International Tiger Day: Capturing elegance of the big cats

On International Tiger Day, here are some captivating photographs from some of the best wildlife photographers in India—capturing the beauty and the majestic lives of India's tigers

Jul 29, 2021, 12:11 IST4 min

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There are tigers and then there are tigers that hit international headlines. T24 Ustaad was put behind bars for killing four humans, but got the nation together as people were on the streets rallying to his support. Never before has a tiger caused a major uproar in Indian wildlife history.

Image by Shivang Mehta

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Contrary to his name, Zaalim of Ranthambore raised eyebrows when he showcased incredible fatherhood by raising two orphaned cubs to maturity. Along with the commendable efforts of the forest department, this male tiger ensured that his cubs were safe from other intruding tigers. A landmark success story of orphaned tigers that were later relocated to Sariska National Park.

Image by Shivang Mehta

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Inexperience was on public display as 14-month-old Pacman caught a deer in Ranthambore but didn"t know how to kill it. A struggle, which was a turning point in his life as a tiger to become a master hunter later on. The young tiger finally decided to eat the deer alive. Mother Krishna was around but didn"t offer a helping hand to the cub. It was all a part of the training process.

Image by Shivang Mehta

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Aishwarya Sridhar became the first Indian woman to win the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award at the 56th Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition held in London by the Natural History Museum. Maya, the most photographed tigress and the reigning queen of Tadoba national park in Maharashtra, controls five major water bodies in her territory. She"s also a super mom. Being orphaned

Image by Aishwarya Sridhar

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Vijay Bedi & Ajay Bedi (Canon Cinema EOS Ambassadors) are third generation wildlife film makers and photographers, and won the Green Oscar for their film, "The Policing Langur". Their film "Cherub of the Mist" based on the endangered Red Panda won them an Emmy Academy of Television Arts & Sciences nomination.This photo was taken soon after the lockdown ended and I headed back to the fores

Image by Vijay Bedi & Ajay Bedi

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Tigers don"t chase they prowl and then hunt. They hunt at least once a week. Tigers are also night hunters, as their eyesight is six times better than humans.

Image by Vijay Bedi & Ajay Bedi

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Tigers can walk around 20 to 30km of their territory in a day. We found this female on the famous Ranthambore lake.

Image by Vijay Bedi & Ajay Bedi

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Kairav Engineer: VP, business development, Astral Limited, and accomplished wildlife photographerTigers are known to inhabit a variety of habitats, ranging from the snowy woods of Siberia to the dry deciduous forests of Rajasthan. Tigers used to be present from the Caspian Sea to Far East Russia to Indonesia. The sheer adaptability of this big cat led to a large global presence for it bef

Image by Kairav Engineer

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Tigers love water, and are born swimmers. An adult tiger will spend much of its summers near a pool of water, and will take a customary dip to cool off the body heat generated from feeding on raw meat.

Image by Kairav Engineer

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Amit Verma is the chief photographer at Forbes India, and a passionate wildlife photographer.Rarely does one get a chance to see the tiger deep inside its natural surroundings, but elephant safaris have this advantage to take deep into the forests where they spend most of their time. This particular image gave me a chance to capture moments when the tiger was walking on a beautiful rock i

Image by Amit Verma