Gaur

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

We were vacationing in a friends plantation bungalow at Valparai in December and on a morning walk. Taking a blind turn, we came face to face with this massive bull, one of the biggest i've seen. I am 6.1 feet and this seemed almost my height . . . especially with those massive horns

There was hardly 10 feet and a few tea shrubs between us. All of us (Daughter, Wife, our friends, Myself and even the bull) froze. The air was tense, while the women and kids backed off. The golden glow of the back light was too tempting for me not to get a few shots, before backing off too . . .

400D, Kit Lens, 1/400, F 8, ISO 800

I know the ISO was too high, and hence the hump burnt out and the noise, but there was no way i was taking my eyes off the beast to fiddle with the settings, for the distance between us was too close for comfort . . .

regards
Rajan

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Oops, my apologies, this has gone into the birds section. Mods, can you pls move it to the mammals . . . sorry again . . . .

Rajan

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice close-up.Massive Gaur.A big gaur bull may stand over 6-ft. high to the top of the dorsal ridge and weigh almost 1 ton.Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Roopak Gangadharan]

Thats close in every sense. like the way the backlight has highlighted the flies. wud been super if the hump was not over exposed. I had a similar experience in Tholpetty once but had a forest guard with a gun with me frankly i dont think it wud been of any use though.

TFS
Roopak

[Mrudul Godbole]

That is close. The light on the hump looks nice. I liked the composition. Nicely captured. Thanks for sharing.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Rajan,
I like the overall lighting. This gaur is well built. I remember one of my ex-colleagues from Finland was amazed when he saw a guar in kabini. The sight of a well built adult gaur is amazing. Though there is some bright highlights, the overall image gives a nice feeling. Thanks for sharing.

Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Murugan Anantharaman]

I was taking a walk and I bumped into a gaur... wow wish I could say that :) Lucky that this guy didnt feel threatened, though I dont think I can say the same for you :D. Very nice image Rajanji. The aura in its hump and back looks very nice. Thanks for sharing.

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Oh Absolutely Murugan Saab, i was more worried about the women and children (we were almost 14 of us) and once they had move away, I worked up some courage to get a few shots at a very close range, before moving away . . .

Actually, at the same time, the bull decided to turn away too, and it ran away amidst the tea bushes where there was another one. . . here is the snap of the same . . .

regards
Rajan