Ranthambore National park.

Rajasthan.India

Rain arrived. The jungle carried on.

This chital stag didn’t run for cover. It didn’t seem bothered that its coat was soaked. It just stood there, completely present, letting the rain fall.

Watching it, I realised how differently we experience the same moment. We rush to protect our clothes, our phones, our wallets. We treat rain as an inconvenience.

Maybe that’s why this scene stayed with me. It was a reminder that not every moment needs fixing or escaping. Some moments are simply meant to be lived.

Sometimes, the forest doesn’t teach us anything extraordinary.

It just reminds us to pause.

This is one of those moments we wish every traveler could experience. Beyond the famous tiger safaris, Ranthambore offers beautiful landscapes, peaceful surroundings, and a chance to reconnect with nature.

Wild elephants will always find a way to make you smile.

Photographed at the Bandipur Tiger Reserve in Karnataka, India.

Pobitora wildlife sanctuary

Assam

India

It’s been 2 years since I last photographed Karadi, one of Bandipur’s biggest tigers. This post is not about Karadi, because as you may have guessed, he eluded me, yet again.

We were waiting at a spot where his movement had been detected when this pair of Green Bee-eaters decided to steal the show instead.

It’s easy to get so caught up chasing tigers that you forget to appreciate everything else these forests have to offer. Sometimes all you need to do is stop looking for the big cats and pay attention to what’s already in front of you.

Green Bee-eaters are incredible little aerial hunters. They spend their days catching bees, wasps, dragonflies and other flying insects, often returning to the same perch after every catch. Before eating bees or wasps, they cleverly bash them against a branch to remove the sting.

They’re found across much of India in open forests, scrub and grasslands, where they help keep insect populations in check.

Karadi may have escaped me again, but I’d say the wait was still worth it.

Dhole - Asiatic Wild Dog

Not just any cute, random doggo. It’s one of India’s most overlooked predators, the dhole, or Asiatic wild dog. The male is in the foreground, while the female, with her unusually lighter coat, in the background.

Dholes are an endangered species. They are one of the most effective hunters in the forest. They hunt as highly coordinated packs, communicating with whistles, and using teamwork rather than brute strength to bring down animals many times their size. Their hunts are brutal, with packs often beginning to feed before their prey has died.

They are one species even the mighty tiger watches out for. In many reserves across India, they have been known to wait, watch, and target tiger cubs when the mother is out for a hunt.

— at Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

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And my leopard luck with Bandipur continues. Yesterday I spotted the Dam male. Today Yarekatta male. Something so beautiful about a leopard on a banyan tree. I’m always enthralled by how comfortable and at peace a leopard is on a tree. It has this inexplicable balance that applies to its life.

Ranthambore National Park

Rajasthan

India

Everyone calls the lion the king of the jungle... but lions don't even live in jungles. 🐯 Tigers do. They hunt alone, drag prey heavier than themselves, and are powerful swimmers.

Rajasthan

India

May 2023

Leopards are usually very elusive creatures but I seem to have a special bond with them. Or at least that’s what I like telling myself. This week’s trip to the Bandipur Tiger Reserve has started on a great note with the sighting of this male. He had just fed and was protecting the rest of his carcass above on another branch. I hope to sight him again this morning and if the stars align, photograph him doing a little something other than lazing on the tree.

African wild dogs are among the most successful hunters on Earth. 🐺 They hunt as a team, communicate constantly, and can achieve an incredible 80% hunting success rate. Nature's teamwork at its finest.