Trip to Kenya and Tanzania - Part III - Central Serengeti and Ngorongoro

My stay in Central Serengeti was for four days at Nyota Luxury Camp which is run by M/s Lion King Adventures. The camp is upscale and really luxurious. Like all other camp accommodations in the area, Nyota is located amid forest and visited by wild animals in the night . Their calls may disturb your sleep. On the first night I  really got disturbed by Hyena squealings.

In terms of wildlife , numbers and species, Central Serengeti is simply wonderful . One gets to see all  the wildlife which Africa is famous for. It's so totally unlike India . Central Serengeti is miles and miles of flat land stretch dotted with long yellow wild grass , wild animals and Acacia trees.  There are , in one part of it ,  small outcrops called "Kopje"in Swahili on which one often finds animals sitting , mostly the Lions, Dik - diks and Leopards. 

From wildlife photography point of view Central Serengeti is amazing. But the roof open safari vehicles are not ideally suited for camera work. Side open vehicles offer  more latitude for eye level shooting. I couldn't help the situation and tried my best to take good shot from my roof open safari vehicle.

I told Mweta about my preferences . Some Elephant shots , some Lion and of course animals on Kopjes. And true to my wishes Mweta tried his very best to drive and locate my preferences. But in this process I suddenly realized that I had run critically short of memory cards. And I had still 2 days to go in the wild - one day at Central Serengeti itself and the other at Ngorongoro. I cursed myself for the situation. Why  didn't  I bring some extra memory cards? Why did I act so careless  on a trip to a land like Africa ? But nothing could be done to correct the situation. So I decided to idle the camera and try to seek pleasure from visual sighting.

                                                                                   

                                                                                  

                                                                               

Serengeti unfolded some wildlife dramas. Parked on the jungle road I was watching a coalition of Lions,  4 individuals, sitting under an Acacia tree on to my right  when about a kilometer long herd of Cape Buffalos  was  seen crossing the road in single file  some  500-600 metres  ahead of my vehicle. There were small calves too in the heard and a group of 3 hyenas were trying to ambush them.  The mother buffalos were very protective of them but the Hyenas were equally persistent . The  group members  sensed the lurking danger immediately . Reacting to the situation about 10 buffalos broke the file and forming  a semicircle charged at the Hyenas. A chase took place but the Hyenas were outpaced by the buffalos . A fleeing Hyena was overtaken by a Buffalo and charged viciously . The Hyena was tossed in the air like a ball and the moment it landed on the ground another Buffalo sent him again in the air. 

Mweta prophesied another drama. If the Buffalo herd was to turn to our side  then the feline coalition at rest under the Acacia tree will be  attacked !

The prophecy came true . The Cape Buffalo herd turned towards the tree under which Lions were lazing around . The Lions sensed the danger , got up and tried to walk away from the situation but found themselves   being chased by the  belligerent Cape Buffalos. It was  a hilarious scene and I couldn't resist taking a record shot.

                                                                                     

 

Checked out of Nyota after lunch and started for Angata Ngorongoro Camp reaching there by evening. From there I was to go to Ngorongoro in the morning. The safari timings in the crater are from 6 A.M. to  1 P.M. 

It took about an hour from Angata to Ngorongoro crater . The crater roads are full of  volcanic  dust and  lumps of Igneous rocks lay all around the road edges. But the place is full of wildlife and  its home to Black African Rhino. The presence of Lake Magadi adds to the beauty of the crater . This saltwater lake houses Pelicans and many other aquatic birds.  

I came across a resting Lion . It was a magnificent animal . It crossed the road in front of my vehicle and killed a huge  Waterhog on the other side. The scant leftover memory in the camera came handy and I made good use of it by taking few shots of this event. Also tried to locate African Rhinos but they were too far off from the camera range. Overall I found Ngorongoro a fantastic wildlife destination. 

Left the crater by the appointed time  and drove to Ngorongoro Farm House for  overnight stay. Next morning from there  I was to drive to Namanga border to enter  Kenya for my return journey home, 

                                                                                 

                                                                                      

Masai Mara, Serengeti and Ngorongoro are a must visit destinations for any wildlife lover and from my personal experience I would like prospective visitors to keep a few things in mind as follows:

1. There is dust  profusion  all over at these places. So keep your photo equipment well covered. Do keep a blower and soft brush in your bag. And do ask for a Bean bag from your tour operator.

