Stunning Serval

[Morkel Erasmus]

This is a Serval Cat we spent about 45 minutes with on our last morning in the Mara Triangle last month. It was a special sighting to see her so relaxed with our presence, hunting and walking around with purpose.
These felines are quite small, comparable to a smallish "Bobcat" or Lynx with a less stocky build.

Techs:
Nikon D4s
Nikkor 500mm f4 VR-II
f5.6 | 1/2000 SS | ISO-500

[Steve Canuel]

Interesting cat. Has the body of a cheetah and the face of a house cat. Is it unusual to see them out and about at what looks to be the middle of the day?

[Morkel Erasmus]

Interesting cat. Has the body of a cheetah and the face of a house cat. Is it unusual to see them out and about at what looks to be the middle of the day?

Late morning actually (African light is unforgiving, though there was a thin layer of cloud about). Yes, mostly nocturnal and diurnal cats...

[Dvir Barkay]

very nice Morkel, one of the more elegant cats out there. The OOF foreground is a tad bit busy, but I wouldn't touch it as he is looking into that empty space and it would unbalance the image.

[Loi Nguyen]

Hi Morkel, great capture of this elusive cat. We had only a split second to see one ducking into the bush on a night drive. here you had 45 min with her in the open. I know know what you meant by African unforgiving light. Would have loved to see the eyes better, but you did the best you could. TFS. Loi

[Sanjeev Aurangabadkar]

Congrats on getting this elusive cat Morkel. I like the alert pose, those large ears, and the details. Well done, despite the harsh light.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Morkel - Sounds like a great sighting no matter what time of day. I too have only had a fleeting sighting on a night drive. Something must be off in your save for web process/settings because this one also does not have an embedded color profile. You handled the light well. If it were mine I would back off on the sharpening on the neck and chest as it looks slightly crunchy.

TFS,
Rachel

[Morkel Erasmus]

Something must be off in your save for web process/settings because this one also does not have an embedded color profile.

thanks Rachel
now I am pretty annoyed haha , will go check it out tonight

[Jonathan Ashton]

Lovely shot I like to see him so intent on potential prey.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Morkel, like the inquisitive look and the curvature of the tail tip, they are such beautiful animals. Light looks strong, but highlights retained nicely. Well framed and the environment colour has a nice balance with the subject. I must admit, at ISO500 it doesn't look as 'clean' as your previous images, not sure if it's sharpening or partly the compression, as it can happen on some images, is this almost FF or a crop?

TFS
Steve

[Carl Walker]

Nice sighting Morkel. Love how they use those keen ears to detect pray and the leap into the air when they commit to the pounce.

[Morkel Erasmus]

Thanks guys.
Steve, strange, must have been sloppy in processing as it's full frame and quality at high res is good. Here's a 100% crop of the face, unsharpened and unprocessed.