[Coooolcat21]

Thank you all.
@DKG ,
Sir ,I agree to your concern towards healthy educated tourism in the national parks. A new site exclusively devoted to wildlife conservation has just been launched. I am sure it will be of interest to every person who cares for the wildlife and its environment. www.conservationindia.org

@Sach,
Thanks ,That photograph is my favourite too.

@GD Sir,
Thank you for correcting me, its the mukki range.
I am not sure of nakkatta as there was news of a male tiger that died last week,maybe due to territorial fight. I shall try clarifying the same with our gypsy driver in kanha.

@Fazal Sir,
Thank you.
In Kanha u wont need to whistle, if u want to see Munna,just whisper "Cat" and he shall arrive. Closely notice his forehead, he has CAT written on it.

Regards

[DKG]

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

A new site exclusively devoted to wildlife conservation has just been launched

Thanks a lot for sharing this info. Will check it out.

My concerns aside, it's a precious contribution talented photographers like yourself are making in creating awareness about the extraorinary beauty of the Indian wildlife and forests. Thank you for that !!

[manmohanmaan]

Thank you Joe, if it was me you were talking to .

Thank you GD, DKG, Fazal Ali and Sachin Ji, I do hope the pictures are a little better after all these years of intermittent photography.
DKG, i totally agree with you, the picture of a national park totally insulated from the modern human environment is tempting, but I would prefer to keep this utopia in my and public eye, i simply do not trust the govt 'system' and am absolutely sure that no horror is beyond their willing capabilities.I am not willing to place these places that i so love beyond my capacity to visually ascertain that they still exits and prospers. But there is always the down side of all methods and you have rightly pointed out the same for 'tiger' tourism. Its like a tunnel vision for some, a single point of focus, the environment simply does not register.
Fazal Saab, you really think that narration skills are genetic, hey who do you think taught her from the alphabet on? . Do not fear, I promise to leave the log to Coooolcat, she is doing a pretty decent job.
Sachin, my only grouse was that the action by the Officer was prompted by a tourist in a manner that was almost akin to blackmail. Should the Dept not trust its own guards and do the guards not have enough faith in their superiors to independently take a stand based on facts? Its a poor picture we present to tourists from abroad when we project a picture that we need them to guard our own homes! All I say is lets show some spine! Reporting a break in rules should be done on merits, specially when you happen to be eye-witness not be based on someone pushing to do so.
Regarding the bias, lets not fool ourselves it exists.
PS: I can assure you gentlemen Coooolcat cannot whistle.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

the picture of a national park totally insulated from the modern human environment is tempting

For centuries people took from forests the pleasure of hunting, some took food and fuel and shelter, others plundered the richness for personal gain.

Today too our tourist again takes from the forest in terms of the pleasure of an exotic experience.

The question we all need to ask is what are we giving back? How many people visiting forests document the steady degradation taking place? the ugliness of scores of noisy vehicles intruding in the name of tourism. The fresh new roads being laid out and trees being cut along the road so that people can see wildlife. The constant threat of logging and cattle grazing. The apathy of the government in neighbouring villages where water management has simply been neglected for too long. the greed of resort owners who most probably are digging further into an already depleted water table, most probably some maybe using wood from the forests to heat water for tourists, what about all the sewage created, how is it managed and treated?

can we all resolve that we tread less into the forests if all that we do is take pictures for pleasure? this obsession with the tiger is a bit skewed !! What about the disease of human intrusion eating into the essential fibre of the forest?

as responsible tourists and photographers we could do something for the forest in return. Lets become spokespersons for the trees and the wildlife. document the threats, reporting it to concerned authorities and NGO's and media. Create transparency in highlighting the damage the greedy resort owners wreak on the delicate forests.

Demand that the resorts meet certain standards in terms of the damage their business causes the forest and wildlife.

I am sorry but tourism in India is as deadly as a double barrel gun. what are the chances some of these resorts are feeding exotic meats for a fee? Or degrading the environment in the name of better service to customers? during my recent trip to Ladakh a gentleman I met spoke at length about Pangong he knew and the pain and horror he experienced when he saw a tourist guzzle beer standing there at the lake and throwing the bottle right there on the beach once he was done. I believe he walked up to the person and asked him if he should be dropping the empty bottle in a bin when he finds one. The errant tourist replied "here carry it and dump it safely if you are so bothered"!!

