When the Tiger goes full vertical...

Wildlife photography is 90% failure and 10% pure luck. We don't direct the scene; we just hope to be there when the curtain rises.

For nearly two decades, I have been chasing a specific moment - a tiger, in full view, standing tall to mark its territory. It's a classic behaviour, the massive cat stretching out to sharpen its claws, rubbing its chin & cheeks and leave its scent high on a tree trunk. But for me, it has always been a ghost. I have seen it happen behind thick bushes. I have seen it from bad angles. I have missed it by seconds.

But Kanha rewards those who wait.

Last week in Kanha, the stars finally aligned. The forest opened up, the light was right, and there he was. No obstructions, no blurred movement; just the raw power of the tiger etching his signature into the forest. Watching him stretch to his full height against that tree, I realised why I kept coming back all these years.

In the language of the jungle, a scratched tree trunk is a billboard. It screams, "I was here, and this is mine!"

To see it so perfectly framed by the Sal forest was a privilege. It is a moment of pure dominance, where the cat stretches to its full vertical height, exposing its belly to the forest while carving its signature into the wood.

No obstructions, no chaotic undergrowth blocking the view - just the tiger and the tree. To finally see the sheer scale of the animal, stretched out and marking his kingdom, was worth the wait.

There is a strange sense of relief when you capture an image you've already taken a thousand times in your mind.

#kanhadiaries #tiger #wildlifephotography #worththewait #junglestories #dkinwild

Follow Durgesh Singh - @dkinwild