2. Do keep 2-3 extra memory cards in reserve.

3. Do keep some medicines like Paracetamol , anti-diarrhoeal tablets , some band - aid strips , eye drops  and pain balm as well. Anti - allergics as per your need. Remember that medical aid in these places is very remote.

African hospitality is very good and you will seldom have any complaints. Tips are expected and do tip as you wish.

I will close now. Wishing you all a very Happy 2024 full of wildlife vacations.

                                                                               

Trip to Kenya and Tanzania - Part II - North Serengeti .

 William drove me to Isebania border, the Customs and Immigration post on Tanzanian side . I reached there around midday. Formalites were fast and I was out in 15-20 minutes.  Mweta of Lion King Adventures was waiting for me outside. My Serengeti and Ngorongoro trip was organised and managed by Lion King Adventures.

Mweta, quite fluent in English and a very jolly guy , introduced himself . Born at a Serengeti neighboring village his wildlife career had started early at the age of 12 years. His father was also a Serengeti Park employee and that helped. Mweta has been working as a Game Drive guide and driver for the last 25 years and knows Serengeti very well. He told me that I would reach  Heritage North Camp  , my first night stay and stopover in North Serengeti , in about four and half hours. 

For the second and third day in North serengeti I was  to stay at Acacia Migration Camp.

North Serengeti's main attraction is river crossing when thousands of Wildebeest and Zebra jump into river Mara waters to reach the other side. Many perish in this perilous short journey  due to huge Crocodiles which catch them in the waters and then by  Lions and other lesser felines which ambush them  when they step on terra firma on the other side. Though the reverse migration had already taken place this year but  some was left still. I was to witness such an event.

I had an early breakfast next day morning and started game drive around 7.45 A.M. . North Serengeti landscape is quite different from Masai Mara. Unlike vast rolling plains of Mara, North Serengeti is flat,  bushy,  woody and has small escarpments. Central Serengeti also is more like this except that it is much drier and has  hillocks called  "Kopje "in Swahili . We often see "Kopjes" in Discovery and National Geographic  images wherein Lion prides and other animal are depicted sitting high on rocks.  Umbrella Acacia tree and Ant mound are found all over the landscape.

Mweta kept briefing me about African wildlife while driving. I was was keen to see Cheetah and Mweta promised me that . I still had another 2 days in North Serengeti.

My safari vehicle radio blared in Swahili. Mweta told that concentration of Wildebeest has been observed at the river and crossing will take place. We moved towards that side . It was around 11 am.

A herd of around 2000 Wildebeest and some 50 Zebra had gathered on the opposite side of the river. Mweta parked the vehicle from where the sliding path reaching down to river waters  was perfectly in sight. He said that crossing will take place from that point only. He he was totally correct.

However the river crossing is a time taking and lengthy event. First a scout group of 3-4 Zebra and Wildebeest took  rounds examining all crossing paths from safety point as the river is infested with huge crocodiles. That went on for hours till the animals found it safe to cross from the path just opposite to where I was parked.

About 6-7 Wildebeest jumped in the river and started swimming in order to cross the river. The rest of the herd didn't follow the suit. Instead they kept watching the progress of the advance group.  Three of them  reached to the opposite side but found the bank too high to climb up . While they struggled to climb up , the Crocodiles saw them . The rest of the Wildebeest who were  in behind and were almost on the verge of finishing their crossing also saw the Crocodiles . They turned back swiftly  and swam back to their point of start on the other bank.. The trio that was struggling to climb up the high bank was unlucky. Crocodiles grabbed them all.

                                                                             

I decided to wait. Mweta said that animals will regroup , try again but crossing could be from some other  point along the river. I need to wait patiently. 

In the meantime many tourist vehicle had gathered to watch the event. The park rangers also arrived at the scene to maintain order . Finally after a wait of about 3 hours , crossing seemed to start at a distant point which was about a kilometer away from where I was parked. Mweta said not to worry and moved the vehicle in that direction.

Hundreds of Wildebeest were ready to jump in the river and had gathered down the bank near  flowing waters. I was ready with my camera to record the event but the frantic activity along the riverbank had caught attention of the Crocodiles and many of them appeared suddenly from nowhere. A pair of Hippopotamus also surfaced in the waters and that  spooked the Wildebeest. The herd quickly climbed back to high river bank. The crossing was abandoned.

