Wildlife is depleting day by day, hence we need to Act NOW!

How would the world be without them? 

Yes,  the ecosystem is incomplete without these wild animals. Have you ever wondered why should these animals should be protected? Have you done your bit to save them? 

These are probably the same questions asked by the same wild animals whom we are eager to see on our visits to National Parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries.  

I would like to express the views and also share what our beautiful animals feel!

Carnivores: We represent the top of the foodchain in the forest. We eat the herbivores like deers, bisons, Sambar deer etc to stay alive. More the herbivores, more are our chances of survival. These forests are our only home, you are our guests hence, you need to follow few rules and regulations about behaving in our home same as you do when you visit someone else home. We do not guarantee that we will come to meet you, because your visit is sudden without notice except for the months where the forests close during rains. Our meeting is just luck or say we were at right place on right time.   

We want to take you back in history, during the 19th century our population was between 50,000 - 100,000 We were always sighted and photographed as we were in ample numbers, but over years due to poaching and no proper policy against such crime, our numbers have fallen drastically to 1800 by 1971, more depletion happened till the nos fell to 1400 by 2008. Government is trying to save us and so are some groups who love us, know that why is it important to save us? & will do everything they can to save us. This is creating awareness and people are now changing their attitude towards us, but we need more and we know also about the social media. Well you can post about the images you took of us but along with that if you can add a line about the conservation, we would be thankful and in turn promise you all types of poses we can pose. The numbers have increased to 1551, in 2011. It is said more than 2845 leopards were killed between 1994 - 2010. It is said for every tiger skin, there are at least 7 skins of leopards in haul. We know the numbers are depleting and it is happening rapidly. Government is trying to save and with the help of you all, our population of other species can be revived, we are talking about cloud or snow leopards. Please save us by conserving the forests & stopping the poachers from killing us.

Herbivores:  We are as important as others are in these forests. We represent the base of the food chain, wider the base, higher the top. The whole forest is an ecosystem and we contribute to it. If our homes are gone and we are killed for fun, then there will be an imbalance in the ecosystem & soon it will crumble to ashes and everything will be gone. Along with the annihilation of the forests, the climate will change and there will be destruction everywhere. Please save us and save the world. The herbivores include different types of deer right from Spotted - Barasingha & Gaurs.

Elephants: What have we done to you humans? I personally do not understand what have they done, apart from claiming the lands which are theirs and they have all the right to take it back or wade through it, its like trespassing their property. How about this analogy - Imagine you have a piece of land, which has been there since your birth, but you hardly visit it and taking advantage of that few people have built their house and are leaving in peace. One fine day, you decide to visit it as it is been long time since you have visited the site. So you visit that site & find out about the people living their, now what will you do?  Imagine what Elephants can do & understand Elephants are not as intelligent as humans are! So now after that back to them, where will we go? We come and try to wade along and then we are threatened by using crackers, sometimes even throwing lighted woods at us and more worse than it - run down by trucks! We are also an important part of these forests, killing us will again lead to an imbalance in the ecosystem. 

Birds & Insects: We are highly dependent on trees and different vegetation. We will die if our homes are snatched away from us. Also the poachers are a big threat to us. Our so many species are endangered & many of them are extinct. We are not only beautiful but are important to the development of these forests. We are major carriers of pollen along with the insects which help in pollination & apart from that we eat various type of fruits & our droppings help in development of forests. We along with the wild animals are an important part of the ecosystem. Please save us and save world.

My Take: It is high time now, this needs to stop! These creatures do not invade our homes, in fact we have trespassed their homes. Certain areas are already declared as Elephant corridors, what are we doing in there? how come government are not helping them and not checking whether the areas are cleared or not? 

We are hearing everyday - one tigress electrocuted, another poached, these numbers might be small now, but tomorrow these numbers will multiply. Numerous Elephants are killed in the name of Elephant - Human conflict, but when we invade their homes, whose fault is it? What are waiting for? Are we waiting for these animals being almost extinct? Then, only we will take action right? because till we are thirsty we do not dug up the well right?

Nothing is changed, we can still revive them,  only if the government becomes little stringent on this important matter and we as citizens start spreading awareness and inculcate the ideology of conservation of forests in the minds of future leaders of India. I do not say the government is not taking action, but what is the use of corrective action,  when we can take preventive action! The government needs to be little more strict and take actions in such a way that poachers are compelled to think twice before committing the crime. My only humble request to all of you is to be aware and spread awareness about the conservation o forests and the wonderful animals who reside in it. One more important point is that tiger is not wildlife, nor it is compulsory that one will see big cats. Wildlife is everything which resides in the forests right from Cats to animals to birds to insects. Also do not make any type of noise even if you spot a tiger, because when we are silent then we listen to the noises of forests which in turn helps the guide or naturalist to recognize the calls made by monkeys and herbivores, when the predators are around. Also keep an eye on the pug marks, as pug marks and the calls help in identifying the spot of the wild animals. 

