Sambar Battle Wild Dogs in Bandipurby Sabyasachi Patra Chosen as
Picture of the Week Quite an amazing natural history moment
captured by the photographer that seemed to have lasted a full
night! In September 2012, on an evening safari in Bandipur
National Park, I witnessed a truly amazing natural history
moment, perhaps the finest in all of my wild travels across
India. We had planned to check the Kavare Katte, a large water
body, before exiting the park. From a distance, we could see
that a few sambar standing in the water. As we approached
closer, we realized the enormously tense situation that had been
playing out. The sambar had entered the waters to avoid a pack
of about 12-15 wild dogs. Standing knee deep in the water, they
were able to stay away from the wild dogs, which were too short
to be able to successfully hunt sambar in the water. The wild
dogs started running around the water hole, perhaps in an
attempt to disorient the sambar. The sambar herd was an all hind
herd, with one fawn. The mother and