Nat Hab's 2024 Guest Photo Contest

Species: Clouded Leopard (Neofelis Diardi Borneensis) | Location: Kinabatangan, Borneo, Malaysia

While cruising the Kinabatangan River at night, we were scanning for wildlife when our guide spotted a faint eye shine in the trees. At first, none of us could identify the source. As we approached, a ghostly figure emerged from the shadows—a Clouded Leopard, perched on a branch, staring directly into the camera. In all his years of guiding in Borneo, this was only the second time our guide had seen this elusive predator. With an estimated population of just 5,000 to 11,000 left in the wild, it was a privilege to witness such a rare and endangered species in its natural habitat, a fleeting glimpse of one of Borneo’s most secretive nocturnal hunters.

Capturing this moment was as challenging as it was exhilarating. From a boat that was rocking gently on the river, in near darkness, I had to lower my shutter speed to allow enough light onto the subject. With such low light, I was concerned about motion blur from both the boat and the leopard. Time was against us—the leopard moved quickly, and I had only a few moments to get the shot. Fortunately, one frame was perfectly sharp, preserving this rare encounter with a species so few ever see.

About The Photographer

Andy has always been interested in photography, but it wasn't until 2011 when he had the opportunity to borrow an underwater camera that he started to take his photography more seriously and took a number of underwater photography workshops. Since then, he has taken all forms of photography more seriously but most enjoys underwater photography, aerial photography with his drone and land-based wildlife photography. In pursuit of his images, Andy has traveled to the far reaches of our planet including Indonesia, Palau, Borneo, the Solomon Islands, Israel, Egypt, Australia, Tonga, Iceland, Greenland, the Philippines, the Galapagos Islands, Mexico and all over the Caribbean. Andy has won several photography competitions and his images have been published in magazines worldwide. His work can be found online at www.andydeitsch.com as well as @andydeitschphotography on Facebook.