Photographerwild

INDIA 2010

Seeing Tigers in the wild was a dream for quite some time and after much consternation over whether to return to Africa in 2010 or choose another location, I finally made my way to India. For this trip, I worked with Susi Allison and Butch Lama of  Wild India LLC. Their services are of the best caliber and Susi and Butch have a motto - "come as a client, leave as a friend". This couldn't be more true as I gained two new friends who will be part of my life for years to come. This adventure focused on Tigers in Bandhavgarh National Park and a trip to rural Rajasthan to seek out Leopards. While we weren't fortunate enough to see Leopards, we did get to see some other nocturnal wildlife there but our fortune with the Tigers in Bandhavgarh was overflowing, including being fortunate enough to see two kills in action in one day (a rare experience that most don't get to see once let alone twice in an entire trip). Some of the Tigers seemed very comfortable with humans - such as Kalu, the big male in the initial images and who liked to pose for everyone as he makes his way up on to the plateau and lies down, then moves off again - and others who are very shy, like Bukha, the male sitting behind a fan of golden grass and who can avoid being seen for several years by many of the park staff and other guides who frequent the park.

 The images about half way down the gallery of the Tigress stalking are two separate hunts on the same day - one on the morning with the target prey being a white spotted deer fawn, and one later that afternoon where the target prey is a large male Sambar stag (if you look closely you'll see only his antlers sticking up as he was in a small gorge drinking and the Tigress ambushed him from her position above).