SAVE FORESTS! SAVE WILD ANIMALS!

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Wildlife & Wildlife Photography - Indian Scops Owl, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve - December 2016

Our guide Mr. Shard Sharma whispered - " Sir, there is Indian Scops Owl" & all the eyes turned towards the far tree............................................

Ranthambore, the land of tigers! Ranthambore National Park is different from the lush and evergreen forests of South India. This was my first time in Ranthambore, it was all together a different experience. It has a different terrain from the South Indian jungles. It is a deciduous forest, which is quite open and rocky. It has got some beautiful landscapes, which one cannot miss. It has two mountain ranges meeting each other - Aravalli & Vindhya hill ranges, thus creating one of the best landscapes in India.

Owls - I still fancy seeing them, but yes when I was on the way to Ranthambore National park, I had few targets apart from Tigers & Leopards, I wanted to photograph Owls. RTR did not disappoint me in terms of Owl, the first one I saw was Brown Fish Owl, I apologize for not having any images, as it was morning time, low light & it flew as we approached it on the way to third zone. 

So I was in my 5th safari & this was in the morning, I had no luck spotting any big cats. Since, I had no luck spotting the big cat, I was looking for Owl, as I had missed clicking Brown Fish Owl, so RTR had to compensate & it did, that too in style.

Indian Scops Owl
One common thing about all the owls is  their camouflaging abilities. They know very well to camouflage and blend in with the surroundings. This helps them to be safe from their predators and catch their prey easily. As we know, they are nocturnal and hunt in nights while sleep with one eye closed during days.

Now it was morning safari, as usual looking for the pugmarks of Arrowhead or leopard or sloth bear, we were very happy to see the pugmarks which were of Arrowhead, but alas the ending was very sad, as it had just gone in from the four roads. Now, I thought this was it and another dry safari, but there was a happy ending to the morning. We were passing through the forest path, when our guide Mr. Shard Sharma, suddenly whispered, "Sir, there is an Indian Scops Owl", & pointed towards the tree and believe me it was perfectly camouflaged, one cannot easily differentiate between the bark and the owl. It was beautiful, but asleep and we waited till it opened it's eyes, then we had good amount of time to capture it. Owls do not like noise or commotion, & they love being alone so as to avoid getting disturbed by people and thus they have the best camouflaging abilities. 

Again a small note and advice to young generation - Please save forests and save wild animals. Avoid making sounds during the safari, this in turn will help your guide and driver to spot the wild animals & give you a better chance to photograph them. SAVE FORESTS & SAVE BIRDS and ANIMALS!

Here are few images:

  

Wildlife & Wildlife Photography- ArrowHead T-84, Ranthambore Tiger Reserve - December 2016

One of the Nature Guide shouted, "Nalleh me jayegi, Nalleh me". (She will move to the stream ahead)

 

Ranthambore, the land of tigers! My 1st National Park on the wishlist, and I did it in two years. Ranthambore National Park is different from the lush and evergreen forests of South India. This was my first time in Ranthambore, it was all together a different experience. It is different from the lush evergreen forests of South India. It has a different terrain from the South Indian jungles. It is a deciduous forest, which is quite open and rocky. It has got some beautiful landscapes, which one cannot miss. It has two mountain ranges meeting each other - Aravalli & Vindhya hill ranges, thus creating one of the best landscapes in India.

Ranthambore is one of the largest National Parks of India. It is spread in 1700 sq area, of which 20% comes into the tourist zone. The tourist zone are is divided into ten zones, out of which one to five zones are core zones. Those five zones are where the activities of predators can be seen regularly. Third zone is a beautiful zone with three lakes, namely Rajbagh, Padam & Mallik. The Mallik lake also share the border with fourth zone. The total no of tigers present in the park is 55 tigers, out of which 30 tigers are in the tourist zone. Apart from tigers, the park has Leopards in the predator category, while there are Sloth Bears, Spotted Deers, Sambar Deers, Blue Bull or Neelgai, Indian Gazelle or Chinkara, & Hyena. The birds include Kingfishers, Owls, Buzzards, Vultures, Eagles and many more. Crocodiles can be seen in all the lakes and there are instances where there has been a fight between crocodiles and tigers. Macchli the legendary tigress, is the one who is responsible for regeneration of the tiger population. She is the most photographed tigress in world! She killed a 14 foot long crocodile, after which she was declared the Queen of Ranthambore, and this title is given to the tiger/tigress which controls the three lake zone. 

