Published 15:30 IST, July 28th 2020
Elusive black panther's photo from the wilderness of Maharashtra goes viral after a year
An elusive black panther's photo just 20 feet away, from the wilderness of Maharashtra's Tadoba Andhari National Park, goes viral after a year from being shot
A trip to Chandrapur's Tadoba Andhari National Park, Maharashtra turned out to be one of the 'most surreal experiences' for a 23-year-old amateur photographer, Abhishek Pagnis. In an interview with an online portal, the Pune-based engineering student and budding photographer expressed how lucky he considers himself to have gotten the opportunity to spot a black panther, standing just 20 feet away from him. Pagnis also revealed that he had to patiently wait for over 2.5 hours just to have a glimpse of the elusive wild cat.
Abhishek spills the beans about photographing the rare black panther
During his interview with the portal, Abhishek Pagnis spilled the beans about the once-in-a-lifetime experience of photographing the rare black panther as he revealed saying it was his first wild trip ever. He also added saying they had to wait for more than 2.5 hours in that particular area, just to have a glimpse of the wild cat. Elaborating more about his experience before the elusive animal was sighted, the 23-year-old stated that animals around started making noises to raise an alarm before the predator was spotted.
Going into further details, he explained saying when any predator animal is around, prey animals let out alarm calls to make others alert. He added saying it was their clue to stop the vehicle and gear up with their cameras. Although there have been several other instances wherein the wild cat has been spotted, the photographer feels that his experience was more special. He stated that the predator loitered around for almost half an hour and was as close as 20 feet from them.
However, Pagnis has captured these photographs a year back, in June. On June 25, 2020, the amateur photographer had taken to his Instagram handle to share the picture with everyone. In his interaction with the portal, he expressed stating he was not expecting the picture to go viral, as it was shot a year back. But, he admitted that it went viral after someone recently shared it on Twitter. Last year, sharing the picture of the black panther, Pagnis had penned his exclusive experience in a long IG post which read:
Male Melanistic leopard/ black panther.
.
"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist".
.
.
.
Tired from handling the camera all day for all the safaris, here I was on my last one and in the last hours. All drained from the shuttering of the cameras, capturing the stripped killer in the scorching heat. Moving on to the spot for something I was sure we won't see. With the sun being gone hours beyond our heads, the wait was on, hoping for atleast a quick glance. Eyes running through every movement in the woods and ears all fixed on the barks of the deers. Couple of hours passed and I am still hoping for a miracle before the dream run ends. And suddenly it all went quiet with all the deer heads focusing in the woods like they were guides. And there he was, an unnoticeable black figure moving uninterested in his prey. I rooted for the camera and positioned quickly on that spot, my mind and body all fired up forgetting . The melanistic leopard was there, just strolling unaware of his beauty. I zoomed at him and saw the bright eyes staring back with fading rossetes into blackness on his body. A sighting less than half an hour made the best moment of the safaris.
Updated 15:31 IST, July 28th 2020