[Stryker]

The interminable lockdown break was a most difficult period for me, as I couldn't visit my "home". When Prasanna, the chief naturalist at JLR Kabini, posted on 8th June that safaris are going to resume shortly I immediately got in touch with Rajeev and we booked without any delay! It is now almost a pilgrimage that I undertake every few months to this temple of wild life. This time, my wife, daughter and my two nephews also accompanied us, along with Rajeev's wife and his two sons. So we were a large group of nine people, bored to tears during the lockdown and just itching to get out there. Needless to say, the youngsters enjoyed the break a lot, away from their online classes. Of course, we parents did too, away from the dratted video meetings and unending phone calls.

My affinity to the jungle and wild life in general is well known among my friends and to most of you here. My love for Kabini in particular has become a joke in my family. "Why are you still here?", "Oh, you decided to visit Bengaluru?", "Did the cats get bored of posing for you?" and such comments are very common place now. I really don't get offended or try to defend my frequent visits. I am what I am. I have managed to infect my nephew and Rajeev's younger son too and they are now budding photographers themselves. Infect with love for the wild life that is, nothing else.

We were quite excited to be back in Kabini and wondering whether the animals were missing us during the lockdown? Some enthusiasts were actually expecting tigers and leopards to be standing near the forest gate, garlands in paws

Incidentally, I had visited Kabini just two weeks before the lockdown began and never got around to posting the images from that trip, so I'll include them in this one with appropriate notes. That trip was mega fun as five chhaddi dosts went there for three days and had an absolute blast of time.

On with the pilgrimage and images therefrom. First up are these from the previous visit.

Langurs are always fascinating subjects to me and I love photographing them. Their antics up in the trees are great fun to watch and their precision when they leap from tree to tree is simply awesome. One slip and it is almost certain death. This is a collage of three fast exposures of a langur mid-jump, thanks to the D500's 10 FPS burst rate.



The safety of Mom's arms spans across species. This little baby Langur took a small excursion, nearly fell off and came running back to its mom's waiting arms. Another collage to keep the number of images down.



A Changeable Hawk Eagle, also called the Crested Hawk Eagle, seems to have caught a bird for breakfast and is simply tearing it apart.



Now this is what is called a road block in the jungle. A huge bull Gaur crosses the road in front of us. These bad boys weigh well over a ton and they move slowly. He is so close that I barely manage to fit him in the frame at 200 mm, the lowest I can go. At times like these, I miss a second camera with a smaller lens, like say a 24-120 or something in that range.



We come across an old friend, Scarface, relaxing up there in the trees. These leopards get so high up that it is a wonder how they manage to get there at all, let alone managing the climb back down. Very agile creatures, leopards.



Someone in the van moves at the wrong moment and I make the cardinal mistake of cutting off the tail of a big cat in a photograph. An instant disqualifier in any peer review. Oh well, once in a while is OK I guess. And I'm sure you'll forgive me.



And he goes to sleep, with about twenty people watching him and clicking away like crazy. Ah, paparazzi! They can only be tolerated, right?



I'll end the last visit with this one. He is sitting just above the van top, it is quite rare to get one this close to the ground and stay still for a photo.




Nearly four months and the Lockdown later

We are welcomed at the reception with mask clad staff, sanitizers everywhere, seating at the restaurant arranged with social distancing in mind. Only 50% occupancy in each van, so instead of eight people there are only four per van now. We are five in the family so we manage by one of us riding shotgun. What used to be a self service buffet is now a full service buffet. You are not allowed to touch the utensils and the staff with gloves on will serve you. Makes for huge delays but hey, the rules are the rules. One good thing this trip is that only the enthusiasts are around, this being the first week of re-opening. No wailing kids, no one time holidayers, no squealing PYTs :( I've got nothing against these people, just that they weren't there. In fact no one from outside Karnataka are in the resort, what with the travel restrictions.

The rains have been kind and plentiful and the forest is now so green, that it soothes the eye just being there. If we can get a tiger or a leopard in this kind of greenery, it will be simply awesome. The orange, black and white against the lush green always makes for a wonderful image.

I'll start with the Malabar Giant Squirrel again. This one is way up in the tree tops and quite far away. The 500 mm is showing its power, coupled with some creative cropping to get the fellow closer. I love how the background looks, completely creamy and blurred. This is mainly because the background is actually the far side of the river bank!



