Seeking the cool shade for a siesta - Mother & the Calf, Gaurs, TATR

[Subhash Shrivastava]

Canon SX60 HS, 1/200, f/5.6, 103 mm, ISO-100. Full Frame. Basic PP in GIMP.

Clicked in TATR on 20-Apr-15.

On a summer afternoon, in the meadows near Jamni gaon in Tadoba range, a mother and calf were hurriedly seeking the shadow of a large lone tree. The vacated village landscape has melted into the smooth jungle terrain by now, except for a few huts on the far side of plains.

[Debasis Bose]

Lovely depiction of sacrifice by human, giving away the most valuable possession of theirs over the generation....the land for conservation. And with a bigger heart the Gaur takes her calf under the shade where no animals dared to be in the past

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Nice scene...Interesting to to know that you had a sighting of this primarily crepuscular animal in the afternoon close to an abandoned village.
TFS
Roopak

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice. Good that the abandoned village has been left alone, the lost forest will regenerate in due course. It seems to me that the female Gaur is gravid, if true, that is another dimension of regeneration.Thanks for sharing. SaktiWild

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Loved the composition. The light seems harsh. Maybe a higher aperture (say F8) along with the White Balance to bright sunlight (if the camera supports the setting) will help control the burnout and overexposure.

Thanks for sharing

Rajan

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Nice one. I like the composition. The mother leads and the calf follows. Slightly increase the contrast and it would look better.

The villages were being removed in 2007 and 2008 when we had gone there. However they were resenting the relocation policy at that time and hence some people didn't relocate. During our stay a tigress with small cubs had killed a cow and the villagers retaliated by burning down huge swathes of forest. The forest department was helpless. Over the period of time the relocation issue got somewhat resolved with higher compensations.

[Subhash Shrivastava]

Dear Debasis, Roopak, Sakti Da, Rajan & Sabya sir; Thanks for sharing your feedback.

Debasis, I am sorry but somehow when I hear of sacrifice of mankind for environment, I am reminisces of the phrase ‘ The work will set you free’ that used to be at the gates of Gulags.
Roopak, that’s one thing remarkable in TATR, most of the animals including Guars and Tigers are comfortable in daylight. May be, by choice most of the animals might prefer day. Also, I saw lot many Gaurs in April than in Jan :)
Sakti da; May your words be true, the mother Gaur looks heavier than usual. Both Mother and Calf were a sight to withhold, they slowly went into the shade and for a long time were gently licking each other, showing care for each other .
Rajan, I will keep these things in my mind will try to do best with my compact camera
Sabya sir. The villagers of Tadoba must have been real angel hearted, comparatively. There were 4 tigers in Kawal wildlife sanctuary, when it was declared or about to be declared the Tiger Reserve arond 2010, all 4 tigers disappeared. Looks like they were poisoned :(