Ranthambore is one of the best places to spot tigers in their habitat and they can be seen everywhere in park. The best months to be at Ranthambore is in May & November. May is the last month of summer season & in summer the water is scarce, so they come out to the water holes to drink water, thus increasing the chances of sighting. November again because it is the start of the winter season, also because its just after the breeding season, where we can see new fauns and cubs as well. 

Ranthambore is situated in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan. It is well connected by road, rail & airways. Nearest railway station is Sawai Madhopur 11 kms away, Nearest Airport is Jaipur 160 kms away & 110 kms from Kota.

There are various hotels in and around Sawai Madhopur and I stayed at Ranthambore Regency, which had lovely food and stay.

So I reached to Ranthambore on 13th December and my first safari was at 14:30 hrs. Mr. Sharad Sharma was our guide for all the safaris. Within 15 minutes into the safari, we saw few gypsies hovering around a place. Once we reached there, I saw a faint figure of tigress, I knew I was in for treat.

One of the Nature Guides shouted:" Nalleh mein jayegi, Nalleh mein" , still I did not know, what next is going to happen, as it was quite possible it could go more deeper into jungle where we cannot go on gypsy or it could just come in front of us. So I was waiting to see, what drama will unfold in front of me. She was watching a group of wild boars unaware of her presence.

Then she vanished into the ruins and I thought now we might not see her again. Whatever happened next was in fraction of second, she just leaped on her target and kaboom!!! She had the piglet caught by it's neck. Tiger or predators normally catch the prey by it's neck, thus strangling its breath and eventually killing it or first they catch the prey by it's neck and then comes a paw thrashing on the prey's head thus giving it no chance to fight back. Next, we had her for 15 minutes giving us the images of lifetime. She was none other than Tigress Arrowhead (T-84), one of the famous tigress from third litter of the dominant female tigress T-19 or Krishna. She is a sub adult tigress and has a brother by name Pacman. Their father is the dominant male T-57 or Star. She is very bold and is fond of cameras. She then went towards the canal and from which it did not come out till that day.

This was the best sighting I had ever had of tigers and the cherry on the icing was the hunt process. She gave us the demo on hunting process. She is very beautiful and the arrow can be seen on it's forehead. After that safari, I did not see her again till the end of all the safaris.

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Birds of Curtorim Lake, Goa - September 2016

Goa, a lovely place and where I have spent my beautiful 12 years and still I had not photographed single bird till September this year. Frankly speaking, I always thought wildlife was just animals or mammal, but once it stuck, birds are also a part of wildlife and they are not to be ignored at any costs. From then on, I never missed a chance of photographing birds may it be Goa or Karnataka.

This Ganesh Chaturthi, I was at home and thought could go and click few birds and who knows might get some exotic birds or migratory birds. So I sped off to the nearest lake, Curtorim lake. Oh, I stay in Margao, the 2nd big city of Goa, first one being the capital of Goa - Panjim. So the first bird of the day was beautiful Grey-headed Swamphen , the next bird was Baya Weaver Bird.

Weaver birds are known for the nest they weave and they are marvellous, the way they weave is just an art to admire and that particular nest will help you spot them. The weaver birds found in India are called Baya Weaver. They are very small birds like sparrows.and they feed on different types of insects.

That particular morning, apart from Swamphen, I could not spot any other birds at that time, so I moved on a little further towards another lake and on the way spotted the nests and then there were like 6-7 nests and like 12-13 Baya Weaver birds. They were busy feeding and maintaining the nests. Both male and female were constantly working hard for their family. They would a long distance and come back with food for their babies and would feed them in such a way, which from the spot I was clicking, could not see it clearly and they would go in the nest upside down. For us it might look little unreal but for them its their everyday work. I was their for more than like 20 mins and could very well see the way they were working and we think we only work hard, but every animal or bird works hard for their living. It is the part and parcel of their life or routine.

Here are the images:

One can easily see the nests and the upside down acrobat. They are very tiny but beautiful birds and are admired for their art of weaving such beautiful nests.

Next I found the Red Wattled Lapwing and in pair. They are lovely birds with mixture of red which extends upto teh beak and black with a white patch which runs down upto their belly and lastly the legs are yellow. The name Red Wattled comes from the wattle they have in front of their eyes. They are basically found in lakes, swamps, grasslands and ploughed fields. They are very vigilant and give out loud chuckles like "did-he-do-it" and hence sometimes called as Did-He-Do-It birds. These chuckles help as an alarm calls and hunters were tired of these birds.

So when I found them, they were very quiet and were having their breakfast of insects, snails or invertebrates.

See the images here:

After I had enough affair with Red Wattled Lapwings, I saw the Common Kingfisher, it was sitting and looking out for fishes, here is the image:

Last but not the least, saw this beautiful Red vented Bulbul, it can be easily identified by the crest over its head which gives the face a  squarish look. It is really a beautiful bird with a red tuft at the rear oart of the body. It can be found in the Indian Subcontinent. it can be found in dry scrubs, forest areas & civilised places (where I found it). It builds its nest around 2-3 m high and lays normally three eggs in one nest. It breeds from June to September.

