Five wildlife moments and a milestone

Now in its 45th year, The Veolia Environnement Photographer of the Year Competition is an international showcase for the very best nature photography. The competition is owned by two UK institutions that pride themselves on revealing and championing the diversity of life on Earth - the Natural History Museum and BBC Wildlife Magazine. Being accepted into this competition is something that wildlife photographers, worldwide, aspire to - and we aspired as well. Each year thousands of entries are received and judged by a specially selected expert panel.

We participated in this competition this year, and some of our images made it to the semifinal round. We are absolutely thrilled, as being amateur photographers, this is a significant milestone for us. And, it is only appropriate that we share these images with all our blogger friends.

We sighted this Leopard on what is popularly called the 'Leopard Rock' located in the Nagarhole wildlife sanctuary. He was playing hide and seek with us - one minute he was seen crouching in the grass and the next minute he was gone. We kept waiting for him and just when we had given up hope, we saw him again, right where we wanted to see him - on the 'Leopard Rock', posing magnificently for us. You can read more about this experience in this post.

EXIF - D300, 300mm f2.8 lens with 2x TC, 600mm focal length, f5.6, 1/800 sec, 0EV, ISO800
This image of the Dholes (Indian Wild Dogs) was shot in the Kabini wildlife sanctuary. A pack of eight Dholes, completely oblivious to our presence were at their playful best. There were both adults and cubs in the pack and it was just wonderful to see the softer side of these otherwise ruthless and ferocious hunters. We are yet to write about this particular experience and will be doing so shortly.

EXIF - D300, 300mm f2.8 lens with 2x TC, 600mm focal length, f6.3, 1/2000s, -1.0EV, ISO800
This we would say is one of those images, which literally tugged at our heart strings - a tender moment capturing the bond between an Elephant and its calf. The image speaks for itself - be it human beings or animals, the bond between a mother and child is universal and always celebrated. You can view more images here.

EXIF - D300, 300mm f2.8 lens with 2x TC, 600mm focal length, f5.6, 1/1000s, -0.7EV, ISO640
This image is again part of the same series, where we shared with you one of our dream sightings of spotting a Leopard on the 'Leopard Rock' in the Nagarhole wildlife Sanctuary. Here you see him in his full glory. You can read the complete post here.

EXIF - D300, 300mm f2.8 lens with 2x TC, 600mm focal length, f5.6, 1/800s, 0EV, ISO800
Now this final image is very special to us, as it was part of our very first post on 'Walk the Wilderness'. Yet again a chance encounter with a pack of Dholes. But this time round, an encounter, which showcased to us their hunting prowess and their ruthless nature, wherein they killed and devoured a Chital (Indian spotted deer) in 20 mins. Here we see, the only cub in the pack standing besides the bared to bone carcass of the Chital. A gory sight, nevertheless, those are the ways of nature.

EXIF - D300, 300mm f2.8 lens, 300 focal length, f8, 1/200s, -0.3EV, ISO800