Enter the world of Majesty, pride and elegance- The Asiatic Lion

Everyone has their own meaning of majesty, pride and elegance. For me, one of the definitions is the Asiatic Lion. The last surviving population of the Asiatic Lion is in the dry deciduous forest in the south western part of the Saurashtran region of Gujarat. Usually the terrain is very dry and brown. But due to the delayed monsoon this year, it was like Sasan Gir was a new bride wearing a beautiful green veil. It gave us some splendid photographic opportunities.

I am watching you

Mother is the world

Lions are nocturnal animals. It is really early for these sub adult cubs to function. The roar says it all.

This was my third trip with Vipul Sir and just like the other trips, Wild Ark did not seize to amaze me this time too. Probably this was one of the best trips so far, just because of the simple reason- I have been obsessed with mammals since my grandfather introduced me to the world of wildlife photography in class 3. But something was different this time. It was not just about photographing lions. It was about studying light, capturing beautiful moments and of course an enriching experience. The post processing sessions, discussions regarding our photographs (our hits and misses on that very day) enhanced our photographs to the next level.

Silhouette shot of a Sambar Deer crossing the road

When I was introduced to the world of wildlife photography at a very tender age, all I thought I liked was just mammals. So it was pretty natural to be biased towards them. But, I am so glad that I decided to take sir's opinion and started loving all kinds of wildlife, forgetting that bias. Of course everyone wanted to photograph the lion. But I was interested in seeing anything and everything. That is what made it so much more exciting.

We saw lions in five safaris out of six. But the sixth one did not go to waste. In fact it was the icing on the cake- a beautiful leopard decided to surprise us. Leopards in Gir are very shy and super special. Even though it was not photographable, the whole experience was amazing.

That is why he is the King of the jungle!

Just look at the pride and elegance with which he is walking. This is why we call him the king of the jungle. I learnt a lot about lighting and techniques of wildlife photography which have added on to my skill library as a Visual Communication designer. As they say practice makes perfect. Well perfect or not, it was certainly fun and exploratory. I get inspired after every trip with Wild Ark. This time it was more than ever.