I found it sitting on a branch of a tree, here is the image:

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Grey-headed Swamphen, Goa 2016

Goa, the place to enjoy the life to the fullest, and that even reflects from the lifestyle of the people of Goa (me included). Yes, my whole education, graduation, first job & PG has been from Goa, I have spent my 12 beautiful years here. I love Goa because of it's people and the beautiful place it is.

Goa is a small state of India, located on the western side and adjoining the Arabian Sea, which is popularly known as the Konkan Coast. Konkan area starts from the Maharashtra side to Goa to the North Karnataka. Since, it is a part of Western Ghats, the biodiversity has to be there of birds and animals.There are many birds you can find in Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, a lot of variety of birds can be found including the state bird of Goa - Yellow Throated Bulbul.

This Ganesh Chaturthi, a grand festival where we bring home Lord Ganesha with all pomp and grand celebrations. Every household brings the idol of Lord Ganesha was one and half day, three days, five days or full ten days, depending upon the reverence or vows you have taken while bringing the Lord Ganesha home. After the set days, the idol of Lord Ganesha is immersed in the water, so that he can return quickly next year, This festival is celebrated all over India, but mainly in Maharashtra & Goa.
So this year's Chaturthi I was at home in Margao, Goa, though we do not bring home the idol of Lord Ganesha, but we go to friend's home or relatives who bring lord home. So I decided to go to the nearby Curtorim lake to spot some beautiful birds and took my Nikon D7100 with Nikkor 300mm lens with me.

Curtorim lake is few kms away from my home and it is very vast & beautiful lake, the first bird I got was Grey-headed Swamphen. Grey headed Swamphen is a subspecies of Purple Swamphen and it can be found in Middle East, full Indian Subcontinent and China as well. It is a very beautiful swamphen with red beak, purple-greyish body. It makes loud chuckles to impress the female swamphen. The taxonomy has been just changed from Purple Swamphen to Grey-headed Swamphen, it has been divided based on the different types of colour of Swamphen, found in different countries of World.

When I was trying to spot my first bird of the day, this colourful bird appeared from nowhere and I could not stop admiring it, till I got a call from dad stating, there is one more nearby and I thought wow! this bird just made my day. When I saw it, it was just curiously staring at me and my camera. I thought it might get disturbed, but it was quite bold and beautiful and was still there only after I left.

Check the image here:

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Mudumalai Tiger Reserve - August 2016

I was totally disappointed with the safari arrangements made at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve and tourism department of Tamil Nadu needs to develop it as they take you in canter and will drive a round of say 5 kms and back! If you get anything it is your luck and duration depends on sightings. The employee's reply itself says that they are doing us a favour by taking us on wildlife safari. So it was like wastage of time and money both though charges are not much. I was so disappointed and my friends who accompanied me were visiting a wildlife safari for the first time and they also were also not happy from the safari we had and we then decided not to take anymore safari here at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

So we were returning back to our home stay De Rock, when I saw elephants walking on my right side and told Rohit to halt the car and there was commotion about something and police was also present. After sometime I saw police apprehending two people and putting them into the car, after which the traffic was cleared by the police, then I got the chance to click both mother and baby elephant and then it struck me that she was protecting her, hence she trumpeted to warn the people who were walking up to them to click their images. The Mother Elephant was very angry and was trying to hide her baby calf, but I did click an image where the baby calf just came in between mother’s four legs. Take a look here: 

Since the light was less, I could not get better image than this and it was clicked with Nikon D3200 and Nikkor 70-300mm lens. She was so angry and the baby calf was afraid even to come out because of us who are educated and still do not understand that they are wild animals and they are not governed by rules, hence if they attack out of self defense no one can help you in this case. Hence make sure you do not break forest rules and try to enjoy the sighting from a safe distance. 

I would like to narrate an incident which took place when I visited Bandipur for the first time in April 2012, I was with my family and into the first safari, where we spotted a herd of Elephants with a calf of 7 days and I could feel that Mother Elephant was uncomfortable with us watching them, now in my jeep there was a couple who had put on a strong perfume and had forgotten to switch of the flash. These were the two reason for the Mother Elephant to charge towards us, though they were mock charges, but what if she had given a real charge and our jeep driver was also frightened which could be seen from the way he started the jeep and in a hurry to drive it out of elephant's reach the jeep could not start, now I was all the more frightened, but those were mock charges hence we were safe! This little experiences teach us about do's and don'ts of Jungle Safari. Every briefing about the wildlife safari will be about the do's and don't's , one needs to pay full attention to it, and learn from other's mistakes. Do not tease wild animals and they will not harm you is the basic rule and one needs to keep that in mind every time you are in wild.

