Photo and input from the profile Wildlife Photographer Sudhir Shivram
If you are a wildlife enthusiast and visit its natural habitat regularly, you would have witnessed different activities and behaviours of the tiger.
It is a treat to watch the photo of a tiger which does some unusual behaviour. The popular wildlife photographer of India Sudhir Shivaram has shared a glimpse of a tiger at the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh.
What makes these pictures different is the tiger seen exhibiting a funny pose. But, Sudheer Shivaram explained that this phenomenon is called the ‘Flehmen response’ which is behaviour to the presence of other cats in its territory.
In his Instagram share, Sudheer Shivaram explained that ‘Flehmen response – is a behavior in which an animal curls back its upper lip exposing its front teeth, inhales with the nostrils usually closed, and then often holds this position for several seconds. A lot of Cats do this to smell the air for other cats’ presence in their territory.
Of course the pose looks like it’s making fun of you or laughing. These are the opportunities you need to wait for as a wildlife photographer to capture various behaviour aspects. To make an image appealing, you need to ensure a good composition with very little distractions in the frame, and have an amazing non distracting complementary background.