We have just entered the 5 KM road, or MM road as it is also known. Rajeev is in the other van and calls me excitedly "Where are you? Come quick!" One of the few places where we get a signal on the phone. Fortunately we are barely a few hundred meters away and we get there quickly. And out he comes!



The grace with which this animal walks is something to be seen. He is one big boy, almost fully grown now. He just doesn't care for the people eagerly waiting for him. Just like his Mama, the fabled Backwater Female. It looks like he has inherited the boldness from her. Again, he is so close that at 200 mm I can just about get him in the frame. That itch for a second camera is growing. Got to control that one.



He soon disappears into the undergrowth. We high five each other and this is the first time my second nephew has seen a tiger in the wild. He is 11 years old and just cannot control his excitement, he is jumping up and down in the seat with an ear-to-ear grin. Looks like I have one more shishya.



We come across so many of these beautiful birds in full plumage, loudly calling their challenges to each other and trying to impress the girls. It is the mating season after all. Soon they will begin their dance and that will be a sight to behold. This one though seems a bit aloof and above all the base things in life.



This Dhole seems to think he is a leopard! Climbing trees and all. He looks pretty well fed at the moment, look at his tummy. Must have gorged on some poor Spotted Deer, greedy fellow.



While his mates are equally well fed and very sleepy too. They are not in any mood to get up and pose for us.



There seem to be a lot of baby elephants this time around. A veritable population explosion, which means the rains have been good last season and the food has been plentiful. I hope it continues this year too and they multiply even more. I don't even want to talk about that fire cracker episode.





In the jungle, you are always being watched. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they are not there. In fact, the elephants in the previous picture are very wary of the tiger and keep pushing the little ones into the middle because of this guy sitting right above the tank, hidden in the bushes. I'm sure they can smell him, but we spot him only a bit later after someone excitedly whispers "There is a tiger in the bushes!"



There is another one in there, this is probably a mating pair. But she doesn't come out at all, prefers to remain in hiding like a bashful new bride. He looks around, maybe wanting to show her off to us, but no dice.



And then they both decide to walk away quietly into the forest, leaving us waiting for more. But they don't reappear even after nearly 30 minutes of waiting. Maybe it is time for some private moments in there. Hope they become parents soon and we get to see their offspring.

The next day morning. We head straight back to the tank. You see, mating pairs don't move around much so we are betting that at least one of them is still there. And soon enough we hear some warning calls from a herd of Spotted Deer and the lady steps out. She doesn't seem very bashful this morning.



A brisk, majestic walk back to the tank area and we are keeping pace with her at a distance. We don't want to spook her into disappearing suddenly.



There are a lot of trees between us and her. Some of them are also burnt, apparently there was a mini fire here in the summer. Thank God it didn't spread.



And she bids us goodbye and vanishes into the forest. We hurry back to the tank, hoping she'll reappear there. But it looks like they have settled down somewhere inside. We high five again.



As I have written earlier, the auto-focus system on the D500 is nothing short of magic. That tiger in the bushes, I am not sure how it managed to get a focus lock with so much distraction just in front of the subject. If you enlarge the image, you can see the late evening sunlight glinting off the tiger's eyes. The camera seems to instinctively know what I want to focus on. Whoever wrote the driver behind the auto-focus system will get a free round of beer from me, if we ever meet up.

It has been a very relaxing and fun filled visit back to my home away from home, doubly so because my family was with me and so were Rajeev's family. Of course, the three tiger sightings go a long way in making us all just that much happier. Hope to back sooner rather than later.

As ever, I hope you people enjoy these photos as much as I enjoy taking them. Until next time then, bye and drive safe.

[vb-saan]

Thread moved from Assembly Line to the Travelogues section.

Great set of pictures there! Thank you for sharing

[earthian]

Great photographs, as usual, Stryker and quite jealous of those leopard snaps.
Kabini closes down for the monsoon, does it not? From 15th June?

Thanks for sharing.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Great set of pictures there! Thank you for sharing

Thanks, vb-san

Originally Posted by earthian

Kabini closes down for the monsoon, does it not? From 15th June?