The time was 4 P.M.  I already had a preview of the crossing. So I told Mweta to move on , There was much to explore in Northern Serengeti . 

I got up late on the second day morning and game drive started around 8.30 A.M. While driving to the game viewing area , the vehicle radio blared  and Mweta started clapping. He told me that Cheetah movement has been observed but that area is far off . It will take about 20 minutes to reach there. I was a bit skeptical. Finding a wandering Cheetah after 20 minutes or so in such a vast landscape ! Not possible.

But Mweta sounded very sure. He said that he would fulfill his promise made to me the other day. Since he knows the area like the palm of his hand , he would locate the animal for sure. I was still sceptical.

But Mweta was absolutely correct. He spotted the Cheetah and positioned the vehicle quite near to the animal so that I can take good shots.However the roof open safari vehicles have their limitations. You can not get eye level shot unless your object happens to be some big animal like an Elephant or a Giraffe. Window shots also suffer from the same limitation.

The Cheetah , a male , had made a kill short while ago and was in a hurry to devour its prey lest it was snatched away by Hyenas or Vultures swoop down upon it. It was a beautiful animal. I took shots and made a short video also. The blood stained uprooted grass in the front was telltale sign of the struggle that had ensued between the two

                                                                                

                                                                                     

 The third day  at Northern Serengeti  was the last . I finished game drive by noon. Came back to Camp, took bath and packed up . After lunch I was to proceed for Central Serengeti. Took shots of a sitting Giraffe - which is seldom seen sitting - a beautiful Hyena lying in a road and a mother Elephant with her year old calf , on the way.

                                                                                      

                                                                                     

                                                                                         

                                                                                      

              Central Serengeti and Ngorongoro in the next blog. Bye -bye till then and happy reading.

 

Trip to Kenya and Tanzania -- Part I - Masai Mara .

 Finally the day came for the long awaited trip to  Masai Mara and Serengeti  .   I took off on 29th September 2023 . I was to be there for 11 days.

The late night Indigo flight from Bombay landed at Nairobi at about 6 O'clock in the morning.  Millicent and William of Go Africa were there at the airport to receive me. William , a Masai , was  to be my driver and game guide for three days at Mara and then to drop me at Isebania immigration post  for crossing over to Tanzania.

Millicent gave me a small briefing of what to expect at Masai Mara.  She told me that reverse migration, from Masai Mara to Northern Serengeti ,   has taken place a bit early this year due to scant rains in Kenya.  Migration is totally dependent on rains but I was not to worry . Masai Mara  has  lots of wildlife to explore during my sojourn there. And  October being dry season there , visibility will be good with less number of tourists.  William , decked up in his traditional Masai attire , gave me a thumbs up with a broad smile. He spoke English.

Nairobi-Mara drive by  4x4 safari Land Cruiser took more than 8 hours including 2 midway stops at Rift Valley and Narok. The distance was only about 230kms but most of Kenya roads are dusty macadams which by modern standards are primitive . Therefore long drives are very uncomfortable.  Modern tar paved roads are few but maximum 50kmph rule is fallowed on them very strictly despite of scant road traffic. In a way it's good. Over speeding needs to be controlled.

My stay in Mara was at Mara Crossings luxury camp. This is the only permanent tented camp in Masai Mara right on river Mara. You can sit in the camp's lounge and watch Hippos and Crocodiles right below in the river. From  evening  six  to morning six , Masai guards escort you when you need to go anywhere in the premises . Its a safety protocol as the Camp is located in the forest.  Hyena and Hippo calls may disturb your sleep in the night..

                                                                                   

     Masai Mara is beautifully scenic. Miles and miles of green rolling plains mesmerize you. Lone           acacia trees standing in the middle add further to the scenic beauty. However photography from the Land Cruiser safari vehicle is a bit odd. One has to stand up in the seat and place the camera on the rails of the open roof of the safari vehicle . There is total loss of eye level unless one is happen to click large animals like Elephants or Giraffe. The side open safari vehicles , which are ideal for photography, are run only by Conservancies for their guests. Since they don't provide airport pickup , one has to either take a bush flight or taxi to reach them.

