TIGER ON A HUNT
TIGER ON A HUNT
This is a story of a tiger who was determine to hunt
and make a kill for himself. Watch this album for the series of images
and behold your eyes on once in a
lifetime experience of rare moments in wildlife photography.
It was the summer of 2016 in the month of June , the last 2 weeks of the season before the Reserve is shut down for public in the monsoon months from July to September every year. We had planned 6 safaris, this was our 4th safari of the season.
The Magical Zone of RTR : before I move on to our story,here
is something about RTR’s Zone -3 , the most sought after Zone .
Mesmerizing beauty of this zone can be clearly seen as it has to its
credit one of the largest water bodies of RTR , the iconic Rajbaag , the
deep blue waters and the green foliage of surrounding trees and a
carpet of grassy meadows interspersed with green/ rufous brown shore land becomes the favorite watering hole for many animals such as chital, deer, sambar, neel gai, and so many more... and thus in return becomes the happy hunting ground for a Tiger. & when you see a tiger with a background of lake and forest it is an icing on the cake.
The Yawn that started a storm :- 14th June 2016 , 6 am at RTR Zone3 the climax was in the offing. 30mins into the safari at 6.30am we spot a Male tiger named T85 (aka Pacman) inside a thick shrub growth but was unable to see him properly and could only feel his movements by the fluttering of leaves & dry tall grass ,
after a wait of about half an hour at 7.07am a big yawn was clearly visible inside the thickets , the silence was broken......
7.19am Soon he left the road and diverted to the open meadows on the banks of the lake and … Psst!! started his silent gait at times looking distressed and frantically giving a glance all around looking out for prey, By this time it was fairly palpable that this guy was desperate for a hunt & kill a prey for his staple diet. The favorite lake front spot for many animals who come for quenching their thirst was also totally desolate , probably they all must have sensed his arrival , dejected as he was returning back and……Whee!! the background…the lake…the open meadows and in the middle of the frame the tiger…. Again a dream COME TRUE photography moment……Zoom frame – khatak khatak !!! That was my action.
But now the most important question in my mind was….will the ‘Pacman’ manage to hunt and kill a prey this morning ?? will he be successful in his mission. Watch ahead for the answer….
7.20am Dejected as he was when he could not find anyone near the lake front , the remains of bones and horns of the earlier kills were making him more exasperated , it was now nearly 30mins since his eventful morning yawn , the silence in the air was visible everywhere , only the chirping sounds of the birds were herd , even the 40 odd tourist who had gathered to witness the drama were in deathly silence mode.
The time was running out for ‘PACMAN’ , normally a hungry tiger cannot afford to stalk for a longer time as it will drain his energy more & more , it was more so when he was driven out at his father’s sambar kill just 2 days back now he had to desperately search for a kill for his own survival. What did he do next?........
now we all thought that he has gone in search of different pastures and will not return , but here the experience of the duo the guide and driver really counted the driver quickly took the position of the jeep in such a way that the next possible action was the climax of this story …… Why he went towards the hill side and what was his disguise strategy? Watch ahead for the spellbinding final onslaught!!
Couple of minutes passed by we all were waiting anxiously to see whether he may return again and to our astonishment he was seen cautiously hiding behind the thickets of dry grass and shrubs.
The clock touched 7.25am, the sun was now well above the horizon on a summer morning and a glance towards the hill side where Pacman was seen vanishing just a few minutes ago was astonishingly beholden with a majestic sight of Pacman with his eyes totally focussed on the herd.
Meanwhile here at the lake front and nearby surroundings after the departure of Pacman (T85) the ambience was all solitude and silent and the herd of spotted deer thinking it was safe gathered at a spot which was right near our position of the jeep. His strategy of disguise seemed to be paying dividends. The gradient slope of the hill gave him a ringside view of the herd which were on the other side of the road where the jeeps full of tourists were waiting with anxious moments for that final assault. The backdrop of tall dry deciduous trees, the historic dilapidated brick structure of part of fort and the gradient grassy land with the tiger as a focal point was again a dream come true photo opportunity ….. Zoom – frame – click!!!
His sharp eyes at once transformed into violent lustre.
Taking the eye off the view finder, I quickly looked at the herd and whispered in my mind…..”will you all runaway from here your Devil (Yama) is staring in front of you and how can you all be so oblivious of this fact” !!! Hurriedly gluing my eye again to the view finder , I focused at the Pacman once again , now the tiger stood straight , eyes focused on the target, keeping absolute silence his stripes blending so well with the forest and the ambience , he crept few steps ahead and Poof in one…two…three big leaps, before I could turn my camera and focus on to him again ,
7.26am Pacman had grasped the nape of a young male spotted deer , the action happened inside the thick tall dry grass that we could not photograph the actual action but was able to see him clearly grabbing the victims neck , the deer stumbled and tried to escape but his grip with the powerful canines was so strong that the animal gave up in few seconds. At last after a marathon trail of nearly half an hour since that ‘Yawn at dawn’ Pacman was successful in his hunt and kill, for the sake of safety of all the tourist who had gathered to see this imperious display of masterly act of predation. In some way I felt that the tourist jeeps lined up along the road acted as a screen & proved to be a boon for Pacman and bane for the victim .To sum it all, Pacman had to be successful in his endeavor or else he would have jumped & pounced on to any one of the 10 odd jeeps stationed on the road, in desperation…
7.27am There is a most fascinating EPILOGUE to this story, after successfully managing a kill with not much of an efforts Pacman thought of going in for a second kill , so he dropped the lifeless deer inside the shrubs and went on a second hunt on the banks of the lake but quickly returned back after a futile attempt at that and again took control of the carcass, which emphatically demonstrated his zeal and hunger that morning……
7.46am Now
the main task ahead for him was to drag the carcass to his safe &
favorite hideout to enjoy the fruits of his labor for next couple of
days, which he successfully accomplished it but not before a 30mins
& half a km. grueling efforts after that magnificent exhibition of
wild kill, it was now 46mins since that ‘Yawn at Dawn’…conclude!!
After about 22 safaris in Ranthambore in last 3 years at last I was fortunate enough to witness & pictured the rare moments of how a determined young male tiger went on a hunt managed to kill a deer and dragged and dropped the carcass inside a nalla , his favorite place. I was privilege to witness all this at an incredible distance of only 8 to 10feet.This was one of my most successful wildlife sojourns in last eight years of experience in wilderness and perhaps could be my once in a life time moment.
All photographs and Story copyright by
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