He's doing well. You can see the focus in the young leopard's eyes as he sprints towards me. Asa is all business. He knows his social needs will be met as well as that strong thought of "the boss is here with food." I found him at around 2800m in deep snow after three days away. He was strong.
It'd been a tough day. I hadn't really been able to eat properly for about forty-eight hours and last night I didn't sleep. In mid 2011 I got smashed up by Hepatitis E, an unusual strain but one that forced me to leave the Asian sub-continent quickly, ending up in intensive care in Australia. I almost lost my liver and while I've recovered ok as well as getting back to high mountain fitness levels there are times when it all comes unstuck. Giardia, salmonella and other nasties have been regular foes over the years, that's just the way it is when you do this work.
I got to Leopard Camp after a snow slog fueled by one just one coffee. I melted snow at the camp and made another. I didn't linger, I needed to get up high quickly, find the leopard and get down before the freeze started. I bashed through at times thigh deep snow and felt pretty good, thankful for my fitness and thankful to my parents who are both tough, my dad nearing his ninth decade and reinvented as a wood carver, my mum still a very strong gardener. They got me into the outdoors when I was very young, I've very rarely left.
Suddenly the angry grunting of langur monkys alerted me. I was in Asa's area but could not be certain if the langurs were pissed off at me or another predator. I put down the drum which contained several kilos of buffalo meat and crept as silently as I could towards the high canopy commotion. I did not want to interrupt a hunt but langurs are hard work to catch for any predator. I got close, it was a pretty cool scene, active primates in snow covered rhododendron forest. I had my GoPro strapped to my chest and started a quiet commentary when I heard a familiar growl. It was a leopard. I turned hoping it was the leopard I have been working with for almost a year now and sure enough Asa came leaping through the snow. That was when I took the image.
The image is for sale at www.mountaintiger.photography and I'll be adding more from today's encounter over the next couple of days. I'll be blogging soon re the tactics I'm using, he's a tough young leopard but we have to work as a team to get through the winter. We're trying as hard as we can.
Right now I'm going to have some hot vegetable soup and I have a craving for fresh buffalo milk, that has to be a good sign. Cheers Jack.
