It's hot in Ranthambhore

Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, April 2013.

The dominant Male of the Lake area in Ranthambhore, "Star" a.k.a T-28, on a hot sultry afternoon. Waited for him to yawn in order to capture this moment. Although he had been resting there since morning, the sweltering heat seems to be taking it's toll on all the inhabitants. This guy was panting so hard that we were left wondering if he had just completed a half-marathon. It is close to 45 Degrees now in Ranthambhore & all it's denizens are doing their best to beat the heat by resting under shade near to water holes.

Canon 7 D & 100 - 400 mm IS.

Exif : Aperture priority, f/7.1, 1/400, ISO 250, 275 mm, EC+1/3 since the subject was in shade, bean-bag support, full frame. I can't wait to get back there next week. Comments & Critiques please.

Nice yawning pose. I have seen lot of times, when tigers are about to get up, they yawn and then start moving. Good details and sharpness. The composition looks fine. Is there water in the water holes, or the forest department is using tankers? Thanks for sharing.

Thanks a lot Mrudul Ji for your kind comments.

Except for Zone 3 (Lake area) & parts of Zone 5 (Bakaula area), there is acute scarcity of water and many water holes in the tourism zones have dried up almost entirely. All inhabitants seem to be taking refuge in small puddles of water scattered all around the park. The department tankers are periodically filling up waterholes in the core areas though. All the denizens of the park seem to be waiting restlessly for the rains to arrive & bring respite !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mrudul Godbole

Nice yawning pose. I have seen lot of times, when tigers are about to get up, they yawn and then start moving. Good details and sharpness. The composition looks fine. Is there water in the water holes, or the forest department is using tankers? Thanks for sharing.

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Great shot....well timed! Its indeed a terrible time for these big cats in such heat

Thanks a lot Kaustuv for your kind comments !

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kaustuv Chatterjee

Great shot....well timed! Its indeed a terrible time for these big cats in such heat

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Nice image. Good compo and well timed.

TFS
Roopak

Nice to see it yawn. It is good that the tiger's face is not blocked by any vegetation. It would have been even better if you were slightly more to the left and/or the tiger turned slightly towards you. At times the tiger yawns and moves its head. Except people, every animal does a little bit of stretching before getting out of bed and moving for a hunt.

Once in Ranthambhore the water tanker guy didn't allow our gypsy to overtake. So for about 20 mins or so we were following the noisy tanker spewing toxic fumes. The driver was shouting like Delhi drivers in traffic jam, but to no avail. Hate such artificial interventions in filling water. Long term planning is not the forte of our park managers these days. :(