Smithsonian magazine's 22nd Annual Photo Contest | Made possible through the support of MPB.com

21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
A smile worth a million

The Siberian tiger is notoriously difficult to photograph in person, so mostly camera traps are used. Not only is it difficult due to natural elements, the tiger itself is extremely cautious and does not easily come out to pose for a shot. It takes a lot of effort to film this animal. In 2019 I captured my first image of a wild Siberian tiger face to face, but due night conditions the quality was poor. It became my goal to make a day time photograph of a wild adult Siberian tiger in the snow. After three years and several grueling expeditions that included living alone in the middle of frozen taiga for weeks on end, I finally succeeded. This was a large male in his prime, the dominant male of the area. At that time there was a tigress and an older rival in his territory, so he was very alert while walking along his routes. At one point he caught a scent of another tiger and bared his giant teeth in Flehman Response. It was a very impressive display!

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 03.2023
Date Uploaded: 11.2023
Photo Location: Russia
Camera: Canon EOS R5
Copyright: © Barbara Dronova