The Snatch

Peter Lindel's Image

Peter knew the leopard was crouched behind a bush, surveying an adult warthog and its piglet. As rain started to fall, the two warthogs were briefly distracted and the leopard began to move. ‘The piglet didn’t stand a chance,’ says Peter. The adult warthog attempted to charge, but in vain. The leopard snatched its meal and disappeared up a tree.

Combining strength and speed, the leopard is a formidable hunter. Once it seizes its prey, it may hoist the catch up a tree to store and eat later, away from competing predators like lions and hyenas. Given the chance, a warthog is also capable of speed and could even injure a leopard with its four sharp tusks.

Behind the lens

Peter Lindel

Peter Lindel

Germany

In 1999, on his second trip to South Africa, Peter started photographing wildlife. He did not get the chance to travel back for the next 15 years, so he photographed local wildlife close to his hometown of Dortmund, Germany. Although a passionate wildlife photographer, he is not a professional - he actually works as paediatric radiologist in a hospital in Dortmund.

Image details

  • Canon EOS-1D X
  • 600mm f4 lens
  • 1/3200 sec at f4  •   ISO 800
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