High Drama in the Kanha meadow!

The Dominant male on his Gaur kill!

The Dominant male Tiger of the Kanha meadows made an amazing kill of a big bull Gaur, in the open grassland near Schaller-hide, on the morning of 5th May 2009. This Tiger is an impressive male and not yet in his prime as he is only about 3.5 years old! The drama of the kill is an incredible story, which i could re-construct after speaking to the the elephant mahouts and a senior Park Guide, who was a witness to the event. The Tiger noticed the solitary bull Gaur grazing in some tall grasses next to a nullah and stalked it for less than 2 minutes before leaping on to it's back! He started to bite the Gaur on it's back (the bite marks are clearly visible in the picture above), while simultaneously using his hind-claws to hamstring the hind legs! The Gaur collapsed in no time, throwing the Tiger to the ground. The Tiger immediately attacked it from the rear and started to feed on the hind-quarters, even as the Gaur was alive! The Gaur bellowed it's death-cry but did not die completely for about 2 hours, as the Tiger kept feeding!

When i got to the scene the next morning, by elephant-back, the Tiger had eaten a large portion of the thighs and the rump (the Gaur would have weighed about 600-700 kgs!) and was lying in the grasses nearby. He was not even allowing a Crow on the kill, expending much energy by charging at the Crows each time they were trying to sneak in! What an amazing sight, this supreme predator presented! Just imagine the strength and the skill required to bring down such a big prey like this Gaur bull! Some of my S.African Ranger friends argue with me about the comparative strength and skill of the Tiger and the Lion..this should settle that argument guys! There is no doubt that the Tiger is indeed the most supreme predator on this planet!

This Tiger would now gain so much confidence that he would go after the numerous Gaur bulls one can see feeding in the Kanha meadows. Their solitary nature would be big advantage for him! Just look at those canines! He is indeed one of the most impressive and handsome Tigers i have seen in a long time!