4.33 PM; Nov 7, 2022. Studio region Sattal, Uttarakhand. No one... no one ever told me about presence of any tiger in and around Sattal region. No birder, no friends, no fellow travellers, no officials have in recent memory recorded the presence of any tiger here. And, if they have, then no one probably reported it. Leopards are many, that we know, but tigers? But, this is what I saw and captured on that day, when I was strolling in forest of the studio region for a quick birding trip! Am I the only one to capture a tiger in the region! More than a month and half has passed since the incident, but I still don’t have concrete answers, no responses from any official, district administration, wildlife authorities or even tiger conservation authorities! What everyone—who has seen the ph...
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What were presumably supposed to be the last ten days of a 40 day nationwide lockdown in two phases- a 21 day first phase and a 19 day second phase. Ten days of hope and anticipation, which actually concluded in start of another phase of distress. Altogether a big human tragedy has unfolded in all this, which reflects in the first image. Experiments with camera continued but many other things keep happening! Let's travel through these ten days. Also read: Lockdown chronicles : Photo diary of first 10 days of forced sit-in DAY 31 Lockdown Chronicles Day 31! : Life in a metro! With nowhere to go in the lockdown, this migrant labourer has nothing else but shade of an under-construction flyover to cook his daily meals! DAY 32 Lockdown Chronicles Day 32! : While everyone was...
Read MoreStar breathed its last yesterday and it is certainly the most disheartening news to hear on the International Day of Forests. Star, also called as Sitara was actually one of the stars of the forests of Ranthambore National Park and Tiger Reserve in Rajasthan. As per news reports Star or Sitara, which was named T-28 in forest records died after being tranquillised. Perhaps a tranquilliser overdose took its life. He was tranquillised in attempts to rescue him from a village in Khandar area on the park's periphery. It is said that this 13 year old male tiger had strayed close to a village where people had surrounded it. Forest officials reached there and in attempts to rescue, tried to tranquillise it. Ironically, the theme of this year's International Day of Forests is : Fores...
Read MoreBetween visits to Bhangarh and Kankwari forts, I had other three notable experiences. All are worth independent posts, that would certainly be in coming days. But, to me it seemed rather more appropriate to write about Kankwari fort immediately after Bhangarh. It helps more in drawing comparisons and parallels. Although the visit to Bhangarh fort had its worth because of all the stories attached to it and I was impressed by the fortress city as a whole, but I was largely disappointed by upkeep and ruins of the Bhangarh fort. In that context, visit to Kankwari fort right next day was a huge surprise... a pleasant one. I had read about Kankwari Fort sometime back but never had chance to visit it in my earlier trips to Sariska Tiger Reserve. Even the information available about
Read MorePanna tiger reserve has a special place personally for me. I have three personal firsts associated with this national park. It was here that I had my very first tiger sighting in the wild. This was also the place where I had my first and only tiger sighting while sitting on an elephant. Lastly, this is the only tiger reserve where I visited twice and had tiger sightings on both the occasions. And this time around, it was fortunate sighting of two cubs (photo above and below). Unluckily though, their mother remained elusive, although she was around. The gap of almost eleven years between these two visits to Panna had been a period of turmoil for this Tiger reserve. The story of Panna Tiger Reserve has not an ordinary one. A story of all hopes lost to an extraordinary resurrection. By
Read MoreThey might be most less talked about animal, when it comes to Ranthambore- we talk about tigers, crocs, monitor lizards and much more, but certainly not about monkeys. Although monkeys are integral part of the tiger reserves and ones to give the indication of spotting a tiger, but still here we are talking about monkeys of Ranthambore fort, which is located inside the tiger reserve and is claimed to have only temple in world of Trinetra (three-eyed) Ganesha. Devotees throng this temple, many of them on their foot for kilometres and some do encounter an odd tiger on the way. Well here is a peek into monkey 'business'! ...
Read MoreOnce believed nearly extinct in China, the Siberian tiger, the largest member of the cat family, is making a comeback, the result of a decade-long effort to restore its natural habitat by banning logging, hunting and trapping. Chinese have been amazed not only by the apparent growth of the tiger population but also by how far the felines have spread. It made headlines around China this year when tigers were seen near Jiamusi, a city 140 miles from the Russian border. In China, the number of Siberian tigers living in the wild (far smaller than those in captivity) has been listed in government statistics at between 18 and 22 for some years. Nobody knows the exact number, because the Chinese don't have tracking collars on the tigers, but there could be as many as 40 now and that the popul...
Read MoreRanthambore Tiger Reserve and National Park in Rajasthan, India is among the best places to go in 2014 as per the no other than National Geographic. It has compiled a list of 20 places in the world, which ought not to be missed next year. The Best of the World list reflects what is authentic, culturally rich, sustainable and superlative in the world of travel. Ranthambore Tiger Reserve in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan in India is one of the most celebrated tiger parks in world alongwith Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh. Ranthambore has been home to one of the most revered tigress ‘Machli’, a lead in one of the most well known wildlife fights between a tiger and a crocodile. Sighting a Royal Bengal Tiger in its territory is altogether a different experience. (Read: Tale of two tiger sig
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