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 at an early age, she relised the importance of inculcating self-reliance in her young ones. Training her cubs earned her the reputation of a tigress who has defied her wild genetics.I have been fortunate to witness two such training lessons in Tadoba. The first one was a scene that I will never forget, and surprisingly, both happened during a week of my stay at Tadoba. Her strategic techniques of false mating have not only helped her survive but also helped her protect her cubs from rival males too many times. I have never had a trip to Tadoba and not seen Maya. It is as though she senses my love for her and ensures we meet every time I visit.Image by Aishwarya Sridhar
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 forest after a break of one year. Riddhi and Siddhi are sisters but now they are grownup and are vying for their own territory. Whoever wins, will keep the territory, an ideal habitat for future cubs. Something seemed to have changed in the world when I went back to the forest. From the age of the Anthropocene, we seemed to have moved as it is being said now to the Age of the "Anthropause". The animals in the forest seemed more relaxed, there were very few tourists those days as i moved around, trying to get these pictures. On a lighter note, the two tigers seemed to be giving each other a fist-bump that seems to have become a reality of our socially-distanced world.Image by Vijay Bedi & Ajay Bedi
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
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
