Jungle cat - a sudden encounter

[Kaustuv Chatterjee]

At Sultanpur, earlier this year on a Sunday morning, I walked towards the grasslands area, away from the water bodies. This area has now been fenced off and is off bounds. Right at the back of the park, the track turns at right angles and as soon as I turned the corner, I saw it behind a clump of dry bushes. Both of us froze for a moment as our eyes locked - a moment I shall not forget! In a split second it dashed away, in an incredible burst of speed. Somehow managed to click off a few shots and got this relatively ok one as it shot across the track. It was early summer and the tawny coat of this small lithe predator, disappeared into the browns of the grassland in the blink of an eye. The sighting must have hardly been for a minute.

300mm, ISO 400, 1/1250s - F/5.6

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Rare sighting. Lovely running pose captured with remarkable reflex. Strong muscles, pointed ears and tail rings look so nice. Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Lovely picture especially since it was a split second response you had to resort to. Nice to see this elusive cat thriving. Beautiful sprinting pose.

Thanks for sharing

Rajan

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Good to know that you had a jungle cat sighting in Sultanpur. Was it sitting when you sighted it? You can find some more information compiled in this article: http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/species-in-focus-wild-india-jungle-cat/

[Mrudul Godbole]

Rare sighting. Good reflex to get it in that split second. Nice colours and the low angle adds to the composition. Thanks for sharing.

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice freeze kaustuv. the plumage looks much darker than the ones i get to see here.
TFS
Roopak

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice freeze kaustuv. the plumage looks much darker than the ones i get to see here.
TFS
Roopak

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Lovely sighting. Agree that the coat is very different from the southern individuals. There seems to be an almost rufous tinge to the hind legs and cheeks.

[Murugan Anantharaman]

Lovely image Kaustuv... 'in action' pose is nicely captured. The paws are clearly visible and so is the front portion, the colors in the hind portions look neat. Thanks for sharing.