Coooolcat my apologies for this rant. It's just that the best thing that could happen to forests and wildlife is when we can leave it alone. the tiger doesn't need us nor do those trees or birds!! but if we do care then we should create a storm in India documenting the threats and degradation and demanding action from the government.

I do believe that most people here genuinely care about the forests and wildlife. let us please resolve that with each visit the forests gets our help in freeing it of one threat. For if we cannot help the forests we really should stay away and not add to this new madness called tourism for personal pleasure

[gd1418]

Oh ho, this is a sad news and hope it is not Nakkata. I shall be waiting for the feedback from your driver.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

I am not sure of nakkatta as there was news of a male tiger that died last week, maybe due to territorial fight. I shall try clarifying the same with our gypsy driver in kanha.

Fazal Bhai, you get another method of calling out. Saves you from whistling at various genders and species...

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

@Fazal Sir,

In Kanha u wont need to whistle, if u want to see Munna,just whisper "Cat" and he shall arrive. Closely notice his forehead, he has CAT written on it.

Regards

[Coooolcat21]

Munna gave us the opportunity of seeing him for a long time. For the first time it was good to see the tiger without the camera lens too. Most of the time the sighting is so short lived that one gets too busy taking pictures. Also managed a video recording for almost half an hour.
Giving him one last look we leave as it gets time for the park gates to close.





As we arrive at the gates , for the first time in all these years, got to see such a large family of owls soaking in the warmth of the late morning sunlight.



We have a relaxed lunch at the Gol Ghar. The food is exactly the same as in Pench. Seems like the MP hotels have fixed recipes to follow.
We had so much to talk about our sighting that we suddenly realised it was time for our next safari.
We started as totally satisfied tourists in this afternoon safari.
The jungle was calm.





Yellow wattled lapwing



Red wattled lapwing



Black Stork

[sach.sri]

nice pics coooolcat.... this thread is going places!

Totally agree with you on the sightings part - getting to see a tiger, for a short time - one tends to simply focus on getting pictures and does not enjoy looking at the tiger without a lens. But a sighting like this - very lucky indeed!

Reminds me of my leopard sighting in Sariska - where we had to leave the leopards and go as it was closing time. Awesome!

Especially liked the first black stork pic - very nice details and capture.

[Coooolcat21]

@Sach.sri
Thank you so much. You are doing a great job with the birds.
Regards.

Drove through the beautiful paths.



We went back to our resort and settled down looking at all the pictures we had taken during the day. Son was quite happy to play with his cars in open space,thou he has never complained on the safaris.
The evening was really chill and I dont remember when was it last that I had looked up at the sky so many times hoping to see the stars.
Stars in the sky were an assurance to us of having a good bright morning that promised us a safari with good sightings.
Had dinner and with one last look into the deep jungle lost to the thick fog outside our rooms ,we catch up on some sleep to be up on time the next morning.
We wake up to a chill dark morning ,with the jungle still engulfed by the fog. But the good news was that there was going to be a safari.
An overcast sky the previous day had presented us with the most beautiful sighting till date.
So with no much worry for the weather we again drove into the same jungle but with a refreshing feeling as always.






Soon we see a huge herd of bisons .





I suppose our safari was going to be dedicated to the little ones of the Jungle.





Soon we heard calls of the langoor and stopped to see 4 cubs in the bushes playing around and maybe wanting to cross the path. Of the 4 cubs, the only male cub was the confident of the lot and decided to sit and watch us. We got beautiful video recordings of the cubs.
Our long awaited dream to see cubs was fullfilled today.
Felt blessed by the jungles to have given us an opportunity to see the wealth its hold within.

[Coooolcat21]

Having seen the playful cubs we drove on to see more of the jungle and its wildlife.





Sambar


Jackal


Pygmy Woodpecker


Thick Knee was exactly in the same place as we saw it last year near the park gates. With this we ended our morning safari.


