This Bengal tiger could very well be the most photographed big cat in India thanks to its unique facial markings that spell the word ‘cat’.
The 14-year-old male tiger, named Munna, was simply born with black, letter-shaped markings on his forehead.
Every year thousands of photographers and tourists flock in droves to see Munna at Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, India.
Indian photographer Sarosh Lodhi has been just lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the famous tiger on several occasions.
The 42-year-old, of Nagpur, India, says: ‘I wasn’t sure if the markings were a myth until I saw Munna for myself, and I was amazed when I saw him.
‘I’d never seen anything like it before.’
Sarosh photographed Munna from the safety of a truck, which he uses often to travel around the 1,945 square kilometre Kanha National Park, which is also known as the Kanha Tiger Reserve.
Kanha National Park, which was created in 1955, is home to more than 130 Bengal tigers and also deer, hyenas, and monkeys.
Sarosh says: ‘Munna is the most easily recognisable tiger in the reserve and is known for winning his fights for territory.
‘When he was first spotted, he walked with a small limp which was due to an injury caused by another tiger.
‘At first, he was jokingly named after a park ranger named Munna who walked with a limp all of the time, but the name stuck.
‘The last time that I spotted Munna he began to walk towards me which was simply amazing.
‘Now that he’s getting older, I can only hope that Munna refrains from fighting as much so that we can admire his beauty for a few more years to come.’
The luscious landscape and varied wildlife of Kanha National Park is most famous for inspiring Rudyard Kipling’s unforgettable classic The Jungle Book.
