![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01626311-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624118-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624115-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\nA Fresh Perspective<\/h3>\n
Then, in January 2018, engineer and\u00a0award winning nature photographer\u00a0Yashpal Rathore of Bangalore embarked\u00a0on a project with Kanha Park management,\u00a0using modified DSLR cameras to\u00a0capture more detailed images of the\u00a0tiger population.\u00a0Rathore\u2019s mission was to document the\u00a0lesser-seen behaviour of these\u00a0magnificent felines without sacrificing\u00a0the quality of the photographs. In\u00a0particular, he wanted the images to\u00a0show the tigers\u2019 habitat. Camera trapping\u00a0took place from winter 2018 and\u00a0continued all through the summer, capturing\u00a0the changing habitat of the tigers.\u00a0The weather, and a host of troublesome\u00a0animal species, conspired to destroy\u00a0equipment or sabotage images. One\u00a0incident involved hornets making their\u00a0nest in a camera housing, resulting in\u00a0the lens being obstructed and several\u00a0images of tiger cubs at play being lost.\u00a0On another occasion, a sloth bear pulled\u00a0down the complete camera housing,\u00a0resulting in a destroyed camera.\u00a0Fortunately, the setbacks suffered were\u00a0more than made up for by the\u00a0successful images, each one a previously unseen depiction of the lives of Kanha\u2019s\u00a0tigers. Patrolling routines of the males,\u00a0behaviour of sub adult tigers on a large herbivore kill, and interactions between siblings all shed significant light on this enigmatic apex predator of the Indian jungles.<\/p>\n
![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624156-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624155-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\nChallenges of Raising a Family<\/h3>\n
At the beginning of the project the focus was on the territory of a tigress named T-27, who had four cubs aged 3-4 months. The cubs were very shy and she kept them\u00a0in mountainous terrain, where\u00a0access was not easy. With summer approaching and water sources in\u00a0the highlands drying up, the family\u00a0moved to lower ground and spent most of their time in the forest, close\u00a0to a large pond, which holds water\u00a0throughout the summer months. A\u00a0rogue male was also present in the\u00a0area, and during this time the cubs\u00a0disappeared and were not seen for\u00a02 weeks. A massive search operation\u00a0was carried out by the forest department,\u00a0who discovered the carcass of\u00a0one of the cubs in a half-eaten state.\u00a0Infanticide by incoming males is a\u00a0common cause of mortality in young\u00a0cubs – by killing offspring, the new\u00a0male can induce the resident female\u00a0into mating again. But it wasn\u2019t all\u00a0bad news. Rathore\u2019s camera traps\u00a0revealed that the remaining three\u00a0cubs were alive and well, and it\u00a0wasn\u2019t long before their father – the\u00a0dominant male T29 – began paying\u00a0more regular visits to the family, forcing\u00a0the rogue male to move away.\u00a0In the coming months, Rathore was\u00a0able to document the cubs as they\u00a0continued to grow and thrive, under\u00a0the watchful care of their mother.<\/p>\n
![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624123-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624122-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\nPlaying with your food<\/h3>\n
During the winter months, T27 would patrol a very large area, leaving her cubs behind for 3-4 days at a time. Whenever she made a kill, she would drag the carcass into the bushes or a dry streambed and then bring her cubs to feed on it. By closely monitoring this behavior, Rathore and his team were able to document the whole family feeding on Sambar deer kill, and the moment when the dominant cub climbed on top of it, trying to claim the meal for itself.<\/p>\n
![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624110-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624112-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624113-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\nBelow: Tigress T27 patrols her territory at night, passing in front of the forest guard\u2019s house on the park boundary. The\u00a0house has no electricity, so Rathore had to light it – along with the forest track – to reveal how the park\u2019s tigers – and\u00a0their human protectors – share the same space.<\/em><\/p>\n As summer was approaching,\u00a0Rathore and the team got the news\u00a0of another Tigress, T-31, giving\u00a0birth to a litter of 3 cubs. The cubs\u00a0were kept in the hollow of a fallen\u00a0tree and rarely came out of\u00a0hiding. Although T-31 moved them\u00a0frequently from one den to another,\u00a0she lost two of the cubs before they\u00a0were two months old. They were\u00a0probably killed by a young male\u00a0(MV2) recently separated from his own mother T-33, and looking to establish his own territory.