Tales from the Jungle: Harsha Narasimhamurthy the Catman from South shares experience of his memorable shot

Harsha Narasimhamurthy

Capturing a perfect shot is an art in itself, acquired by years of experience, training, strategic planning and a bit of luck.

Certain images are so lively and breath-taking that it catches the viewers' attention immediately and each of these images have a story behind it. Wildlife photographers are always willing to go to extreme lengths waiting for hours to just to get one perfect short and even though risking a lot in this process. Here is one such experience of Harsha Narasimhamurthy in capturing two tiger cubs quenching their thirst.

The W Cubs

In the Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve of Maharashtra, during the months of April itself the temperature can rise up to 43 degrees. Mr. Harsha leads many photography tours where he mentors photographers and wildlife enthusiasts. During one of his tours in April, 2021, he decided to explore the zone of Agarzari in the afternoon.

Since the temperature was so high Mr. Harsha knew that the animals will definitely come out in search of water. After searching various spots for water, the group finally came across a small clutter of bushes in which two tiger cubs were resting. Their mother was nowhere to be found. These two cubs also put up a show as they smelled every tree to find the scent of their mother who had left them close to a village and went for her hunt.

Mr. Harsha was confident that eventually even in the absence of their mother the two cubs of the W female will come to drink water. Out of the two the male cub was bold enough and was leading his sister. The female cub acting a little shy was following and tagging behind her brother. After waiting for almost 2 - 2.5 hours at around 5:30 the cubs finally came close to the water. Mr. Harsha and their group had positioned their vehicle in such a way that they had a straight view of the cubs. Finally, after a long and strenuous effort a magnificent picture was clicked.

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This picture was featured by Discovery and many other channels as it beautifully captures the cubs together. Another beautiful thing about this picture is that even though it is clicked from afar, it looks like the baby tiger is starring directly into your eyes.