I'm really sorry, could not get many images, but I promise next trip will have amazing images to mesmerise you all! Next trip is to home in September, Goa where I can get Kingfishers, Weaver birds & many more. See you till the next time. For more stay tuned !

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, August 2016

Honestly my this trip to Masinagudi was to spot the Black Panther, but as we all know that precious things we do not get so easily, so this trip was incomplete as I did not get to spot Black Panther.

Masinagudi trip was planned a month earlier & there were many additions & then deletions, but lastly ‘Hum Paanch’ (Five of us) were left from 10. Five of us were Sandeep, Sumit, Lingraj, Rohit & Yours truely.  So we took one of our friend’s car & left on Friday the 12^th August 2016. It was my first trip with friends, & I wanted it to be the memorable one. The plan was to stay at Masinagudi for 2 nights & then move to Ooty, Coonoor & then back to Bangalore.

The route plan was to go through Bandipur National Park, I had my camera ready & this time it was NikonD3200 with Nikkor lens 70-300mm, now the reason for not going to the higher models, the weather played the major role in deciding the model. It is really a very user friendly & it helps you to learn a lot. This was supposed to be my first all night trip & the longest road trip so far.

So we started on 12^th night & we reached Bandipur at 4:15 hours & we had to wait because the gates would happen only at 6:00 hrs. So we had some clicks & then I took out my camera & was ready to take the first picture of the trip.

By 6:30, we were through the gate & we saw both side, huge herds of Spotted Deer, then came Bison & Elephants, & by 7:00 hrs we were into Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, TamilNadu. Beautiful l&scapes & lovely narrow roads, we could see the huge Nilgiri Range & by 9:20 hrs, we reached our destination De Rock, Masinagudi.

Our plan was to go for evening safari & after lunch we started towards the ticket counter which was 6-7 kms away from our homestay. On our way, we saw 7-8 cars spotting something & I told Rohit to go ahead & see & to our left we saw an Elephant, could not be picturized as it was way far & lots of bushes & parallel to it was the National Animal of India, The Royal Bengal Tiger, again way far & could only be seen half of it, before it went into the bushes. Probably, a 15 mins earlier it had crossed the road where the cars were halted, as it is rightly said ‘You need to be at the right spot at the right time’, holds true in this case as well, had we been a little earlier or a lot earlier, we would have got it or again missed it respectively.

So we reached the ticket counter & we saw a almost a huge crowd of 100 people, excluding us & to my disappointment, only two canters & the timings were from 2 pm to 6pm & I asked the counter person, “what would be the duration of Safari?”, he replied “ depending on the sighting”. & I knew this was not my type of safari & we got our chance around 18:15 hrs & we only saw deer as everyone in the canter was excited to see the deer & lastly saw an Elephant, which was old, lonely & almost on the verge of natural death. Then we saw the National bird of India, the Peacock & it was beautifully sitting as if a statue was placed there, that made my day. Apart from Spotted Deer, Elephant & Peacock, no other animal was spotted & we returned to the ending point.

We decided to take a trek next morning & moved towards our home stay, when we saw a huge traffic & a female Elephant having supper. Obviously, there was traffic & police had caught two people, who were drunk & had gone near the Elephant & her calf to take the images. Now the worst case would have been, the female Elephant would have trampled them & some cars here & there would have been flung in anger & ruthlessness of the huge animal, which would be a fitting reply for such stupid act of few educated illiterate people. Luckily, police was on time & caught them, saving a lot of trouble, otherwise the Elephants would have even flung our car, though we were not at any fault & I was able to take some images from moving car.The irony was that we saw more animals outside of the safari zone than in the safari and we decided not to go for anymore safari. 

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Elephants, Bandipur 2016

All eyes were trying to spot the National Animal of India - The Tiger, when one of them whispered a beautiful pair of Elephants! The eyes moved in the direction where this beautiful pair of Elephants were dancing looked like..............

Bandipur has always been one of my favourite wildlife destination, and yes I spotted my first Tiger here. It is a forest full of wildlife diversity and people love coming here, especially those who are wildlife and photography enthusiasts.

Bandipur Tiger Reserve is situated in Mysore, & Chamarajanagar districts of Karnataka. Kabini and Bandipur are separated by the Kabini river, which plays an important part of thriving the wildlife in the forests of Bandipur, Kabini and Wayanad. Bandipur has been a place where the tiger sighting has been regular and not to forget the Prince or the Alpha male tiger, which will definitely meet you the next time you go. Leopard and Bisons are also quite regularly sighted along with birds like Crested Hawk Eagle, Crested Serpent Eagle, Hoopoe, Shikra and many more. 