<\/p>\n Beja Pani, a natural underground\u00a0water source, forms a small pool\u00a0no bigger than a couple of bath\u00a0tubs. Water is a highly sought-after\u00a0commodity in Kanha\u2019s mountainous\u00a0regions, especially during the\u00a0dry season. Falling at the boundary\u00a0between the territories of two\u00a0competing tigresses, Beja Pani is a\u00a0popular hangout. During peak summer,\u00a0the usually solitary tigers are\u00a0forced to share a vital source of life,\u00a0allowing Rathore to capture some\u00a0rare interactions.\u00a0Apart\u00a0from when they\u2019re mating, tigers\u00a0rarely come within such close proximity\u00a0of each other. The ponds, water holes and small lakes in Kanha are vital support systems, making the park habitable not just for tigers but for all the resident species, including gaur, chital and sambar deer.<\/p>\n Another tigress that Rathore photographed was T-33 (below left<\/em>), one of Kanha\u2019s oldest tigeresses and has raised multiple litters. She had successfully raised three cubs, two male and one female, which were on the verge of separating from her and establishing their own territory. One of the males (MV1 – below right<\/em>) was reported with an injury and was seen limping for a few days. The team used the camera traps to monitor his health. Despite struggling for a few weeks he recovered well, and over the course of the next few months, he was able to establish a small territory along a seasonal river, on the periphery of the core area. Initially, this male was uncomfortable with the camera trap, and on a couple of occasions he knocked it down and dragged it many meters. In a surprising U-turn, he later became fond of his reflection in the lens, and made a habit of sitting next to the camera when relaxing near a kill.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the female of the litter, MV3, was looking to establish her territory near to her mother. Initially, during the winter months, this arrangement worked well, but as summer approached, and water became scarcer, the dynamic changed. By then, T-33 had given birth to new cubs, and she was not comfortable with her daughter encroaching upon her territory, as revealed by a confrontation Rathore\u2019s camera recorded.<\/p>\n For the full gallery of images\u00a0click here<\/a>, or view the\u00a0pdf<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr Sanjay Shukla\u2019s love for tigers\u00a0began when he visited Bandhavgarh\u00a0Tiger Reserve in 1997. He has since\u00a0worked in Kheoni Wildlife Sanctuary,\u00a0Pench Tiger Reserve and Kanha Tiger Reserve and is currently the\u00a0Additional Principal Chief\u00a0Conservator of Forests. He is a true\u00a0wildlife lover and avid photographer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yashpal Rathore is naturalist and professional wildlife photographer. Using his engineering background, he has developed remote camera devices a DSLR-based camera trap systems, which can be used to capture natural behaviour of wildlife species without the disturbance of human presence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A peek into the secret lives of tigers in one of India\u2019s largest – and oldest – National Parks. Kanha Tiger Reserve in central India\u00a0is one of India\u2019s prime tiger habitats,\u00a0located on the northern slopes of the\u00a0Maikal hills in the Satpura highlands.\u00a0With its dense foliage, woodlands and\u00a0grassy plains, Kanha supports a wide\u00a0range of species, including…<\/p>\n![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624150-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\nA Tough Upbringing<\/h3>\n
![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624141.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624146.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624144.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624145.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>Beja Pani<\/h3>\n
![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624154-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624157-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Spotted](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624101-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Spotted")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Gau](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624161-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Gau")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Sambar](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624160-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Sambar")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624099-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\nT-33<\/h3>\n
![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624106-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624104-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n![\"Bengal](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/01624116-360x240.jpg\" "\\"Bengal")
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Dr-Shukla-square-300x300.jpg\")
Words by Dr Sanjay Shukla<\/h3>\n<\/h3>\n
<\/h3>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Yashpal-Rathore-300x304.jpg\")
Photographs by Yashpal Rathore<\/h3>\n