black panther-leopard couple is going viral

“Saaya and Cleopatra have been courting since 4 years now and whenever they are together it’s a sight to behold.”

“The forest comes alive as they trot nonchalantly in his fabled kingdom. Usually, in the courting pairs, generally it is the male who takes charge and moves around with the female following close behind. But with this couple it was definitely Cleo who was in charge while the panther followed.”
the 31-year-old professional further said: “I had to wait for six days for this in the same spot since I could hear the Panther and Cleopatra mating about a 100 metres away in the thick undergrowth but could not see them due to limited visibility.”

“They had made a large kill and would not move until it was over. That is where the knowledge and years of experience of following and tracking the Panther came in handy. I just had to wait at one of his favorite paths since that was the place he would get her since that was the edge of his territory, and this he did after 6 days,” the man with 12 years of experience under his belt added.

“It was a fruitful wait though. I could wait for 6 years for a moment like this,” Mithun said.

The wildlife photographer, who tracks big cats and is known for working on ‘The Real Black Panther’ for Nat Geo Wild, said he didn’t expect the image to go viral and certainly didn’t anticipate the controversy that followed.

He is happy, however, that the picture is getting so much attention.