This is about the encounter I had with the most mesmerizing mammal - Elephants. Elephants are the largest mammals living on land and are divided into Asian Elephants & African Elephants. They can be found in Africa, & South East Asia. Asian Elephants can be divided into Sumatran, Indian, Srilankan, & Borneo. 

Elephants are herbivores and they normally prefer to stay near water and tend to move away or avoid to cross paths with the predators like Tiger, Lions, Leopards or Wild Dogs. This is because, the new born calves are more vulnerable than the adults. So even if any body nears their calves, they either charge or move away from that area. Elephants socialise in groups and in such a way that new groups can get mixed into the other group and thus they adjust themselves. Everyone helps each other and they are lead by Matriarch . The males separate once they reach puberty and then they go with other males. The group first makes calf safe and then they deal with danger, such is their culture and they do not stand any nuisance. It is said that they can run 1 km  while chasing someone.

I and Elephants have a history, for my first visit to Bandipur and the first animal we encountered was of a family of Elephants which had a baby just one week old. We were just admiring the cutie when some flash caused irritation to them and the Matriarch just made the calf and mother safe and charged, unfortunately our jeep did not start, luckily ti was just a mock charge! Phew! it was very close. That was my first wild encounter of Elephants and such an adventurous welcome to Bandipur I received back in 2012.

This time we saw a huge tusker just on the way to Bandipur's forest gates, unfortunately the images were not good, but as we moved in on the evening safari, So our eyes were itching to spot Tiger, when the naturalist whispered Elephants! Our eyes moved to the direction where he spotted a mother and calf dancing as it look like ............... Or She was trying to tell them that "we need to welcome them as they are admirers and not the killers, they are our defenders and not the destroyers. Welcome them baby, C'mon do not be shy!, " We need to save them, they are on verge of extinction, I would like to tell you all, please do your bit in saving these beautiful creatures.

Please see the image here :

Next we moved little further after trying to get the calf to welcome us, and we saw another lovely herd of Elephants again, now it was a huge group with adults and calves all together taking sand bath and trying to cool them from teh scorching heat. These mammals will not do anything, if you do not harass them and people take them in wrong sense and then they perform atrocities on them and thus these beautiful mammals are on verge of extinction.

Please check the image here:

The next day evening safari, we were trying to search the mother and calf pair, when we spotted calf's father as well with them and they were standing to welcome us like the last day, this time they were more cautious, but it was Kodak moment, relish the image here................

Bandipur has lot of resorts and forest guest house as well. The best option would be Jungle Lodges & Resorts , they have their own jeeps and canter to take around the wildlife enthusiast to the forest and the Forest departmetn has the facility of canter to take around the wildlife enthusiasts around the forest. The duration is the difference, the duration or timings are morning from 6:30 to 9:30 hrs and evenings 16:00 to 18:30 hrs and JLR's jeeps and canter take you around for the full 3 hrs in morning and 2.5 hrs in evening, while Forests department's canter will take you around only for 1 hour round and will bring you back. If you wish to take the Forest department's vehicle, book the ride in advance to avoid last minute hassles. The Forest department's website is tariff plan and safari plan by the Forest department.

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Barking Deer, Kabini Dec'15

Kabini or Nagarhole, my favourite forest, it just takes you to some other world all together. Once you visit Kabini, you will fall in love with it. Kabini's wildlife diversity is so vast, that every time you go, you will still be amazed by it. People often say to me,"Nimit, why do you go again and again to Kabini? ", the simple reply is it still makes me fall in love with it and every time I see something new. This is what makes it more serene, pure, misty and full of surprises. Every turn will give you a surprise, it might be a leopard (trademark of Kabini), a tiger or simply a Crested Hawk Eagle, but you will never ever be bored of Kabini.

The Nilgiri Bioreserve is seperated into four forests by the Kabini river , namely Kabini backwaters, Bandipur National Park, Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary and Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary. One might not be surprised, that Kabini Backwaters is the reason for such diverse and magnificent wildlife.

Jungle Lodges Resorts  are the best option for any forests stay in Karnataka, yes most of the time it is full and you need to book in advance, apart from them there are many and for more you can contact me on bhattnimit79@gmail.com and I will help you with more options.

Barking Deer or Indian Muntjac is a very shy animal. It will be appropriate if I put it this way, more shy than deers. They are not used to the people seeing them from the safaris.

The Barking Deers usually give calls especially when they sense a predator approaching the area or when they are in danger, but these calls resemble barks and hence the name "Barking Deer". All the Muntjac species are called as Barking Deer.

