Ravenous tiger gets booted in the face while trying to take down a feisty deer for lunch
The sly big cat thought it would be an easy lunch, but the tough Stag wasn't giving up without a fight
A HUNGRY tiger got a face full of hoof as he attempted to lunch on a stag in India.
The unlucky big cat was left to go hungry after a tasty deer escaped from his clutches.
The sly tiger thought it would be an easy lunch, but the feisty deer wasn't giving up without a fight.
As the two battled it out the fearsome stag managed to gain control, booting the tiger in the face before legging it through the forest.
The dramatic scene was caught on camera by wildlife photographer Sudhir Shivaram at Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve, in Madhya Pardesh, India.
Sudhir, 43, from Bangalore, said: "This tigress has four cubs, and has to hunt frequently to feed them.
"When we were out on safari, we saw the tigress chasing a Sambar deer who was running down the hill.
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"She tripped the deer up and tried to bring it down.
"The whole fight lasted for about 20 minutes – the deer was a fighter.
"He never gave up, and spent the whole time trying to escape – the tigress tried repeatedly to bring him down.
";The four cubs also got involved and joined in the kill.
"At one point the tigress managed to bring the deer down, and one of the cubs climbed on top of the deer.
"But the deer got up again, kicked the tigress and escaped.
"The deer had lost a lot of blood during the fight, but managed to get away.
"This is the first time I have witnessed an attempted kill at such close quarters – we were in the right place at the right time.
"This is a very rare opportunity, to see a tiger hunt in the forest in its natural habitat – and to capture the entire sequence on camera is most exciting."
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