Almost at close of day,
With all its hours almost done
And fast to ebb away…
The leopard lets his memories
Remind him now and then,
Because he knew each day must cease
When moonlight shone again...
Black Pilot FineLiner ink sketch and W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm
An African Leopard sunning himself on some rocks. Powerful, graceful and arguably one of the most beautiful of all the large cats, the elusive leopard is a master of stealth and survival.
In the Cape Province south of the Orange River (South Africa), they have been largely eradicated by stock farmers except in rugged mountainous areas. The Cape Leopard that lives in the Cape mountain range is much smaller than its big cousins in the Limpopo region. Their diet is probably the contributing factor, consisting mostly of dassies and much smaller prey.
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