[Stryker]

A friend messages me mid week when I'm in the middle of a meeting and says "I booked JLR for this weekend, but I'm not able to go. I will get only 50% back if I cancel now. Do you want to go instead at the same 50%?" I immediately exit the meeting, call him and transfer the amount. After all opportunities like this come by very rarely! I'm not one to look gift horses in the mouth. And anyway, the bug has started to bite already after three months.

Three days later on Friday, we (my wife joins me this time too, a rare occurrence in itself!) reach JLR Kabini by 11:30 am, having started from BLR around 8:30 am. The road after Mysuru has taken a bit of a hit due to the heavy monsoon rains and while the potholes aren't as yet too large or too many, they are very much there. But the Beemer doesn't mind, it sails fast over all of them without a complaint. Three hours for about 225 kms, door to door, with a coffee break in between is good going in any book, especially when the last 75 kms is an undivided two lane highway with a lot of traffic. The usual warm welcome from the reception staff and we are checked in. Happy to report that food is back to its earlier high standards, after a bit of a lull in between when the management staff underwent a change. This is not a Five Star spread by any standard, but what is there is tasty and well prepared. And of course, the staff - many of whom know me personally now and are happy to see my wife too - are always friendly and super helpful.

For those who haven't visited JLR Kabini, I thought I'll take some images of the lovely property and post it here. I have not done much of this in so many years of visiting the place! Regulars can skip to the wildlife further below. All property images were taken with a Tokina 11-16 mm f/2.8 DX II lens sitting on my Nikon D500. The property has transformed into a green paradise, a stark difference from the predominantly brown place from three months back.

The reception, the first place you see when you enter




The beautiful East Bungalow, where we stayed this time round








The room we stayed in. Almost all rooms are like this, with a few changes here and there to the layout. Not star quality, but clean and very well maintained. For some reason, the focus is on the air cooler on the extreme left. I didn't notice that until I downloaded the images on my computer.




The North Bungalow, an identical set of rooms on, duh, the north side of the property.




The Maharajah Bungalow, reserved for Celebrities, Ministers, "I know a minister"s, Forest Department officials and other assorted VIPs. This is the only room I haven't stayed in so far. I don't know any Minister and I don't tick any of the other boxes.




The tents, by far the most popular accommodation due to its lower price. They are quite comfortable inside too. They only look like tents and are slightly smaller in area.




The Maharajah Cottages, the most expensive of them all. Again, not much difference inside, except they are water front and slightly larger.




The Gol Ghar restaurant, so called because of its round architecture.




The car park area, it was still empty when I was going around taking photos. My Cashmere Silver BMW 330 Li is looking pretty amidst all the green.




And finally, the Viceroy Bar opposite the car park, the location of many great evenings spent listening to (and telling some) tall tales about sightings.




As you can see from the general architecture and construction, this property is a nearly 60 acres large converted British era hunting lodge built by the Maharaja of Mysore. In 1980 it was taken over by the Govt of Karnataka for the then newly established Jungle Lodges and Resorts department. This lodge is recognized as one of the first of its kind, promoting wildlife eco-tourism. After my home, it is my most favourite place on Earth! Although if you ask my wife, she will say this is my most favourite place and home comes second!!

[Stryker]

Let's move on to the main reason we are here. The varied and fantastic wild life of the Nagarahole National Forest. The river is full with the copious rains, the dam gates are not yet open fully, which means there is plenty of water everywhere for the animals. Spotting the big cats will be a challenge and will require major luck. The dratted Lantana weeds have literally taken over the forest, suppressing all other plants. Even if a tiger were sitting 10 feet away in this dense undergrowth, it would be nearly invisible.

But then leopards don't hide in the undergrowth do they? The trees are their preferred habitat, one rarely sees them on the ground. We come across this large male, up in the trees as usual.




At a full 500mm, this is what I can get. It is turned away and partially obstructed by all those wide green Teak leaves.




A bit of jockeying among the vehicles gathered there and we are directly beneath the leopard. Let me tell you, shooting straight up leaning out of the vehicle at an awkward angle while using a heavy camera and lens is definitely not good for your back. But it is a leopard. So I do the contortionist act and get these.




Another set of fellow contortionists are busy hurting their backs trying to get shots of the recalcitrant leopard.




A pair of Red Vented Bulbuls watch the proceedings with amusement.




The lazy fellow is sleepy, probably had a good meal earlier and is now relaxing well away from other predators and competition. He has found the perfect position for an extended nap too.




Or so we think. He moves around quite a bit and suddenly I'm seeing only his tail!




Ah, he turns full circle and in the process, peers down at all the commotion below and I get this. Art, isn't it? I like how only one wide open eye yellow eye is visible between all those green leaves. Peek-a-boo! I see you!




We move away a bit, to see if we can get a better angle. Yes, we do get it but then he is not co-operating. Refuses to look at me, maybe he is not happy that I don't visit him more often!




We have now spent nearly 30 minutes getting well over a hundred shots from various angles. Except for the ones above, in none of them the face is clearly visible. No complaints, every sighting is a good one, no matter the condition.




