Tiger eating Leopard!!

There are wildlife memories, and there are memorable wildlife memories. Just moments we encounter and count ourselves lucky to have encountered them. This was one such encounter, probably – and hopefully – will remain etched in my memory for the rest of my life.

We were in Ranthambhore national park, a summer morning in Zone-4. While looking for tigers, near Malik Talab (the main lake in Zone-4), in the distance our guide saw a tiger, and shouted “Deer Kill” – and indeed a huge male tiger was busy having his breakfast. But then, we pressed our eyes to the cameras, and took a closer look – only for our breaths to stop in surprise – it was not a deer the tiger was eating, but a leopard!!

The tiger in front of us was the majestic T-120, a dominant male tiger who has devoured a sloth bear, a crocodile, a dog and innumerable animals of prey. Now he was onto a leopard!

Dumbstruct, our fingers worked fast, capturing the unforgettable moments in front of us. After a while, it became apparant that the tiger was not really eating the leopard as lunch, but probably had killed it during the night in a fight or something, and was only tasting it, leopards not being its regular meal.

As the day grew hotter in the hot month of June, the tiger retreated into the shades, and we left the area, leaving a trail of dust and carrying a sighting of a lifetime.