Wanna go on tiger hunt? Here's Sanctuary Asia's hidden tiger

A puzzle picture posted by Sanctuary Asia on its official Instagram handle went viral as it is believed to be “the first photographic record of a tiger.”

Image credit: Instagram/ Sanctuary Asia

New Delhi: The Internet is full of puzzles and a variety of games in which one has to look at some pictures attentively and find something. One such photograph or we may call a puzzle picture was posted by Sanctuary Asia on its official Instagram handle.

It is a photo of a hiding tiger amid the deep forest in Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve. The photograph is believed to be “the first photographic record of a tiger” and was clicked by one of the forest guards named Zakhuma Don.

The photo was posted with a lengthy caption explaining when and how the photograph was taken.

Explaining little about history the caption read:  “Crouching Forest Guard, Hidden Tiger! Don’t scroll past, you’re looking at a historic image! The first photographic record of a tiger in Mizoram’s Dampa Tiger Reserve in seven years! Can’t see it? Look a little closer, and leave a comment when you find it.”

Informing how the picture was shot, the post stated, “A veteran conservationist, Zakhuma has patrolled Dampa’s forests for many years and has guided stalwarts such as scientist T R Shankar Raman of Nature Conservation Foundation. Zakhuma is also an alumnus of Green Hub Project and Sanctuary’s own Mud on Boots Project.”

“Zakhuma set up the camera-trap (borrowed from WII) in February 2021 and retrieved it three months later in mid-May. When going through the images, he found the picture of the tiger and sent it forward to the authorities for confirmation. Wildlife Institute of India’s Department of Endangered Species Management ultimately confirmed that Zakhuma has indeed photographed a tiger in Dampa,” the post added.

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The photograph went viral in a couple of hours after it was posted and got more than 5000 likes.