Wildlife

Photo-essay: Shadows on the Grass

Photo-essay: Shadows on the Grass

There is one group of plants, which supports the largest masses of wildlife in the world and also supports most of our human populations: grasses. This remarkable plant group covers a fourth of all the land on the earth. Almost 70% of our daily diet is derived from grasses. Rice, wheat, maize, barley, are all species of grass which have been cultivated since the advent of agriculture and selectively bred over the last 10000 years by humans. Today, grasslands are under assault. They are among the most endangered natural habitats on earth and India is just about holding on to…

Revenge of the Hyena

Revenge of the Hyena

We are currently in the grasslands of Velavadar National Park filming for Wild India. We have been getting good shots of the blackbucks lekking and an amazing array of other animals. From wolves, hyenas, jackals, jungle cats to nilgais. We have been waiting at a hyena den the last few days but have not managed to see it at all. Yesterday, while driving around, I saw one hyena in a new area in the grasslands. Allah Rakha (our amazing guide) and I decided to investigate and searched around the area in the evening. We came across a den in the…

Postcard from Borneo

If you have been wondering why there has not been any updates on the blog lately, its because of back to back trip from Agumbe and now in Borneo. It has been a mind-blowing trip so far, to experience the oldest rainforests on earth. Just to give you a perspective, I’ve photographed more fungi in the last two days than birds and mammals. Danum Valley, Borneo Currently in Imbak Canyon Conservation Area where the BBC series ‘Expedition Borneo’ was filmed. Heading to Maliau Basin tomorrow. More once I get back.

Expedition Narcondam : The Island

Read previously: Expedition Narcondam : Part 1 The night came in early and soon we were sailing in almost total darkness, but under the canopy of a million stars–the milky way above us. We had started early that morning on a small, private, sail boat and still were not in sight of our destination. As I settled down on the deck for the night, I could not help but think about Charles Darwin and his Voyage of the Beagle. Close to 200 years ago, Darwin with his crew went around the world in HMS Beagle and in his trip to…

Expedition Narcondam : Dolphins

When I started bird watching many years ago, one of the curious birds that I read about was the Narcondam hornbill. Why the name? Well it turns out, this hornbill is endemic to this small little 6.8 sq km extinct volcanic island named Narcondam island between Andaman islands and Burma. Can you imagine? The whole species of a big bird like the hornbill (some people even call it a honorary mammal) is found in this tiny little island. Since then, the goal was set. Visiting this island and exploring this went into my bucket list. It took more than 5…

Tigers in BR hills

One of the exciting things about wildlife is the unpredictability. When you least expect it, you are rewarded by an amazing wildlife sighting. Yesterday, along with two of my friends, I had been to BR hills. We left in the morning, reached BR hills by lunch time, finished some work and went to K-gudi (the tourism zone of BR hills) and decided to go on the evening safari. Two weeks ago, a mother tiger with 4 cubs were sighted near a water hole and we decided to drive straight to the place and wait there. As soon as we landed…

Colugos from Singapore

Benjamin Lee has a very interesting Job. He works for the Singapore National Parks Board. He is responsible for maintaining the tree cover in town and also the National parks and watersheds. I was introduced to Ben as he was the best person to show me Colugo in the wild in Singapore. He called me last evening and said he has a very special surprise for me. A Colugo had entered one of the buildings next to the park and we had to go pick it up and release it back in the national park. It was dropped off at…

The Andaman Islands

This is the image that everyone has of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Clear blue waters, white sandy beaches which transform into lush rainforests as you move onto the land. The truth however is quite contrary. There is very little of original, undisturbed, pristine rainforests left. The Andamans were the timber source for mainland India for many decades. In fact till recently, the largest saw-mill in Asia was operated out of there. People in mainland India were given incentives like 10 tons of wood every year to settle down in the Andamans and ‘colonize’ the islands. Burmese people even today…

Andaman Islands

Munda Pahad – The southern tip of South Andamans After waiting many years, I’m finally at Andaman Islands. Spent the last 3 days exploring the mangroves, chasing the endemic birds and snorkeling in some of the most breathtaking and clear lagoons of the islands. Tomorrow we leave to go up north to middle and north Andamans to check out the Edible-nest swiftlet caves. More soon …

Masai Mara in Black & White

About two months ago, while I was on a shoot, I suddenly get a call to be on a luxury east Africa safari four days later. I finished the shoot, rushed to Bangalore, got my yellow fever shot and jumped into a plane to Nairobi. Till the day before I got into the plane, I didn’t even know where I was going in east Africa. From Nairobi, we took a charter to Mara over the great Rift Valley. The minute I landed, I got out and kissed the Earth under my feet. In the next 8 days, I saw, experienced,…

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