Mating!

[Praveen Siddannavar]

Shot the Sambar Mating sequence recently at Ranthambore, a lake that is common for both Zones 3 and 4. There were over 50 sambars in the water, along with few crocodiles. By the time we reached the fight between 2 male sambars was over and the winner took charge.

We were actually waiting with the hope that the lady of the lake "Machli" will make appearance, but she never turned up. I believe Machli the Tigress is 15 years old now and her territory is zone 4. She has already won the life time achievement award by RTDC.

Camera Model Canon EOS 40D, 100-400mm
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/800
Av( Aperture Value ) 8
ISO 250
Focal length 275mm
Hand held

[Mrudul Godbole]

You were lucky to witness and photograph some rare natural history moments. It is good that they were parallel to you. The splash in the water adds to the interest. Wish the two sambars at the right corner were not present. It is quite difficult to photograph when there is a big herd. The B/W composition is nice. Thanks for sharing.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Praveen,
Good to see a natural history moment. I wish the sambars on the right were not there. However, without their heads, they don't distract much. The patterns in the water has come out well. Could you watch the entire series. If so, you can post the time taken etc.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Bibhav Behera]

A nice moment captured here. I would have liked the image better had the 1/2+1/2 sambars :) not been in the frame. That would have focussed more attention on the couple in love. The pose is nice. I'm not sure but I feel that there is a slight tilt in the image, could be wrong though as the water patterns can fool one into thinking so. The details in the shadows are nice, but I might consider boosting the contrast a wee bit more. The male has antlers which I would consider slightly less than 'masculine'. Were there any other contenders nearby? Did you see a fight for the mate?
Nice Behaviour captured. Thanks for sharing.

[Praveen Siddannavar]

The mating went on for ~4 minutes, later the couple got disturbed by a large male else would have continued for few more minutes. Once it was disturbed we left the place and continued our search for tigers:001_smile:

[Lakshminarayanan Nataraja]

Praveen,

This indeed is a rare capture.

Dr. Schaller writes that the mating season of Sambar in North India is usually between September till January when they are in velvet.

To witness mating during peak of summer is peculiar.

A good record photograph. In your file photo, please inscribe the date on which this was shot...

TFS

Lakshminarayanan

[Praveen Siddannavar]

Thanks Lakshminarayanan for the info. The Sambar mating was shot on 16th March'10 @ 3:10pm. You will also be surprised to know that during my stay recently at Ranthambore from 14th to 18th March'10, we heard Rattling calls quite frequently infact in all the safari rides. Shortly I am posting some images of Stag fight for the mate, i shot these images on 15th March'10 @ 8:25am.

[Atul Dhamankar]

Good behavioral image captued.