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Spotted siblings

Sibling camaraderie at its best, a pair of leopard siblings teaches us a lesson in graciousness and open-hearted helpfulness.

 

Sub-adult Leopard siblings on the hilltop. Trying to jump over the crevices.

 

The bolder of the two, sister takes the leap of faith and jumps off the crevice

 

He is left on the other side of the crevice

 

Being in a profession of wildlife photography I am constantly moving around different the national parks of India. While on one such trip to Jawai- India’s Leopard Hills in the state of Rajasthan, I was fortunate to witness one of the most heart-touching moments between a couple of Leopard siblings.

 

Brother tries to jump off but he’s unable to do so…

 

Understanding brother’s agony, sister comes back

 

She jumps off the crevice to be with the brother again

 

I came across a sub-adult male and a female Leopard, probable siblings, on top of a hill. They both were trying to jump over the deep crevice to reach the other side of the mountain. The female cub was the bolder of the two and she easily crossed the crevice with a quick jump. The male cub was left alone; he tried to jump off but couldn’t. Realizing the predicament her brother was in, the female cub came back to the edge of the mountain, she crossed the crevice one more time and came to the side where her brother was. She caressed him and motivated him. After the motivation brother tried jumping off and did it easily. After he successfully made it to the other side of the mountain, his sister jumped off and crossed the crevice. And both of them got to the top of the mountain safely.

 

She caresses him to motivate

 

 

Now motivated brother tries to jump off one more time

 

And with little hesitation he does it

 

He is safely on the other side of the crevice…

 

The sister to jumps off and both siblings are safely on top of another hill, Happy Family…

About the Author /

Zankhana Mehta is an Indian wildlife photographer who specializes in making short films on wildlife. A resident of USA she runs a wildlife tour company along with her husband Bhasmang Mehta who is also a professional wildlife photographer.

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