An extremely rare Golden Tiger has been spotted and caught on camera by a group of tourists in India.
Wildlife expedition leader Gaurav Ramnarayanan captured the breathtaking photos of the majestic creature in – only the second ever documented sighting of the animal in the wild.
The beautiful shots of the tiger, thought to be one of only 30 still in existence across the world, were taken in Kaziranga National Park in region of Kanchanjuri during an evening safari.
The 25-year-old recorded the extraordinary encounter, which lasted for around 20 minutes as the tiger moved in and out of the bushes, on a tour with two Australian tourists. The group weren’t looking for tigers at the time of the sighting, they were seeking rhinos and wild birds.
Ramnarayanan said: “I grabbed my zoom lens and checked it out. I noticed it was an extremely rare golden tiger – a Bengal Tiger with a colour variation caused by recessive genes.”
Budding photographer Ramnarayanan had to act fast to capture the perfect shot of the Golden Tiger, including mounting a 2x TC lens on his Nikon Z 400mm camera. He said it had been an incredible day to see such a magnificent and rare creature in the wild.
Most of the Golden Tigers still alive are in national parks or zoos with special breeding programmes, so a sighting in the wild is an extraordinary and very special occasion.
