A tigress lurks and guards in the forests of Panna National Park, India

Nicknamed Laxmi by the forest officials of Panna in Madhya Pradesh, India, this tigress was deep in the bush with two cubs (not pictured) after having made a kill two days earlier. We caught her at sunrise, on guard, as her cubs played around her. This is one of the moments in life I most vividly remember capturing. It truly made me realize my insignificance as a human being and how much there is to admire out there in the wild!