It is crazy to think that my last blog post was 27 October 2024, I was in the midst of photographing the Red Deer rut and preparing for my trip to Sweden for Golden Eagles, then life turned upside down whilst in frozen Northern Sweden with my Sister, Tracey, being tragically killed by a drunk driver, driving on the wrong F&%$ing side of the road, life stopped, coping with something like this will probably take a long time, currently I am still struggling to cope with her leaving this world, life it is just not fair at times. I still remember sitting in the hide in -10c conditions, all deflated and not knowing why, only later did I find out the real reason.

It is now 375 days and counting, my wildlife photography has been hit and miss for obvious reasons, it has been exceptionally difficult to even leave the house at times, when I do, it can feel so tiring because of the stress of collecting my thoughts, currently I haven't worked for two months, thankfully I have a wonderful wife, an amazing company called Th3rdcurve which I am forever grateful for their continued support.

So here we are, and I decided to produce a round up of my adventures over 2025, it kind of feels therapeutic, because ultimately I achieved some successes along the way, all of these trips went ahead with lots of anxiety, pressure, little motivation or care, yet I made it happen and Tracey was always in my thoughts

April / May - ventured out for some great Big Cat cubs action at Colchester (Amur Leopards), Whipsnade (Lions) and West Midlands (Tigers), nice to see the cute small Big Cats, gave me some focus. I also managed to get some snaps with Alma Leaper at the Big Cat Sanctuary and the Beavers by canoe in KentJune / July - Flamborough and Bempton Cliffs - some nice Puffin action, followed by Ospreys at Rutland, Little Owls in Kent and more Beavers by canoeAugust - London Wetland Centre for my Birthday and bought some decent binocularsSeptember – the annual Deer Rut at Richmond and Bushy Park but nowhere near the sightings of last year, primarily as unable to get out for the sun rise and conditions didn’t quite work in my favour

October - Maasai Mara Safari for Big Cats

To think I almost didn't go, this was a very difficult trip, lots of anxiety and generally very emotional before, during and after. Hopefully people think I captured some decent images, sometimes with my eyes watery, a few emotional blow outs along the way, looking back its quite funny, at the time it wasn’t (losing your phone in the bush, losing it with a fellow photographer, thinking you lost your laptop at the airport to name a few).

I visited two Conservancies, first up was a return to Ol Kinyei Conservancy at Cheetah Camp, this was where I had seen the Male Lions fight in 2023, and then onto Olare Motorogi Conservancy and Lion Camp, both with Porini Gamewatchers and Alison Mees.

Highlights:

• Four separate Cheetah sightings, including one new male Cheetah at Ol Kinyei, and Nagol a female Cheetah on an Impala kill at Olare Motorogi

• Three consecutive days with Akira the female Leopard in Olare Motorogi (saw her the previous year, flirty eyes)

• Plenty of Lions, huge Pride at Ol Kinyei and then Lions on honeymoon including the famous Osupat

If you fancy joining us on a Safari for Big Cats in the future, then drop us a line.

Hope you all have a decent Festive break, for me it will be just about chilling with some of the family.

Cheers for reading, Paul