Just to give you an idea of the scene, I take this from my phone. The red circle is where the leopard is relaxing (if you open the image and zoom in around 200%, you can see it) and we were initially directly below it.




It is getting too crowded and the leopard is showing no sign of further activity. He seems to be settled for the night. So we move on, searching for other things to shoot. From the camera, I mean. And there are plenty to shoot at all times, if you are not just focused on the big cats. After all this is a thriving biosphere with all kinds of living being in it.

Like this young fawn suckling its mom.




Or this beautiful female Sambar, looking curiously at me from very close by.




And thus ends our first safari. We return to JLR a happy bunch, and after a light but tasty dinner, retire for the night.

[Stryker]

Nothing much happens on the second safari in the morning. It has rained heavily throughout the night and that has pushed most animals into drier areas. Which means there will not be any sightings for anyone, although someone says they spotted a tiger somewhere. Someone always says that.

A Green Bee Eater is perched in a very convenient location.




A female Small Minivet is flying around, its more colourful mate nowhere to be seen.




A Chestnut Headed Bee Eater is nearby too.




After we return to JLR and finish breakfast, I'm lounging outside the room when I notice a lot of butterflies hovering around the Ixora (or the West Indian Jasmine) plant. Out comes my camera and I have a great time trying to capture the colourful specimens. My wife and the local staff get into the fun too, telling me here is one, there is one. I can't identify these butterflies individually, but they are so beautiful. I go to the excellent "https://butterflyvision.in" site to identify these beauties. Someone more knowledgeable about Lepidoptera can correct me if I'm wrong.


The Common Mormon




The Common Four-Ring




The Three-Spot Grass Yellow




The Great Orange Tip




The Angled Pierrot




The Common Emigrant




The Blue Mormon




The Great Orange Tip again, just about to land on the Ixora flower. You can even see tiny water droplets on its proboscis!




In between some kind of Nuthatch (not sure, can anyone help?) has wandered in, getting some nourishment from the flowers




And I even get one of the JLR house cats to pose for me! Notice the mosquito hovering over its head.




Take it from me, these beauties are not easy to capture. They flit around so much, they rarely sit still in one place for long enough for me to zoom in, focus and click! We had a whale of a time running around behind them and there were so many I missed. Looking forward to doing this some other time.

[Stryker]

The third safari is nearly rained out and the tracks are very slippery. The drivers are absolute masters of controlling such a large vehicle in such treacherous conditions, with passengers hanging on for dear life! The toughest track of all is the power line area, with a very narrow track going up and down steep inclines. We come across a dead Spotted Deer stag, probably a victim of a fight with another stag. Not a kill, otherwise it would have been pulled into the undergrowth by the murderer. It is pelting down too.




A few minutes later, we come across some wild dogs relaxing on the track in the pouring rain. They seem least bothered by all the water sluicing down on them.




They are intently watching something in the distance, we can't see anything there though. Maybe it is their sense of smell which is picking something up. Their ears though are turned in our direction!




Whatever it is, their interest wanes after some time and they move off. This one yawns, showing its fearsome dental equipment.




Another one is lazing on a small mound.




She is interested in the same thing in the same direction. I wonder what they are smelling or hearing. We certainly couldn't see anything.




I catch a langur jumping over another at the exact moment. These guys are a joy to capture, they are always up to something or the other.




A Serpent Eagle is drying its wings, wet from the rain.




That's that for the third one. Hoping for some better luck in the morning, we return.

The fourth safari starts with a major traffic snarl at the entrance gate at around 6:15 am. Apparently this is because of the Akkare Kottiyoor Maha Siva Temple on the Kerala side of the forest, which opens only between mid June and mid July. Today being a Sunday, there are a lot of people wanting to seek Lord Shiva's blessings there. It takes nearly 20 minutes for us to get clear of the gate, wasting precious safari time.




We go straight on the Five KM Road or the MM Road, the old highway between Mysuru and Mananthavady, a town in Kerala. This road is the current hotspot for tiger sightings, given that the Magge female and her four cubs are seen along here. It isn't raining, there is actually some sunlight.

First up is this matriarch, walking slowly up the road and crossing over to the other side when it sees us approaching from behind.



We see a peacock in glorious sunlight, showing off his famous tail feathers.




I attempt the "Generative Expand" feature in Photoshop, to see if I can get the AI to add the forest to the left and right of the peacock. It does a pretty decent job too.




And then we finally catch a glimpse of the tiger we have been searching for. Unfortunately, it is sitting in the worst possible location, amid lots of that dratted Lantana. It is nearly impossible to get focus on the tiger.




I switch to manual focus and it gets somewhat better, but still the tiger itself is well hidden behind the weeds.




We spend nearly 30 minutes in the same location, willing the tiger to get up and walk in our direction. But it refuses to listen to our entreaties and decides to walk off in the opposite direction. And that is the last we see of what we came to see. Well, sometimes this is how it goes.