As I said, JLR has the right to conduct safaris in forests other than government, they have open jeeps 6-7 seater and canters for 15 people. So they have moer than 5 jeeps and 3 canters. So the forest is divided into two zone Zone A and Zone B. The routes are given by the team leader Mr. Prasanna and then the jeeps move into their respective zones. Some paperwork has to be done and then you are into teh magical forest of Kabini. The timings change due to the change in seasons. In summer it starts from 6:30 am to 9:30 am and in evening from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm and in winters, the timings in morning are from 6:30 am to 9:30 am and in evening its from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm. For more one can check with JLR
We were into our evening safari and we had booked in Jungle Lodges Resort only, as they have the right apart from government vehicle, to conduct safaris in forests of Karnataka. So after futile search for predators, we came near a waterhole, thinking we might spot some predator, but to our surprise, the Barking deer came out and we did not waste time to take few images of this beautiful creature, before it vanishes into the bushes. The landscape with lush green vegetation and waterhole in fromt of it and the reflection of it falling in the river. It was really a beautiful and the wildlife photographers had satisfaction down to the core of their heart, after clicking the images of Barking Deer.


Please see the image here:

Barking Deer - Kabini 2015

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Brown Fish Owl, TATR, Dec'14

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is India's second most tiger population, after Ranthambore National Park. Its a heaven for wildlife photographers. Tigers, leopards and even many birds you can spot. It has a huge area and many gates from where you can drive in. The timings are 6:00 hrs to 11:00 hrs and 15:00 hrs to 19:00 hrs, depends upon the season.

Tigers as they say are spotted regularly. Wildlife has been flourishing since December 2014. Two years and many new cubs are born and this year's summer has seen an amazing wildlife being spotted and also in new generations of rulers of the Central India's forests. New wildlife sanctuaries have come up like Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Nagzira Tiger Reserve, Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary and the most flourishing one is Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, these are in Central India. Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary is yet to open to public, but it has started and few farm houses nearby do give facility of Jeep Safari. Sathyamangalam is from Tamil Nadu and shares the Nilgiri Bioreserve.

Brown Fish Owl is a nocturnal owls like others, but can be seen in day as well. It has ear tufts coming out like horns on its head. It normally preys on fishes, but can feed on lizards, rats, snakes and sometimes large rodents as well.

It sits on tip of the tree and focuses on prey and then pounces on it. It is not very easy to spot them as they are best camouflagers and can easily camouflage sitting on a tree. One might not be able to spot because their eyes are closed and that's even fools it's prey and predators. .

Now we were in the morning safari, when we saw the sub adult Brown Fish Owl giving various poses and it looked as if it was angry with us and was showing off and was sulking even. The images will itself speak ..........................

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Wild Nimit

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Nimit Bhatt 500px

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Nimit Bhatt

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Streak Throated Woodpecker, Kabini Dec'15

Streak Throated Woodpecker is one, which does not shy away from photography. It is a small bird with red crown, green back and white colour bellied woodpecker.

Woodpeckers are very easy to find, as you can hear them pecking into wood from long distance as well. Their pecking is so powerful, the way they peck into the wood will give you chills. This beauty was pecking the wood and we could hear it from a distance.

We reached at the spot and found a pair but soon females left and I could get the image of the male only. This was taken at Kabini in December 2015, we were into evening safari.

Kabini is a river and a corridor where the Nilgiri Biosphere is located which comprises of Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Nagarhole National Park and Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. Nagarhole National Park is located on the kabini back waters which runs through the park. It is famous for leopards, tigers and recently for Black leopards. It is an ideal place for wildlife photography with the landscapes and natural beauty.

Here is the new addition in my Wildlife and Wildlife Photography blog.........................

Streak Throated Woodpecker, jungle_tales - Nimit Bhatt

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - FB

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Streak Throated Woodpecker

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - White Throated Kingfisher, Kabini Dec'15

Kingfisher are very cute and small found abundantly everywhere in India. It is a very common bird, but there are few varieties like Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, a very colourful kingfisher. It is like God has put all the colours of the world into it. Rest are common kingfisher and White Throated Kingfisher.

Kabini is my favourite spot for holiday. Kabini offers everything a wildlife photography requires. Kabini is situated in Mysore, Karnataka. Kabini is 250 kms away from Bangalore. Jungle Lodges Resort is a quasi governmental organization which has rights of vehicles to enter into Wildlife Sanctuary or National Park.

It is always advisable to stay at Jungle Lodges Resort or JLR, as it is commonly known as. Even the people staying in different resorts need to come to JLR for jungle safari. This is only in Karnataka.

Birds are abundant in Kabini. Its a heaven for bird photographers. CSE, CHE, Brown Fish Owl, Vultures, Kingfishers are very common in Kabini.

We were into the morning safari and yet we didn't spot anything significant and then this White Throated Kingfisher was actually flying around and then it sat on a branch and this was the shot I took. This was in December 2015.

