Gaur closeup

[Sabyasachi Patra]

This image is from Valparai from my archives.
A gaur (Bos Gaurus) munching tea leaves in the tea gardens in Valparai, Tamil Nadu, India. Tea leaves are not eaten by any animal, however recently it has been observed that Gaurs have started eating tea leaves. I moved stealthily on foot hiding behind tea bushes and could go a few feet close to the Gaur. Finally it noticed me and looked at me to gauge the threat level. Gaur like this adult male gaur can weigh upto 2200 pounds and are the largest cattle in the world. They are known to attack people when alarmed and can cause grievous injury. This was a close approach and one shouldn't do it unless you know animal behaviour. I had tons of leach bites while trying to create an intimate frame of a gaur which was grazing inside the tea estate.

I wanted to have some motion to indicate that the gaur is eating the leaves. However, it was becoming difficult to get acceptable sharpness with a hint of movement. In this shot, I was fine.

Canon EOS 50D, Canon EF 300mm F4L IS USM, full frame image.
Canon 300mm f4, ISO 800, f8, 1/160, full frame image.