Gaur snorting

[Sabyasachi Patra]

We don't see this too often. Most of the times when you reach close to a herd of gaur, they move away. This Gaur (Bos gaurus) approached our vehicle menacingly. From its swaying tail and pose, I knew it would come close but because of the size of the vehicle it will stop close by. I was using a wide angle to capture it. When I saw it snorting, I immediately picked up my backup Mark II with the 300mm and captured this. They blow air through their nostrils. I wish I had filmed it and recorded the sound. You can only do one thing at a time. :-(

Canon EOS 1D Mark II, Canon EF 300mm F4 L IS USM, ISO 200, f4, 1/50, EV:+1/3, full frame image.

Look forward to your comments and critiques.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[V S Sankar]

Very good image of an animal in action.Come out sharp as well.Did you use continuous shooting mode or single shot?

Regards

[Bibhav Behera]

Nice image Sabyasachi. The shallow DOF looks good here. The mucous on the fur adds to the flare. Thanks for sharing.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Sankar,
My cameras are always set for high speed. Never on single shot. Even when I am clicking a portrait handheld, I will fire two frames. That is because, we all move a little bit and hence AI Servo for AF tracking and high speed. However, I can count on my finger tips the number of times I have used the full power ie. 8.5 frames per second of the 1D Mark II or 10 frames per second of the Mark IV. I click 3-4 shots and again click when the head of the animal is properly aligned.

In this case, I knew the snorting will be for a brief moment and after that the gaur will turn its head. So fired about 4 shots.

AJT Johnsingh mentions in his book Field Days:

"We did not see tahr that morning, but almost walked into a small group of gaur. We were just five meters from them, when the gaur snorted and ran from us.

This is the normal behaviour of this magnificent bovine, but at times, it can lead to near fatal or fatal encounters. RC Morris, who has written extensively about the gaur of the Biligirirangan hills at the southern end of the Eastern Ghats, reports that gaur, particularly a bull that has been harassed by a predator like a tiger, can be unpredictable and dangerous if a person carelessly approaches it on foot. The near-fatal encounter ERC Davidar, a leading naturalist from South India, had with a bull gaur in 1988 near Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary is worth mentioning. Davidar narrates this blood-chilling incident in his book Cheetal Walk. He had left home to investigate a fight that seemed to involve two large animals - possibly a tiger and sloth bears - when a bull gaur, perhaps alarmed by the contestants, attacked him. Badly mutilated, he crawled to a road bank where he was later picked up and taken to a hospital".

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Nice image Sabyasachi. The mucous on the fur adds to the flare.

Bibhav,
It is not on the fur. It is in the air. That is what I was aiming to capture. When it snorts that is blows air through the nostrils, it comes out.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Bibhav Behera]

Ohh. I thought so initially, but then thought it wouldn't be this sharp at 1/50. :)
Adds to the flare even more now :)

[Mrudul Godbole]

You have captured the behaviour nicely. The shallow depth of field rightly focuses on the nose. The water droplets enhances the action even more. The details are nice, you can even see the hair standing. These small behaviour patterns are mostly ignored. Thanks for sharing.

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Lovely. Nice use of shallow DOF. Thanks for sharing.

[V S Sankar]

Thanks for all the information Sabya.The story of Gaur at Mudumalai is frightening.I shot a Gaur in the Same Mudumalai in April this year and alive to tell the story!

I dont know whether it snorted at that time?!I was busy getting a good photograph.....

Regards