White Throated Kingfisher, jungle_tales- Nimit Bhatt

White Throated Kingfisher

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - White Throated Kingfisher, Dec'15

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Wild Dogs, Kabini Dec'15

Kabini is a heaven for wildlife photography and photographers. It has everything you need for a good photography. It has greenery, beautiful birds, predators, elephants and the weather. It has got three predators namely, Tigers, Leopards and Wild Dogs.

Wild Dogs are called Dholes in India. They remain in packs and make sure they do not get left out. Their thinking is "United we stand, divided we fall". Whatever they do, they do it in their pack. When they are united, no one can touch them and they are ferocious, but a singular is afraid of the predators lurking around.

Their way of hunting and strategy, one needs to learn from them. They always have a strategy to hunt and everyone co-operates. One who does not, he/she will have to leave the pack. The leader is an Alpha male or the dominant Wild Dog. Everyone needs to follow his orders.

This was a group of 15-20 wild dogs playing on the Jungle Track.

jungle_tales - Nimit Bhatt

Nimit Bhatt - 500 px

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Wild Dogs, Kabini Dec'15

Wild DOgs - Kabini December 2015

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Jungle Owlet, BR Hills Dec'15

Jungle Owlet is a type of Owl found in Indian Subcontinent. It is small in size and looks very cute. BR Hills in Karnataka is famous for Wildlife Photography, but mainly birds. Brown Fish Owl is the main centre of attraction.

This Jungle Owlet was sitting on a branch with a good scenic view and the light was little dark. I could capture this cutie as it gave enough time and was patient with my photography. This was at BR Hills in December 2015. This was taken in morning safari.

Nimit Bhatt - 500px

jungle_tales - Nimit Bhatt

Jungle Owlet - FB

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Jungle Owlet, BR Hills, Dec'15

Jungle Owlet - BR Hills December 2015

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Yellow Footed Green Pigeon, Kabini Dec'15

Yellow Footed Green Pigeon - State Bird of Maharashtra - a state of India, Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra and Financial capital of India.

These birds are very cute, well We (my parents & brother) were on our family trip to Kabini in December 2015. Kabini is a very lush green forest and known for its wildlife. Kabini is known for leopards, it is said you visited Kabini and could not spot a leopard - no chance, so we did spot leopards both in morning and evening safari. We could not spot Tiger - once again.

We were trying to spot Tiger, though it was early morning and fog had set in - bad situation for spotting, we came across these Yellow footed green pigeon. Lovely and attractive birds they are, there were total 5 of them, and then a pair flew and sat on a branch.

Another addition to my Wildlife and Wildlife Photography Blog

YFGP - Nimit Bhatt (FB)

jungle_tales - Nimit Bhatt

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Yellow Footed Green Pigeon, Kabini Dec'15

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Jackal, Kabini Dec'15

This was in Dec'15, we were on our family trip to Kabini, BR Hills and Bandipur. We were into our last safari - morning one and then we had to move to BR Hills. Kabini had this time given us a surprise with the Leopards and Wild Dogs. We had done some good photography of wild animals and nature as well.

We were assigned Zone B, the moment we entered we saw this cute little Indian Jackal or Golden Jackal staring at us curiously. All the poses it gave blended well with the nature and forest, in short the poses were good for Indian Jackal's photography.

Indian Jackal are small wild animals which feed on deers and other antelopes. They are usually found in packs. One who gets separated from group usually forms a relationship with tigers. They are on a considerable distance from them, but they live together and feed on tiger's kill once tiger is done. Not every Jackal gets the chance to form such relationship, only that Jackal who shows considerable self confidence, and can move in and around tigers comfortably. Even animals have to show self confidence !

Also this image of Jackal featured on +AnimalsinHD   - Instagram

This was with us for long time, here are the photos - Wildlife and Wildlife Photography Blog........ 

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Indian Jackal - Kabini December 2015

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Jackal, Kabini Dec'15

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Crested Serpent Eagle, BR Hills Dec'15

Another addition to my Wildlife and Wildlife Photography Blog , me and my family were on vacation and we had a plan of visiting Kabini and then BR Hills. So after our stay at Kabini and spotting Leopards and Sloth Bear, we moved to BR Hills.

BRT Hills is known for birds rather than mammals, though it has Tigers, Leopards and Wild Dogs. It is mainly known for different owls. We were into our first safari, and we spotted this Crested Serpent Eagle, it was not in proper light, but managed to click few pics. For bird photographers, BR Hills is heaven.

Crested Serpent Eagle or CSE, are abundant here and in Kabini as well. It was lovely to spot it. It eas giving nice poses for us. 

Here is the pic of Crested Serpent Eagle......................

Nimit_Bhatt

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Crested Serpent Eagle - BR Hills December 2015

Wildlife and Wildlife Photography - Crested Serpent Eagle, Kabini Dec'15