Another not exactly fruitful trip, but the leopard and the lepidoptera made it enjoyable indeed. The excitement with the tiger at the very end was good too, even though I didn't get any good photos. The sheer joy of seeing a tiger in its natural habitat is an experience in itself. As always, my equipment is the Nikon D500 and the Nikkor 200-500mm lens. The mirrorless is bound to happen sooner rather than later, though.

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

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[deepak_misra]

Wonderful documentation. Kabini never fails to amaze.
I had gone in the peak of summer a couple of years back and can imagine the effect of rains.
Are the safaris still of 4 hours duration?
That was the problem I had with JLR where you are always on the road and dont have much time to be in the resort.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by deepak_misra

Are the safaris still of 4 hours duration?
That was the problem I had with JLR where you are always on the road and dont have much time to be in the resort.

Thanks, deepak_misra. The safaris have always been of 3 hours duration, both in the morning (0630 to 0930) and in the evening (1530 to 1830). Somewhat fluid if there is a sighting close to the end of the safari of course, but not by an hour!

Maybe you visited the Kutta side of NTR, where you have to travel nearly 20 kms from the resort to the jungle entrance. The Kabini side is quite close to the gate, only a 10 minute drive. And the vehicles are at the gate well before time, to ensure safari starts exactly at 0630 or 1530.

[deepak_misra]

Originally Posted by Stryker

Thanks, deepak_misra. The safaris have always been of 3 hours duration, both in the morning (0630 to 0930) and in the evening (1530 to 1830). Somewhat fluid if there is a sighting close to the end of the safari of course, but not by an hour!

Maybe you visited the Kutta side of NTR, where you have to travel nearly 20 kms from the resort to the jungle entrance. The Kabini side is quite close to the gate, only a 10 minute drive. And the vehicles are at the gate well before time, to ensure safari starts exactly at 0630 or 1530.

Yes maybe it was 3 hours. It was some time back that I visited. The entry was from Kabini side but I somehow thought it was more than 10 minutes drive.

The main problem with these safaris is the obsession with spotting tigers. In this quest you miss out on so much of the wonders of the jungle.

The other deterrent of JLR is ofcourse the price. You were lucky to get the deal you got.

[godharmana]

Great write-up, remembered my last visit to Kabini in monsoon of 2018.
In one of the safaris, we were the first vehicle to enter and we spotted a leopard on a tree right next to the Mananthavady main road. It was startled by sudden braking of our jeep and jumped down and went up a tree little far from the road.



And in another safari, we spent all the time waiting for a tigress and her cubs to step out of bushes beside the safari track, but the whole family decided not to stepout, just poked their heads out occasionally. Monsoons are mesmerizing in these forests.

[Cloudwalker]

That's a wonderful pictologue, rekindling the memories of Kabini, I can feel the wait for a good shot of the leopard. Glad you were able to watch giant cat which has been an elusive for us, hopefully will plan for one more trip this year to catch the glimpse of these cats.

[vsathyap]

How I wish someone would offer me a spot up for grabs - specially at Kabini! The contortionist shots are spectacular - an angle and a perspective rarely seen !!! The bee eater shots are stunning too - and the rest of the birds and the butterflies are just added bonus!!! Take a bow sir - I guess "addbidde“ would be appropriate

[Burgman_tales]

Would you recommend this resort and safari trip to someone who is not into photography and won't have a camera ?

[DSK0909]

Amazing pics as usual @Stryker
i liked the one with the Peacock and of course the Leopard

You seem to have lost quite a bit of time due to traffic snarl especially during the golden hour in the morning.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by godharmana

Great write-up, remembered my last visit to Kabini in monsoon of 2018.

Thanks, godharmana. Nice shot of the cub! Monsoons are indeed the best season to visit Kabini, or any other wildlife park for that matter.

Originally Posted by Cloudwalker

That's a wonderful pictologue

Thanks, Cloudwalker.

Originally Posted by vsathyap

Take a bow sir - I guess "addbidde“ would be appropriate

Thanks, Vishwas. Yeah, the angle and perspective was definitely unique, I've never had a sighting directly above me! They are usually quite a distance away from the tracks. Haven't seen you posting much in a while, then I can do the "addbeelo" thing too!

Originally Posted by Burgman_tales

Would you recommend this resort and safari trip to someone who is not into photography and won't have a camera ?

Most certainly, Burgman_tales. In fact, a very close friend of mine and huge wildlife enthusiast who has been visiting Kabini etc (we go together on a lot of trips) since childhood doesn't use a camera at all! The sheer joy of seeing these animals in the wild is a high which many people love.

Originally Posted by DSK0909

Amazing pics as usual @Stryker

Thanks DSK0909. I've not experienced this kind of traffic jam at the gate in the last 15 years I've been visiting Kabini! Somehow, this year the crowd going to the temple was far higher. Social media effect, especially Insta posts by a couple of celebrities who visited.

[Red Liner]

Thoroughly enjoyed the pictures of those GORGEOUS butterflies, birds, and that beauty of a house cat! Thank you!