Mysuru: Amateur photographer Kunjiyanda Machaiah (Machu) from Kodagu District has bagged World Wildlife Week 2017 Award and Certificate of Merit for his photograph of three tigers shot at Kabini Forest Range.

Every year the first week of October is celebrated as World Wildlife Week all over the world. As part of the Week, Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens, well-known as the Mysuru Zoo,  had organised State-level wildlife photography competition, in October 2017, where over 200 photographers from across Karnataka  had participated.

Kunjiyanda Machaiah bagged the award for the photo where a tigress at Kabini forests (part of Nagarahole National Park) is seen playing with her sub-adult cub while another cub stares at them.

In 2016, Machaiah had bagged the second prize at the similar photography exhibition where he had displayed an eagle attacking a bumble beehive.

Machaiah has been an amateur wildlife photographer since the last seven years and has been trained by the Forest Department to be an eco-tourism volunteer. Two months ago, he participated as a photographer in the Rain Forest Challenge in Malaysia that is considered as one of the world’s most 10 difficult and treacherous rallies.

He is the son of Kunjiyanda late Capt. Appaiah and Gowramma, residents of Ammathi village. Every month he goes on a trekking and safari trips to Brahmagiri Forest Ranges, Pushpagiri, and Thadiyandamol in Kodagu to pursue his passion for photography. He is a regular visitor to Nagarahole and Bandipur Tiger Reserve.

“Creating awareness on wildlife — both flora and fauna — is my sole intention. We must preserve plant and animal life for our own survival,” he says.