sunday outing

What a beautiful creature, yet so dangerous when confronted alone. I have enjoyed taking this pic when we were going on a Lion and Tiger Safari this afternoon in the Bannerugatta zoo.
First 15 minutes of the ride was disappointing as there were 2 events going in loop. The events being:
1) digga .. digga...digga ... digga ...
digaa .. thump .. thump ... _ouch_ drrr ..
digga ... digga ... digga .. in that metal
contraption (they called it safari bus ... hmm .. people ...)
2) a war cry from our guide (a 15-17 year old kid) "Tiger allidey nodi .. !!" and confused hassle near windows ... whenever this guy tried to show us, the object of his excitement was a safe 30 m away under a tree other side - condescending to show (and wave) only its tail, or on a distant rock - trying to digest whatever they gave it in the morning. I was sure that at one or two places, he was feigning. By the time cameras start zooming into an appropriate position, the driver very cleverly decides to move. I was kinda frustated. And our white friend here was determined to help me. It didn't budge an inch from its place as the bus moved right beside it. And i was just 4 meters away (in the bus of course) when i took this pic. I
felt like one of those NG photographers .. only, as i said, i was in safe in the bus. And then, after just 3 to 4 minutes, this tiger here (right pic ->)also moved very close to the bus. Then, it circumambulated the bus, perhaps in hope to lick a healthy hand or two, but as it was not happening, it left the proximity of the bus rather disappointed. One thing i hated is the way the those forrest officials were throwing stones at them so that they move towards the bus. Though i would have liked to have them near enough for my pics, i felt sorry for them. The zoo was not too big when compared to others I have seen in Hyderabad or Chennai , but it's always nice to go to a zoo and look at other vertibrates in action.