Prey United Gets Stronger Than Predator
Text and photos by Udayan Borthakur
On this fine sunny day we could spot a huge tiger lying in the waters of one of the rivers inside Kaziranga National Park. On the high ground next to the river was a herd of wild buffaloes busy grazing soft grasses and apparently oblivious of the presence of the tiger below.
After few minutes, a small group of buffaloes came down to the waters. They were quite clearly aware of the presence of the striped predator in the same water!
This huge male tiger was probably in no mood for any conflict. Seeing the herd of buffaloes entering the water, it stood up and started walking.
To make the scene more interesting, two adult buffaloes approached the retreating tiger.
To our surprise, the buffalo started gaining momentum towards the tiger and the big cat too started running away.
The tiger vanished into the nearby bushes. What we observed is a very interesting moment of natural history of the predator and its prey, where the united prey could outmarch the predator.
Eventually the group of buffaloes entered the water along with the cubs.
Tigers and known to predate upon wild buffaloes. They opportunistically hunt the old and injured buffaloes and the calves. But in front of an united herd of adult buffaloes, even the mighty tiger is no match!
About the Photographer:
Udayan Borthakur is a wildlife biologist, nature photographer and filmmaker working with Aaranyak. He specialises in conservation genetics of threatened species, having two decades of experience of working in India and abroad.