Weary Caracal

[Morkel Erasmus]

I have just returned from a short trip to the Kalahari desert, which included a stint in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. On this particular day we had no less than 2 separate caracal sightings, of which this was the best photographic sighting. I had never seen one in the wild before in my over 20 years of regular visits to the African wilderness.

This particular cat was walking next to our vehicle for more than a kilometer on her way to have a drink at a waterhole. This is her weary and cautious approach to ascend the rocks lining the waterhole. She was looking a bit thin and had a bad gash on her back - seems like she's had a tough winter but hopefully the summer months and coming rains will help her gain in strength.

All comments welcome. This was taken at about 9am.

Techs:
Canon 7D with 100-400mm L IS USM @ 235mm
f7.1 @ 1/1000 SS @ ISO-400

[Ken Watkins]

Morkel,

What great luck two caracal sightings in one day, I've only ever seen 3 or 4 in 10 years:)

Certainly looks a little on the thin size, but still a beauty.

I have actually booked a trip for next June.

[Rachel Hollander]

Morkel - Great luck on a difficult to sight cat. Hope her health improves. I like that the environment of the shot includes the water and the rocks. I also like the pose with the back leg in mid-air.

TFS,
Rachel

[Katie Rupp]

Morkel, I think the title is absolutely perfect. She does look quite all-done-in! Good job with exposure as it looks like the light was already getting harsh.

[Andrew Aveley]

Great sighting of a very elusive cat............in which part of the park was this ?

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks very much guys and gals

Andrew - this was at the "13th Borehole" waterhole in the Auob riverbed between Mata-Mata and Urikaruus rest camps

[Stephen Earle]

Nice background and you did well with the available light. I wish for some more eye-contact though.

[Hilary Hann]

Poor cat, looks very weary indeed and the coat quality is very average. I think you've shown the mood and health of this cat really well. Like the comp and the back toes.

[Harshad Barve]

though cat looking weary I will be more than happy to trade one of my tiger image for this , I am loving this
TFS

[Steve Kaluski]

A good capture of a rare animal Morkel. I too would prefer a tad more eye contact, however, do you have any more avoiding the broken tree? Were you looking down, just trying to workout the POV :)

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the comments everyone...

Steve I was looking slightly down as it's a smallish cat and the road is a bit higher than the waterhole. The stumps were unavoidable and I had to frame like this to avoid including a concrete slab to the RHS which doesn't look "natural"...this was about 4 meters from my vehicle.

[Marc Mol]

Would be happy just to have any images of a Caracal, Morkel. Have only ever caught a fleeting glimpse on one occasion.
So well done on that count!
TFS

[Lorant Voros]

Morkel. Big congratulations to get a photo of this hardly seen animal.

[Ignacio Yufera]

Morkel, IMO just the fact that it's a wild caracal in the open makes this a great shot. Big congrats on the sighting (never sen one myself). I like the weary mood in her posture; she does look a little worn, but those tufts are intact!
In my monitor the PP seems a little too obvious color-wise (shadows/highlights?); maybe desaturate a bit?