We love photographing wild Elephants and are really fortunate that they are found in good numbers in the South Indian Sanctuaries of Bandipur, Mudumalai, Kabini, Nagarhole and BR Hills. We have done quite a few posts on elephants and you can see them here:
(a) Photographing a wild Elephant at about 5 feet,(b) Observe Elephants in a playful mood,(c) Charged by an Elephant,(d) Witness a show of strength by numbers.
During one of our recent Jeep Safaris into the Bandipur Wildlife Sanctuary, we got to see this lone Tusker (Male Asiatic Elephant). Tuskers are known for their destructive strength, low tolerance and long tusks. We spent about 30 minutes with this massive mammal and got a chance to observe and photograph its behavior.
All images are taken with the D80 with the 18-200mm VR lens. In this image, the Tusker is reaching out and plucking Tamarind pods from a Tamarind tree.
Here you see him emerging from the Lantana, giving us a view of his massive frame.
In this image, he is trying to get his share of nutrients at a salt lick.
While we were watching him, another Jeep came into the scene, which disturbed the Tusker resulting in a mock charge by him.
And here he is, in his full glory!
And finally in this image, you can see how a huge Tusker can just disappear into the Lantana.
65 comments:
The last picture And I thought the word - privacy.
Very nice photos. I am happy he is still able to be out on his own and is not in a pen or cage.
Thomas: Those are such a wonderful animal, as expected you captured them beautifully.
Pinto sir introduced me to your blog and I have been following the brilliant photos on your blog ever since.. great photos
dont think I have ever seen asian elephants with such big tusks. but to me they have very strange bulbous foreheads.
if you ever make it to kruger national park in south africa, you have to go to Letaba Camp (about half way up the park) - they have an elephant museum there with the tusks of the "magnificent tuskers" of Kruger. some of the tusks are well over 2m long as fat as a human's head. it truly is a magnificent spectacle. all (?) of the tusks/skull also have photos of the elephants taken while they were still alive and well in the park.
many years ago, I got to see one of the (now passed away) new tusker generation of kruger - he had to strain to keep his head up so that his tusks did not dig in to the ground.
lovely photos as always, THomas!
Dale
http://alpinebirds.blogspot.com
Magnificent creatures, which we have harmed so much..
I am thrilled to know that you are hosting the next IATB!
Arguably my favourite animal. Fantastic shots.
I haven't blogged in several weeks, and this post makes me know I'm crazy to miss out! Amazing, as usual!
Man, the sheer power. I think I would be a tad nervous. Wonderful shots.
wow...a bit scary...but a very beautiful animal.
The photos are very good an i almost smell his breath;-)
Hi thomas,
A gorgeous set of shots again. Fantastic. I love the second one which is my favorite! This portrait is splendid. Well done once again!
Very beautiful. I like very much the last.
Un saludo.
Beautiful, such a massive animal and you have captured is very nice. Well done
amazing shots! must have been a really great shooting experience!
Thomas, your photos are awesome, as usual. It's lovely to see the elephants in their natural habitat. Thank you for sharing your photos.
Thomas,
You make miracles with your camera. Fabulous work on this series. The first image evokes imagery of elephants in ancient art!
Wonderful series! Your photos are always great to see. I'm continually amazed at how quickly animals can disappear into nature when they choose to.
that is one huge pachyderm.. :) nice captures.. :)
Very nice photos. Are you ever frightened? He is something to be very aware of. You are very brave, I think. I would love to see all the animals you photograph but perhaps from a hot air baloon--out of reach.
I continue to be fascinated by the similarities and differences between 'your' animals and 'our' animals.
Great photographs. . . . as I've come to expect when I visit your blog
your post is goading me to start blogging abt Kabini trip..saw quite a few elephants out there
Great photos today that really is an impressive beast.
huge photos. what else to say? well done
Beautiful and lovely shots !! Nice post..Unseen Rajasthan
majestic animals, I love them. As I am always commenting: Pretty nice shots
Lovely shots! Somehow i am very scared of these huge animals.
