch.
The heart-pounding moment is shown below.
It was too late for the game ranger to move when he saw her coming. You should stay still and let her look around. She looked at what she needed and then went on her way, not stopping to think about it. Not many people get to have this kind of experience, and it’s one that was very exciting.
