What can I say, ten days spent in South Luangwa National Park in Zambia, nearly 100 hours spent in a Safari vehicle (my back did take a bit of a beating over the rougher terrain), over 100 degrees daily and nearly 9,000 pictures. Too much you might say. I say not in South Luangwa – the photo opportunities were everywhere and observing wildlife in their own backyard was a privilege.  Elephant, giraffe, zebra, hippo and countless other wildlife are around every corner, its like Christmas day, every day!   Undoubtedly, I wanted to see the predators but South Luangwa National Park is 9000 Sq. Km and predators are elusive creatures.  There are no guarantees, however just before 6am, we set off for our first drive hoping for the best.  After only an hour, we spotted a female leopard (Lucy).  She calmly approached our vehicle with an air of confidence.  She was in charge and we were thrilled.  Lucy was clearly looking to escape the heat and climbed up a nearby sausage tree.  We spent 20 minutes photographing her and then left her in peace.  Our guide did mention that Lucy had a 9-month-old male cub that hadn’t been seen for some time, but there was no sign of him, perhaps later?

Lucy – Leopard. South Luangwa National Park.

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