Great that you could capture so many wonderful pictures of these majestic beasts.
Had it been me in front of one of these, I can only imagine my horror.. :D
Your stories always amaze me! Watch this elephant live really give me the jitters. It seems that Jeep offers little protection. The picture of an elephant eating the branches remains my favorite. Bonne semaine.
A great serie of pictures.
I love the first overall.
Bye
With your photographs you captured several very different facets of this tusker’s character. The pictures are technically perfect and really fascinating.
Thomas,
I can't imagine going into a sanctuary where one can photograph all things in their wild habitat, being charged and just sitting and waiting for what appears..this must be quite a thrill and you've photographed some amazing creatures!
Your elephant photos are very nice and I love that last one..hard to hide if you're an elephant!!!
It is wonderful to see animals in their natural habitat. So few of us have the possibility to see these big ones in real life, all we have is the zoo, - and your photos!
Thanks for sharing!!
wonderful shots! elephants are just marvelous animals. what an honor to be in their presence.
Great action series, and I found the last image to be quite menacing, the elephant's gaze is confronting to me!
wow, great shots!
In the first shot the elephant looks like a statue, great work my friend.
Spending half an hour in the presence of a rogue elephant is really courageous. Hats off to you two. Photographs are as usual, amazing. :)
Bindhu & Unny
Magnifico animal, hay que protegerlos.
Saludos!
I love the extra two horns from the elephant, nice way to view them differently from other elephants. =]
Beautiful pictures, love the last one.
Back again to thank you for the visit and comment about the new template. I just took one and modified it to suit my needs. I did it on another one of mine that was 3 columns. I used the third column to increase the width of the main column and it worked out very nice for me.
Fantastic work. This bull is massive, extremely impressive. good work.
What I am most delighted to see, Thomas, is that he still has his tusks!!! You are so lucky to be able to photograph this monstrosity in the wild.
Absolutely amazing shots of this powerful and mighty animal, yet so beautiful too. Excellent images with stunning sharpness and clarity.
Wonderful natural photos of the wild Elephant. I like to see him just melting into the Lantana - amazing for such a huge fellow.
That was amazingly very close with this gigantic wild animal.
Madre mia, impresionante animal no me gustaria estar frente suyo cuando este con la trompa en alto.
Buenas texturas, saludos.
This first one is a beautiful instance!!
I like them all!
The first thing I noticed was the great color in these photos. I like the last one where he appears to be hiding behind a tree.
A gorgeous set of shots again, Thomas.
Congrats. :)
Great set. These animals are really huge ... everything is huge by them.
I think your 300mm lens was completely useless on this trip ;)
Wonderful animal, a great series as usual!
What a wonderful trip indeed Thomas. I always love to see your posts, really amazing!
Did you notice? I don't think you didn't! The elephant's tail is cut!
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Your pictures are so wonderful and majestuous! Well done.
Majestic!
Ohhh, great shots !!!!
Great captures of the elephant, love them all!
A superb serie of this imposing elefant - love every picture of this guy. Great shot as always, Thomas.
WOW! They are all great but I really love the first one!! Amazing!
Thomas did I ever tell you that elephants are my favorite animal, I even have collection of small figurines, lol, all with trunks up for good luck. Amazing photo gallery, love the hiding one. Anna :)
Incredible portraits, truly.
excellent shots, yet again
Great pictures - I'm simply amazed by your images. Since you seem to be a regular user of the Teleconverter, there is something for which I need your help - I've read that TeleConverters work well only with high-end lenses (for e.g. Luxury lenses or 'L' series of Canon Lenses). I also understand that a 2x TC would reduce the effective apperture by 2 stops. My question is, would a 2x TC work with my Canon 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS lens or would the loss in apperture be so bad that the effective gain in zoom would hardly be usable?
I enjoyed seeing these, he is wonderful.
Wonderful and so lovely :)))
ITs been awhile since I have viwsited yoru blog aplogies! Man have I been missing out great work!
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