Bloody legend photographer catches rare black leopard in Africa for the first time in almost a century

As you know, we love to give a little shout-out to Steve ‘bloody legend’ Irwin whenever we share another animal story with you, so upon news that a black leopard has been photographed in Africa for the first time in almost a hundred years, we’d like to say, “Crikey! Get a load of this bewdy.” Of course, it’d be remiss of us not to point out the stellar work of photographer Will Burrard-Lucas as well. Without his deadly stalking skills, we’d still be waiting for shots of this legendary beast.

Rightio, ya big bloody dickheads, let’s start with the basics. A Black Leopard isn’t actually a different species or anything. Yeah, nah, in its own special way, it’s practically a f**ken mutant. Yeah, deadset, it’s a genetic cock-up if you’re being blunt about it. But, just like some of you blokes were probably happy accidents, so is this gorgeous creature. It’s got a genetic variation similar to albinism, melanism. That means it’s got an excess of dark pigmentation. Obviously, the end result is a f**ken spectacular-looking animal.

Credit: Will Burrard-Lucas

So, getting back to the good work of our mate Will, he was trying to get some happy snaps of the locals in Africa when he heard a rumour that a black leopard – also known as a black panther – had been seen in the vicinity. Cracking a massive fat, Will decided to set-up his hi-tech camera rig and try to sneak some photos of the unsuspecting cat.

Credit: Will Burrard-Lucas

As you can see when he walks you through it, he does all that and he gets a few candid shots of the locals. Amazingly, he sees a mongoose and he’s like, “Yeah, nah, that’s s**t. Scrub Hare? Lame.” Then, he comes across the holy grail. Black f**ken leopard. He catches it creeping towards the camera and then bloody CLICK, he’s got the prick. Legend.

Talk about a worthwhile trip. These shots represent the first time in almost a century that someone has photographed one in Africa. F**ken grouse!

Credit: Will Burrard-Lucas

Final thought: If there’s anything we’d rather do as a day-job, it’s the one this lucky bugger Will does. Travel the world and take photos of awesome-as-f**k wildlife. Bloody cheers, mate. You’re a legend.

Just in case you missed it, here’s one of Ozzy’s latest commentary videos…Ozzy Man Reviews: Kangaroos

H/T: LADBIBLE.