Not sure exactly what this female bengal tiger had her eye on when she was licking her chops. Probably just swatting a fly from her nose. Whatever it was, it was nice of her to sit still for a few portrait shots. Bandhavgarh National Park in Central India.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/200th of a second

This was the first glimpse that I had of a wild tiger while in India last year. I was pretty far away and kept hoping for a clearing in the trees to get a decent shot. This was it. The tiger would eventually make its way out of the trees and into the open but I kind of liked the way that it was framed by the characteristic Bandhavgarh National Park environment.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/400th of a second (-1/3 stop ev)

I usually like to post photos that either show an animal’s behavior or its habitat. With a creature as magnificent as a tiger, however, a simple head shot seems good enough. Of all the wild beasts I’ve seen around the world — gorillas in Uganda, jaguars in Brazil, polar bears in northern Canada — the tigers I saw in central India were the most spectacular and finest looking specimens of all. This lovely lady was resting in the dry grass of Bandhavgarh National Park, casually observing me and the rest of her mesmerized admirers.

These are the Hanuman langurs that I saw all over the place in the national parks of India. It seemed that every adult female was with a baby. In fact, they practice what is known as alloparenting — which means that a baby can be given to, and raised, by a non-biological mother.

Not a good shot technically, but this was the best I could do with the jungle cats of India. These elusive felines aren’t much bigger than a house cat. In fact, as you can see, they look very similar to the average domestic cat. This one was in Kanha National Park in Madhya, Pradesh in central India.

At first a tiger’s stripes might seem a bit showy, but they actually provide nice camouflage…

During the long dry season, the sun casts shadows that are very similar to the striped patterns on the tiger’s fur…

And bamboo leaves and other foliage also mimic the stripes and coloring and enable tigers to sneak up on their prey.

This was the first glimpse I had of a tiger in the wild — it’s the same large male that I posted two photos of a few weeks ago. It’s rare to actually see tigers out in the open, which is why I liked the way that this guy was framed by all the natural foliage.

This was a tiny little langur baby about the size of a squirrel. He kept straying away from his mom, investigating every inch of the new world he was recently brought into. I was in Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, India.

Langur monkeys and chital (spotted deer) are often found hanging out together in the national parks of India. They share a mutually beneficial relationship — the tree-dwelling langurs provide lookout services from on high, while the deer use their fine tuned senses on the ground. They are both well aware of the other’s warning calls, and together they stand a better chance against a sneak attack from a tiger.

As the name suggests, bee eaters like to eat bees. They tend to sit on familiar perches for a while, then dart off to attempt mid-air grabs — usually of bees, but also wasps and flying ants. They won’t eat the bee at first, but will smash it against the perch to remove any stingers. These bee eaters were photographed in Bandhavgarh National Park in India.