Advaitesha Birla's Image

While on holiday in Kruger National Park, South Africa, Advaitesha was lucky enough to come close to her favourite animal.

The leopard was close to the jeep, and Advaitesha watched and photographed her for more than an hour. 'She moved slowly along the branch,' observes Advaitesha, 'almost as though she was looking for something, often keeping still for ages.' The leopard would sometimes look towards the jeep but didn't seem bothered by it. 'I took my picture of her crouching just as my battery was about to go flat and the jeep was about to leave,' she says. Later that day she met the leopard again, sharing a warthog carcass with what she had probably been searching for - her cub.