“My favourite animal to photograph is definitely the puma, or mountain lion, as it’s also known.

I’ve photographed many other cat species, including tigers, lions and leopards, but none of them, to me, is as elegant and beautiful as the puma. In my eyes, it is just the perfect cat.

I spent over seven months with these amazing cats in the wilderness of Patagonia. Definitely the combination of the dramatic Patagonian landscape and the elegant cat fascinated me. The experience of photographing this wild cat without any protection, eye-to-eye, and not taken from a vehicle with that kind of a zoo feeling’, was very special.

After following the pumas for such a long time, they got used to my presence. That allowed me to photograph behaviour that has never been documented before. Even puma researchers told me that they thought it is not possible to capture all these situations, like mating or hunting.

One day, a puma came in my direction, lay down and fell asleep only 15 metres in front of me. This is a huge compliment for a wildlife photographer because it proves that the normally very shy cat totally trusted me.”

www.ingoarndt.com

My Big 5

Puma
Mountain Gorilla
Cheetah
Elephant
Orangutan