Thanks, earthian. Kabini remains open throughout the year, one of the very few that do so. Of course, rain is ever present during the monsoon.

[Samba]

Awesome. Rated 5*.
Loved reading your narration. This is a pure visual treat to the eyes. Outstanding shots. The lush green forest during the monsoon has overall added a different dimension.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by Samba

Awesome.

Thanks Samba. I always love visiting the forest during the monsoon. As you say, the lush green adds a completely new dimension to the ambience. It also means the sightings are not as frequent or as long, since the animals find sufficient water inside and don't need to come to tanks or the river. But when you do get a sighting in the monsoon, it is so much more satisfying both as a wildlife enthusiast as well as a photographer.

[Aditya]

Great pictures Stryker. I visited Kabini in 2014 and stayed at the Serai resort then. Coming to the forest itself, it was a wonderful experience - one of the best in India. The jungle safari was very well planned and although I didn't get to see a tiger, I was more than satisfied. The variety of fauna that you get to see is simply astonishing.

It's good to note that the authorities are taking precautions to prevent the spread of the virus inside the forest. The last thing we want is the animals being affected. Some time back I heard of a tigress in a US zoo being infected because her keeper had it.

I hope I can pay another visit to Kabini within a couple of years.

[PearlJam]

Amazing pictures, @Stryker! Which place did you stay?

[vinodrkn]

Beautiful captures, at the right moment. What was your gear. Keen to know the lens specs that you used. Indeed, Kabini is an all-time refresher.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by Aditya

Great pictures Stryker. I visited Kabini in 2014 and stayed at the Serai resort then.

Thanks Aditya. Serai is next door to JLR (in resort terms) and I have stayed there a couple of times. The only problem is that anyone not staying in JLR will have to sit in a closed bus instead of an open van. Takes the fun out of safaris, so I prefer staying in JLR even though Serai is much better in terms of quality.

Originally Posted by PearlJam

Amazing pictures, @Stryker! Which place did you stay?

Thanks, PearlJam. As I mentioned above, I always stay at the Jungle Lodges resort. It is the only way to ensure you get to ride in open vans.

Originally Posted by vinodrkn

Beautiful captures, at the right moment. What was your gear. Keen to know the lens specs that you used. Indeed, Kabini is an all-time refresher.

Thanks vinodrkn. I have a Nikon D500 camera body paired with a Nikon 200-500 mm f/5.6 lens. It has been my go to combination for over a year now and I am very happy. Those two pieces of equipment were made for each other.

[mankuthimma]

Excellent photography and great narration !!
Looks like the wildlife has flourished during lockdown without much human intervention..

[drive.click]

Excellent photographs!
Especially of the Leopard on tree is amazing, after many visits to various parks even Africa a leopard sighting has eluded me. 'It sleeping on a tree' kind of sighting is a dream for me.

The Malabar Giant Squirrel pictures are also amazingly captured. The Nikon 200-500 mm is a good lens

Rated 5 stars.

[saleem_k]

Awesome pics there!!! Malabar giant squirrel has been elusive to me in all my trips to South India although I did see it in Wayanad but it disappeared before I could capture. There is indeed something magical in the way a tiger holds our eye.

I was planning to go to Kabini in April and had all bookings in place before the lockdown started. The JLR Kabini guys were very professional in refunding the entire amount to the last paise and following up before that if I want a refund or readjust against future holidays with them. I chose the refund for now but I'm sure I'll be visiting this place once things get back to normal.

I'm super jealous of you anyways after seeing the photos. :-)

[earthian]

Originally Posted by Stryker

The only problem is that anyone not staying in JLR will have to sit in a closed bus instead of an open van.

As I mentioned above, I always stay at the Jungle Lodges resort. It is the only way to ensure you get to ride in open vans.

Unless the policy has changed, i have a different understanding. All open jeep safaris are conducted by Jungle Lodges. People staying elsewhere can come to JL and take a pre booked safari. When i was there many from surrounding resorts came via boat, resort jeep to take the official jeep safari. In fact, by a tacit understanding, they (a resort across the river) seemed to get the best naturalist around.

[dhanushs]

Wonderful pics buddy. . A friend owns a resort in Kabini - Red Earth. You are tempting me to visit him sometime soon...