T6 Tigress and Cubs on a Cordinated Gaur hunt

This video was shot using my Iphone 6s Plus. Cinematographer-Pankaj Thawakar.

© Ramachandra Urs H.S.

One late afternoon, two of the most audacious cubs of T6 and JAI, Bittu and Srinivasa were on a hunting trail. In the meantime, we, after watching the Guar herd for a while decided to try our luck further up the road. The decision was a right one as within few minutes we encountered Bittu, who was walking down the road head on. He seems to be communicating with his brother Srinivasa, who had already gone inside the forest to our left. Initially we had no clue what was happening. It seems that their mother T6 had let them loose so that they could learn on their hunting skills. These cubs are about 16 months old and both are males.

As you can see, we started recording when Bittu got the scent of the Gaur herd and he kept looking towards them.

It was amazing to see how the cub's instinct kicked in. While we positioned ourselves, the cubs started move in on the herd.

The Guar herd consisted of about 5 adults and 2 young ones. They were very nervous as they had picked up the scent of the Tigers which had them cornered off. Guar is the largest Bovine in the world. They are very formidable beast who can even kill an adult tiger or its cubs easily. These 2 cubs were no match to the herd as they were quite inexperienced. In fact on sensing the danger, the whole herd surrounded the young calves and posed an impenetrable barrier. They were not an easy proposition for the Tiger cubs. As you can see from the video, Gaurs started giving out loud grunts. They only do if they sense any sort of danger. This their way of alerting the herd and warn off the predators. This was something new for me and my mates in the gypsy. After all you don't get to see this interaction very often. For me it was once in a lifetime experience.

We in the meantime were very engrossed watching the whole hunting sequence and totally forgot to look behind us for any other signs of the mother Tigress. While we stood watch to the whole sequence of events, one of the vehicles decided to leave and they happen to spot the T6 tigress watching over her cubs progress and the whole commotion.

There were about 7 to 8 vehicles and all their attention diverted towards T6 tigress. since she was spotted, she decided to move on and cross the road to block the only exit for the Gaur herd. By this time, the Guar herd was totally surrounded and had no way to go.

The whole event lasted for more then 30mins. Unfortunately it was getting darker every minute it passed by. We decided to leave soon after this video. Not sure if the kill was made or not. Nevertheless it was a sight to behold for the rest of my life. Amazing experience indeed.

I would like to thank my team, especially Pankaj. He made a huge difference recording this video.

This video is shot in 4K. So please make best use of it if you have sufficient bandwidth.

Видео T6 Tigress and Cubs on a Cordinated Gaur hunt канала objurgatus07