Kozhikode-based nature photographer Sajid Aboobakker will never forget the moment he laid his eyes on a Snow Leopard for the first time.
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“I had goose pimples,” he said revelling in the glory of being one of the very few Indian photographers whom the elusive animal had graced with its presence.
It was in mid-March 2016 that Sajid visited Ladakh with the sole intention of photographing the Snow Leopard, one of the most endangered species on earth.
It is highly camouflaged and shy and hence very difficult to locate in the rocky mountains, its favourite habitat.
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Sajid had undergone a month-long preparation to adjust to the sub zero temperature of Ladakh and had dedicated half-a-month to fulfil one of his fantasies as a photographer.
“The wildlife warden I spoke to asking permission to go into the Hemis National Park laughed at me. He knew that photographing a Snow Leopard was no easy feat. There are people who have been trying to do this for the last fourteen years relentlessly and yet have not succeeded. I just got lucky”, Sajid told The Hindu .
Incidentally, a snow leopard was sighted in a village the day before Sajid landed in Ladakh.
He went to the place instantly and scouted the terrain with the help of a local guide.
The villagers were least bothered about the leopard visiting them occasionally, even in their kitchens.
“They think of it the way we think of a stray dog,” Sajid said.
The villagers attack a leopard only if it went after their sheep. It was though one such raid that the animal exposed itself to Sajid for the first time.
“We found it sitting on a rock. I went as close as 50 feet away from the animal despite the risk and got a few good shots,” Sajid said.
Unsatisfied, he went after another trail the next day and captured the big cat with his prey.
He returned with some amazing photographs and a frozen limb three days later.
There are people who have been trying to do this for years. I just got lucky