Niligiri Tahr - Eravikulam

[Mrudul Godbole]

Photographed in Eravikulam National Park, Munnar in Oct. We were there for photographing the Neelakurinji blossoms. There were lot of people even if it was cloudy and raining intermittently. Luckily after a wait of around 2 hours, the Tahr climbed down the slope of the mountain opposite to us. It stopped here for just a few moments when I managed to click this photograph.

Canon 80D, Canon 100-400 IS USM lens, f6.3, 1/1600, ISO 2000, FL 400mm, hand held, full frame

Comments and critiques welcome

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice sighting. Life stands on the edge! Thanks for sharing. SaktiWild

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Distinctive silvery saddle-patch mark on lower back - a mature male indeed.
tfs
SaktiWild

[Sabyasachi Patra]

It was a tough wait for these Niligiri Tahr. Initially we sighted it faraway and then after more than an hour the Tahr appeared at this place.

A lot has changed in Eravikulam since my last visit. The number of people visiting has exponentially increased and lot of them visiting due to the Neelakurinji blooms. The way the Nilgiri tahr climbed down the steep slope was to be seen. It was fast. By the time I could change my lens, this tahr had just swiftly gone down. I could imagine their speed when a leopard charges at these tahrs.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Prashant Gandhi]

What a beautiful creature it is! I loved it.

[Jerin Dinesh]

Good click ji..it shows the habitat of this animal ..

[V S Sankar]

Nice shot captured.The males are very few in nos and must be very sought after by the females!We had been to Eravikulam very recently but the Tahrs did not turn up!

Regards

V S Sankar

[Murugan Anantharaman]

Nice picture of the Tahr descending the slopes, Mrudul. Its so amazing to see their mountaineering skills that nature has bestowed upon them, even in steepest of slopes they are at home. The rugged terrain and the Tahr with the mountainous background make it a lovely combination showing the habitat and the trekking skills of the animal. The curved horns have also been documented well in this image. Thanks for sharing.