Best of 2011 in photographs

Best of 2011 in photographs

The year 2011 has been one crazy ride. I ended up spending most of the time in the field – photographing and filming across India, Africa and southeast Asia. This also explains the lack of updates on my journal the last few months. Below is the collection of some of my favourite photographs from the field.

The year started with a long filming assignment starting in Rajasthan and then Kutch in Gujarat. After filming there, we moved to Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, where we spent 2 months filming tigers. Then again back to Gujarat to film lions in the famous Gir National Park. Spending long periods of time in each of these places was very rewarding in terms of the individuals we were able to follow over time. Watch out for the film ‘Secrets of Wild India’, which will air sometime in 2012.

After the filming assignment, I spent July in Borneo, August in Anamalais and September in Kenya. The year ended with a personal trip to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India.

Below is a selection of some of my photographs from these journeys

Leopard cubs in landscape
Some of the small hills in Rajasthan are excellent habitats for leopards and they are quite easy to see in human dominated landscape
Langur
A langur gives out an alarm call having sighted a leopard sitting on a boulder below
Desert beetle
A beetle on the dunes in the Desert National Park in Rajasthan
Demoiselle Cranes
Demoiselle Cranes in Keechan
Demoiselle Cranes
Thousands of Demoiselle Cranes come to Keechan village during winter every year
Hedgehog
A Hedgehog rolled up in defence on a highway
Desert cat in Kutch
A Desert Cat kitten in Banni Grasslands, Gujarat
Desert fox in Kutch
Desert Fox from Little Rann of Kutch
Desert fox
Desert Fox pups playing while the mother is out hunting
Flamingos
Flamingos in Kutch
Tiger in Tadoba
A young male tiger from Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve
Tiger in Tadoba
One of the tigers who would sit inside the bushes all day long and only venture out when all the tourists had left
Tiger in Tadoba
Known as the Telia tiger, he was the dominant male in the area and had the best places of Tadoba as his territory
Tiger in Tadoba
My most memorable moment in Tadoba was when this tigeress walked towards us, while we were on foot, setting up camera traps
Cicadas
Cicadas are sap suckers and excrete a spray of water. During summers this is a common sight in central India
Gir Lions
A young male Lion in Gir
lion cubs
Lion cubs sit with one of the mothers as the other one goes out hunting
Lion cub
A lion cub sleeps in the shade of a tree

Lions in the shade of a large ficus
Jackal
A Jackal tries to catch winged termites that emerged after a downpour
Lioness
Lioness
Lightpainting
A Koompassia tree in Borneo
Slow Loris
Slow Loris, one of the small, nocturnal primates from southeast Asia

A Spider, with excellent camouflage
Orangutan
A male Orangutan in Danum Valley, Borneo
Tarsier
Tarsier – a small, primitive, nocturnal primate, Borneo
Long-tailed macaque
The Long-tailed Macaques enjoying a grooming session
Impatiens
Impatiens growing on wet rocks along a stream in the Western Ghats

Extreme close-up of veins of a dried leaf

Imago emerging
Stream
A stream in the Western Ghats during the monsoon
Indrella ampulla
A close-up of Indrella ampulla — a snail endemic to the Western Ghats
White Pelican
A White Pelican joining a group of foraging Pelicans at Lake Nakuru, Kenya

A Masai Giraffe rests under a Balanites tree in Masai Mara, Kenya
Cheetah with cubs
One of the highlights of my trip to Masai Mara was the time I spent watching this playful family of Cheetah with her three cubs

Two of these cubs were later predated by Eagles
Cheetah hunt
Cheetah hunts an Impala in Masai Mara, Kenya. This is probably the best picture I made this year

A tower of Masai Giraffes. Two of them are necking — a ritual to establish dominance
Ground hornbill
A female Southern Ground Hornbill forages in the grasslands of Masai Mara
Rains in Masai mara
Rains on the grassy plains of Masai Mara
Stream Sapphire damselfly
A Stream Sapphire damselfly in Pakke Tiger Reserve
Stream Sapphire damselfly
Two male Stream Sapphires try to impress the female sitting on the twig
Manas
The Himalayan foothills in Manas
Eaglenest
Forest floor in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

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