“I am absolutely fascinated with leopards. In five minutes, you can see this agile cat do everything. It could climb a tree. It could jump off 20 feet. It could chase a hare at top speed and catch it. It could do anything.

That animal is full of character, full of life, and I just absolutely love the agility and its ability to adapt, not just in forest but in villages, in sugar cane fields. Even outside the city, you have leopards that are thriving on mice on foul, on lizards. It’s a fascinating animal which is always interesting to document.

I’m considering the regular leopard and melanistic leopard, known as the black panther, as one. The black panther isn’t a different species – it’s just a leopard that he lacks a particular gene that regulates the pigmentation in his fur and the colour. That is what makes him dark. It’s beautiful.

I am far more afraid of the leopard than I am of the tiger. The leopard is fearless. They are extremely agile, and paw-to-paw one of the most powerful cats. That’s an animal I would definitely want to avoid on the trek back to camp.”

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My Big 5

Leopard
Elephant
Black Wolf
Lion
Tiger