Behind the lens

a blog every Friday on a specific species of animal or bird and stories of photos

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Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Chital

The Chital or Cheetal (Axis axis), also known as spotted deer, chital deer, & axis deer, is a deer species native to the Indian subcontinent. First described & given a binomial name in 1777 it is a moderate-sized deer, with only the males exhibiting antlers. The upper parts are golden to rufous, completely covered in white spots while the abdomen, rump, throat, insides of legs, ears, and tail are all white. The lyre-shaped antlers, three-pronged, are nearly 1 m long.

#wildartworks #wildlifephotography #kabini #jungle #wild #forest #wildlife #nagarholetigerreserve #nilgiribiosphere #nagarhole #kabinibackwaters #conservationphotography #indian_wildlifes #indianwildlifeofficial #wildlifeonearth #bbcearth #natgeowild #natgeoindia #nammakarnataka #tipeshwar #chital #deer #axisdeer #spotteddeer #Tadoba #tadobaandharitigerreserve #yawatmal, #penchnationalpark, #pench, #ungulate,

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Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Changeable Hawk-Eagle/ Crested Hawk-Eagle

A medium-sized eagle with massive rounded wings. It appears very small-headed in flight. Their name is misleading, as there are only really two color morphs, pale and black. The pale-morph adult is dark brown above with a white breast overlaid with dark streaks. While the dark morph is dark all over with paler outer wing feathers, and can be mistaken for dark Honey-Buzzards. They inhabit forests, forest edges, and expansive parks and plantations.

#wildartworks, #kabini, #tadoba, #TadobaTigerReserve, #jungle, #raptors, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #wildlifephotography, #nilgiribiosphere, #nagarholetigerreserve, #kabinibackwaters, #tipeshwar, #tipeshwarwildlifesanctuary, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #changeablehawkeagle, #crestedhawkeagle, #eagle, #hawk, #tropicalraptor,

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Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Bird Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Crested Serpent Eagle

The crested serpent eagle (Spilornis cheela melanotis) is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. It is a rather large, heavily built eagle with a dark, white-tipped bushy crest that gives it a distinctive large-headed look. When raised in alarm, the crest frames the whole face, highlighting the bare yellow lores and eyes, making the head look larger and fiercer. Commonly seen perched upright in well-wooded areas, with wingtips nearly covering the broad white sub-terminal band on the tail. Its 1-3 note scream is often heard in the forest.

#wildartworks, #kabini, #jungle, #raptors, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #wildlifephotography, #nilgiribiosphere, #nagarholetigerreserve, #kabinibackwaters, #tipeshwar, #tipeshwarwildlifesanctuary, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, #crestedserpenteagle, #serpenteagle, #eagle, #hawk, #tropicalraptor,

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Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Archi & her cubs at Tipeshwar

More often than not, spotting a tiger, leave alone a tiger with cubs, is an exciting game of hide-and-seek with small clues sprinkled randomly all over the jungle – a strangely silent and deserted waterhole on a warm evening, a skittish sambar stomping his hoof for no obvious reason, a pug-mark across a recent jeep track, a nervous langur peering at a lantana bush – all pushing the adrenaline as you await a climactic encounter with the apex predator of the jungle. It does not matter where and how it happens, the moment is always mesmeric. Something beautiful and primal stirs within our dulled urban souls and it is virtually impossible to be unmoved by the up, close and very personal experience of meeting almost 220 kilos of majesty and raw muscle.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #canon, #tiger, #wildlife, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #maharashtra, #trackingwildlife, #tipeshwar, #Mathani, #MathaniGate, #pantheratigris, #scentmarking, #bengaltiger, #royalbengaltiger, #bigcats, #archi, #architigress, #tipeshwartigers, #archicubs, #tipeshwartigercubs, #tigercubs, #7montholdtigercubs

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Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Archi - the Dhole chase at Tipeshwar

If you spend enough time in the forest, eventually, you will see an apex predator exhibit its fearsome skills and there is no better place than in central India with its numerous tiger sanctuaries of varying climes and terrain. This was one such thrilling event that unfolded at Tipeshwar, unexpectedly, before our eyes - the chase of some Dhole by the tigress Archi - to ensure the safety of her cubs.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #canon, #tiger, #wildlife, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #maharashtra, #trackingwildlife, #tipeshwar, #Mathani, #MathaniGate, #pantheratigris, #scentmarking, #bengaltiger, #royalbengaltiger, #bigcats, #archi, #architigress, #tipeshwartigers, #tigerchasingwilddogs, #tigerhunt,

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Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Meadow queen of Maregaon

This is about my experience with the Meadow queen of Maregaon in Tipeshwar, also called the “4” Mark tigress because she has a huge “4“ beside her right eye. She is the daughter of the Budha Male and the Pilkhan female born in their litter of 3 in November 2013. Read on.

#wildartworks, #wildlifephotography, #canon, #tiger, #wildlife, #conservationphotography, #indian_wildlifes, #indianwildlifeofficial, #wildlifeonearth, #bbcearth, #natgeowild, #natgeoindia, @awpc.hk, @globalcapture, #maharashtra, #trackingwildlife, #tipeshwar, #Mathani, #MathaniGate, #pantheratigris, #scentmarking, #bengaltiger, #royalbengaltiger, #bigcats, #4MarkTigress, #4mark, #meadowqueenofmaregaon

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Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee Wildlife, Wildlife Photography Siddhartha Mukherjee

Dhole

The Dhole, also known as the Asian wild dog, Asiatic wild dog, Indian wild dog, whistling dog, red dog, and mountain wolf is a canid native to Central, South, East Asia, and Southeast Asia. A highly social animal, it lives in large clans without rigid dominance hierarchies and containing multiple breeding females. Such clans usually comprises of 5 to 12 individuals but sometimes much more, groups of over 40 have been known. 

It is a superpredator, able to feed on a large number of prey. A pack hunter competing with the tiger and the leopard.

#wildartworks, #tadobanationalpark, #dhole, #wilddog, #asianwilddog, #wildlifephotography, #wildlifecentury, #kabini, #jungle, #wild, #forest, #wildlife, #nagarholetigerreserve, #nilgiribiosphere, #tipeshwar, #tipeshwarwildlifesanctuary, #kabinibackwaters, #nagarhole, #conservationphotography,

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