The gaur (Bos gaurus)- male

[Jobymon Cherayil Prakesh]

canon 7d 100-400 iso-800 1/200sec f-7.1

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Lovely composition and majestic pose by this powerful animal. Light seems a bit harsh for the whites are a bit exposed. A lower aperture would have also worked well (blurring the background) in this case.

The direct eye contact and the little Myna between the front legs is a great plus to this brilliant portrait.

thanks for sharing

Rajan

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Huge fellow. Even larger than the true Bison found in America. I wonder why we have never talk about this powerful creature in popular literature they way we do about tigers and elephants.

The directional lighting has brought out its form better and makes us aware about its rippling muscles. The depth of field is fine. The young one in the background, doesn't distract and at the same time gives us an indication about the herd. The gaur in front seems to have engaged in digging.

One needs to be careful while exposing the gaur as its body colour is dark and the white stockings can easily get overexposed. In digital, once the highlights get overexposed we cannot recover the details even by using the recovery slider in post processing. The reason why I normally ask about amount of crop in all most all the images posted (if the poster hasn't mentioned it) is because among other things, the size of the subject in the original frame impacts your metering. Also, unless we exactly know what you are doing during post processing, we will not be able to pinpoint the critique. Which metering mode were you using?

[Murugan Anantharaman]

What a hulk!!! lovely image of the strong bison. The light has played beautifully here enhancing the muscles. Maybe gyms should have an image of the bison instead of overtly muscular humans ...thanks for sharing

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice specimen. Quite tall giving an indication why Gaur is tallest of all living oxen. Not great in length. Horns are lovely - 'semi lunar'. Good image, the Myna adds value.Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

P.S.: Like Elephants, as Shri Sabyasachi has indicated, 'Gaur' deserves almost the same respect as is given to elephants. He will be pleased to know that Shri M. Krishnan, an Authority on Elephants has given the same respect to 'Gaur' and made invaluable studies on this mammal too.

But unless the place and month ( and year) of photograph is mentioned, one feels handicapped to make specific observation on a photograph.

[Debasis Bose]

Lovely extant bovine framed. It is worth noting that if gaur have not been disturbed, they are basically diurnal, especially in Kabini. In other areas like Kanha, they have become largely nocturnal due to forest molestation caused by people in the past and activities at the fringes. Thats the reason in central India, they are most active at night, and are rarely seen in the open after 8 o'clock in the morning. During the dry season, herds congregate and remain in small areas, dispersing into the hills with the arrival of the monsoon. While gaur depend on water for drinking, they do not seem to bathe or wallow, as per archived photographs.