Tim Melling – Ocelot

Ocelots are elusive and highly sought-after forest cats from Central and South America.  I photographed this one in the Pantanal in Brazil after dark.  I took it without flash, but by torchlight at a very high ISO (51,200).  It was occasionally coming for small fish that had been left out though it was not guaranteed.  It was also skittish and kept retreating into the forest, but would reappear a few minutes later.  A little bigger than I was expecting.  More the size of a Lynx than a domestic cat.  This was our second attempt after drawing a blank on the first night.  I think it was worth waiting for.

Taken with Nikon D500 Nikkor 300mm f4 lens at f4             1/200 ISO 51,200 No flash

 

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