On wednesdays the park stays closed in the afternoons. So it was our eve off for the day. It was a great opportunity to be sitting at the resort that is located right in the forest area that treats the guests to various wildlife.
Its often that one can see Bisons,Sambar deers,Spotted deers,Jackals, Woodpeckers, Grey hornbill and various other birds. Its here that some have been really lucky to have even seen leapords and a tiger.
With the sun setting down and darkness hiding away the silent activites of the forest,the junge fell absolutely silent.
We went to bed with the stars shining down at us,promising us a bright morning.

Woke up to a comparitively clear weather . We started our last safari of this trip with happiness in our hearts and gratitude. The jungles had been kind to us.




















The rays of the early morning sun glistened through the fresh new leaves of the Sal and bamboo. It was like a large canvas with all the hues of the reds and the greens.

[abheekg]

Lovely pics ma'am and great work with the head on Tigers. But tell me why's a man on foot outside his vehicle behind the tiger in this pic ?



Its about time we met if you are in Nagpur.

Dr. A Ghosh ?

[manmohanmaan]

Originally Posted by abheekg

Lovely pics ma'am and great work with the head on Tigers. But tell me why's a man on foot outside his vehicle behind the tiger in this pic ?

Attachment 903401

Its about time we met if you are in Nagpur.

Dr. A Ghosh ?

Hey Dr. Ghosh,

the man on the ground is an forest official from the Forest Jeep in the foreground. The reason for this position is an open question and the answer open to speculation.
Manmohan.

[Coooolcat21]

Have been unable to update my log since some time as bsnl 3g has been giving me some trouble.
Its the same trees and the same landscapes except that they always look so different in every trip. Its the magic of nature.















Stone Chat.




Vulture



Black Stork



Blue jay





Greater Racket-tailed Drongo.



White Naped Woodpecker





Spotted Dove



Langoor.

[mallumowgli]

An almost forgotten way of story telling and photos with lyrical quality..what more do you want on a Sunday!! Waiting...

[deky]

Your fluidic narration is making me feel as I if I am enjoying the action right there with you.

With the pictures and the subsequent comments made by all the wildlife enthusiasts has made this thread a must read.

There was some discussion going on about wild animals and the presence of humans as tourists in their territories. My take on that is that tourism definitely helps in keeping poachers at bay, also it earns some revenue for the upkeep of the forest. But the tourists have to be responsible. Hopefully such threads would spread some awareness.

I also feel that once you spot a tiger, the tourists at the max should be allowed only to stay there for 10 minutes and observe it, after that they should move on their ride and make way for other tourists to come and have a look.

I say this because I had a horrendous experience in RNP where the poor tiger, in his habitat was surrounded by around 30 vehicles, all his exit routes were blocked for the length of time he was visible. It was like being house arrested. Anyway I was part of the mele, but I seriously felt bad for this beautifull animal.

I was told that tigers were getting used to it and the younger generation of the tigers had accepted it as a part of life.

Even a domestic dog bites when pushed to a wall, and these tigers are wild animals. So good till the honeymoon lasts. One day I feel a tiger would attack a human and then all hell will break loose. The tiger will be labelled a man-eater and will be doomed!!

I hope that time never comes and things change for better!!

My thoughts

Regards!!

[Coooolcat21]

@mallumowgli
Thank you for following up my log.
Regards
@Deky.
Thank you for your appreciation and your views. It always helps to have varied views about the situation at our national parks and the need for thier conservation.
I have followed every TL of yours and specially the ones to Kailash and mansarovar are such an inspiration ,I hope to do it some day..
Regards

We again got lucky to see Munna from a very far of distance,did not wait with the rest of the gypsys who hoped for him to walk on to thier path.
The sun showered rich colours not just to its vegetation but also to its treasure of wildlife.

Peacocks basking in the morning sun.




Honey buzzard



Reflections!


















The sambar deer swim out of the lake and turn back to look at us and soon we promise them to be back at the earliest.
I am sure they understood us and they slowly dissappeared into the golden brown forest ahead.