The perfect shot! Teenager spends 9000 mins to spot and photograph Kabini’s elusive Black Panther

Bengaluru: Wildlife photography has, over the years evolved into an art form in itself and we have all hear stories of avid photographers staying parked for hours in the wild, waiting patiently for that one perfect shot, however, nothing can be compared to the length to which this 18-year-old Karnataka boy went.

Dhruv Patil is the youngest son of former minister MB Patil and has been passionate about wildlife. His passion for wildlife photography was finally rewarded when an elusive black panther crossed his path and he had the opportunity to capture it.

He managed to click a picture of Black Panther after waiting for 9000 minutes (seven days) on a single road and 25 visits to the Kabini wildlife sanctuary in Mysuru.

Black Panther is the black variant of the spotted leopards and there are only 5 to 6 black panthers in India and among them, only one is residing at Kabini wildlife sanctuary.

It may be recalled that in the month of June, pictures of Saya-a rare black panther went viral on the internet. The photo was clicked by celebrated wildlife photographer Shaaz Jung and was again taken at the Kabini Forest in Karnataka.