Leopards and Lynx

[DavyG]

I was fortunate enough to be able to visit a private leopard sanctuary at the weekend and take these pics.

I didn't upload these to the Gallery as they're not British Wildlife, I hope this is okay.

Persian Leopard



European Lynx



Clouded Leopard



Opinions, feedback and constructive criticism on the pics are welcomed.

Dave

[Ukwildlifeo]

Lovely photos.

As for them not being british wildlife, the Lynx is native and only went extinct in the last 1000 (possibly last 500) years

There was a case were a clouded leopard escaped and was free for 5 months in the UK

And as for the leopard, along with the lynx there have been cases of them escaping (and let go when a change in the law meant they needed to be licensed) land never being found....

Still you might have trouble convincing the Gallery mods to put a big cat in the Gallery

[Blackbrook Eye]

It raises the question of how far back do we go to classify 'British wildlife' if for instance the Avocet and Red Kite had not been reintroduced to this country they would not be here, at the reintroduction stage of any species there is inevitably a period of captivity or at least confinement, can anything here during this stage be classified as 'British' or does it require that it is released into the wild before it qualifies ? Nice pics. by the way.
Keith

[Dutchess]

Originally Posted by Blackbrook Eye

It raises the question of how far back do we go to classify 'British wildlife' if for instance the Avocet and Red Kite had not been reintroduced to this country they would not be here, at the reintroduction stage of any species there is inevitably a period of captivity or at least confinement, can anything here during this stage be classified as 'British' or does it require that it is released into the wild before it qualifies ? Nice pics. by the way.
Keith

Exactly. How far do we go back? Personally I believe there are some "big" cats roaming in our countryside (or not so big, lynx being a case in point) and without wanting to attract undue attention - I have it on good authority that they really are here. (Hey - those who really have evidence do not always run straight to The Sun, et al!)

'Nice to see your pics. Thanks.

D.

[paulthomas]

Originally Posted by Blackbrook Eye

It raises the question of how far back do we go to classify 'British wildlife' if for instance the Avocet and Red Kite had not been reintroduced to this country they would not be here, at the reintroduction stage of any species there is inevitably a period of captivity or at least confinement, can anything here during this stage be classified as 'British' or does it require that it is released into the wild before it qualifies ? Nice pics. by the way.
Keith

Actually Avocets are migrants. They have not been re-introduced into Britain. The increase in breeding pairs is due to re-instatement of suitable breeding sites. The Red Kite has never been extinct in this country. Eventually it would have expanded its range from Mid Wales to re-colonize the whole country. We're just giving it a helping hand. Red Kites are occasionally seen here in Staffordshire. What we don't know is if they're birds spreading out from Wales or from the release site in Leicestershire.

I'm not quite sure how long it takes an animal to get on the British list but I believe there has to be a breeding population.

Dave,

Nice photos.

[big bill]

A really nice set of photos Paul well done pefect focus and plenty of detail well done

[eeyore]

me thinks some ones been to santago - or was it bigcats 2 in kent

Either way nice images.

in terms of constrctive criticism , on the lynx photo you might have framed a little higher and not cut the tips of his ears off, and may be moved the framing a little to the left to put his eyes on thirds and show less of the branch.

meanwhile the leopard might benefit from a tighter crop to concentrate the view oin the head

but these are miner points - otherwise well done.

[DavyG]

Thanks to all who looked and commented, it helps the learning process.

eeyore:

You named those cats in one, I was fortunate enough to be part of a private visit.

Thanks for the pointers, I'll bear those in mind for my next session.

Dave

[eeyore]

yeah i thought i recognised that cloudy - the lynx must be new as they only had leos and a puma last time i was there.

I was fortunate enough to be there a couple of years back when they had snow leo cubs - huge awwwww factor i'll put a few pics up when i get a moment.

[DavyG]

I'll look forward to seeing the pics of the cubs, they must have been great to photograph.

The lynx had recently arrived and was a temporary boarder, she had arrived in a transit box and, while she lay on the high platforms throughout the day, she returned to the box at night to sleep.

I found her eyes fascinating, she really is a stunning creature.

Dave