You would be excused for assuming there is only one possibly ending when a lone baby deer is met in the wild by a hungry tigress . But this series of heartwarming pictures by photographer Souvik Kundu shows a tiger sparing the deer 's life and , instead of making it an easy snack , deciding to play with it and treat it like one of its own . The moment occurred at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India with the confused tiger snapped jumping next to the tiny deer , nuzzling with it , and even carrying it gently in its mouth like a cub . Photographer Souvik Kundu snapped pictures of a tiger playing with a fawn at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India . Crowds at the Maharashtra reserve gasped as they predicted the spotted deer fawn would face a swift and gruesome death at the paws of the giant feline . Instead , the unlikely two appear to become the best of friends , with the gentle tigress tenderly playing with it , before leaving the deer unharmed to live another day . Photographer Souvik said : 'When she slowly emerged from cover we were astonished to find she was playing with a hapless spotted deer fawn . 'The tigress seemed to be in a playful mood , jumping around in excitement . ' The adorable encounter lasted for about 15 minutes , before the big cat retreated and allowed the small deer to rest in the grass . Photographer Souvik Kundu , 35 , from Mumbai witnessed the tigress nuzzling the spotted deer fawn like one of her cubs . The joyful cat was seen jumping next to the deer , patting it and even carrying it in her mouth like a cub . The expectation among the crowd was that the feline would swiftly kill the deer and devour it . Souvik , 35 , from Mumbai entitled photographs of the event , The Benevolent Queen , due to the tiger 's gentle nature . He added : ' I 'm still not sure why the tigress did not prey on the little deer when the chance presented and acted so unnaturally . 'One probable explanation is the tigress was in search for a mate and her urge for motherhood temporarily overcame predatory instinct . Play with me ! The tigress instead just wants to play with the baby deer and kept patting it with its paws . Souvik said it was possible the tigress confused the fawn with her own offspring . 'As a result she had confused the fawn for her own offspring . ' The Tadoba Andhari Reserve is the largest national park in Maharashtra , covering a total area of 241 square miles . The area was home to 43 tigers when a census was conducted in 2010 . The photographs form a series entitled , The Benevolent Queen , due to the tiger 's gentle nature . The tiger left the deer resting in the grass , as the new friends went on with their days .
The astonishing encounter occurred in front of visitors at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in India . Onlookers gasped as they assumed the spotted deer fawn would face a swift death . Photographer Souvik Kundu , 35 , witnessed the tigress nuzzling the fawn and carrying it gently in its mouth .