African wildlife parks allow game drives from morning six to evening six. But the morning and evening hours are the only good times for photography. The mid day hours are not suitable due to strong sunlight and atmospheric haze and dust. 

I was lucky to get a Lioness sitting on an earthen mound watching a group of Cape Buffalos across the road . My vehicle was in the middle so I could get shots of both by moving from one side to other.

                                                                              

The next day morning drive was beautiful. It had rained in the night which had a cleaning effect upon the entire area but with a light blue haze . However as the Sun rose , the haze was gone and it became picture perfect . I met a lone Tusker and a pair of Ostriches resting in the ground after having taken their dust bath.

I found  whole day game drives a bit tiring and moreover the best time for photography were  mornings and evenings . Therefore I decided to come back to Camp by 11.00 - 11.30 and then again go for drives in the evening around 4.00 p.m. And these drives proved to be best for photography as the animal movement was most during these hours. A Giraffe and a beautiful African Leopard were clicked.

Masai Mara is the place for appreciating natural beauty and enjoying the  abundance of its fantastic wildlife visually . One need to give his camera a rest for sometime and capture visuals from the eyes. It's equally enjoying. The sunsets are so beautiful that you get completely  mesmerized with the nature. It happened with me. I was lost enjoying a sunset and it was William who reminded me to pick up the camera and click it. Thanks to William . But for his remind I would have lost the shot.

Serengeti and Ngoro Goran in the next the blog which I will try to post soon.  Thanks in the meantime. And do put in your comments.

Tadoba April 2022

 I was planning  a Tadoba visit in early 2022 but spurts of Covid  followed by park closures and travel restrictions spoiled the schedule. As a result my February program was cancelled.

Finally it materialized in April.. Reached Nagpur at 12 midnight , thanks to Indigo which kept advancing flight departure on and on,  and by the time I reached Svasara it  was 2.00 a.m. There  hardly was any time left for a good  sleep and  by 5.00 a.m. it was again time to get ready for the safari.

My safari was in Kolara buffer from Madnapur gate . For me, visiting Tadoba after a gap of 2 years , it was a new gate. I drove around Madanapur lake in search of Lara and her cubs but in vain. Finally around 9.00 a.m. a returning jeep informed that Matkasur has been sighted at Lainbodi water hole. All jeeps then headed to the destination described.

And there was Matkasur, the famous and fearsome erstwhile King of Panderpavni area in 2016-2017. Now driven out from his native territory, he seem to be living in exile. But it was good to see the battle hardened Matkasur resting under the shade of a wild Jamun tree.

The next day safari was in Kolara core and as luck would have it , a tigress was sighted at a waterhole just 10 minutes after start. Light conditions were poor but nevertheless a record shot was taken, She came out in open for a few seconds after finishing her sip.

                                                                                 

                                                                                       

That was a good start. My guide, a local girl, was very enthused. We then headed towards Panderpavni #2 and  hardly had driven for about 10 minutes  when she asked the driver to stop. On the bifurcating road, that we had  passed a little,  there was the famous Tadoba tigress Maya with her beau Balram in a mating courtship sitting some 20-30 feet apart from each other. Later Maya came to her beau and went in to sleep

                                                                                  

The couple sat there for about 45 minutes or so . There was a long line of tourist vehicles on the jungle road. Then Maya got up from her slumber and started walking towards  Pandrpavni #2 with Balram in tow. Experienced photographers anticipating the opportunity rushed to the waterhole in order to secure vantage points for photographing the duo when they descend to  waters. After some time that moment arrived  and then shutters clicked continuously for sometime.

In the  afternoon I was advised to check Teliya lake area . In the morning a tigress and her cubs were sighted there. The dominant male tiger of that area known as "Bajrang"was also seen .  So I proceeded to Teliya lake.

Teliya lake is quite far off from Kolara gate and due to prescribed vehicle speed limit of 20 kmph the distance felt never ending . The slow drive soon became boring. But fortunately I met tigress Lara sitting under a tree on the roadside. There were two other tourist vehicles also. The tigress seemed to be warding off April heat in her short slumbers . She yawned and revealed her age. A broken canine , missing incisor and yellowing teeth line surely indicated of her getting old. I had seen her first  in December 2012 when she was a sub-adult.

                                                                                

My next and last safari was at Alizanza buffer of the tiger reserve. I drove past the Kinichua waterhole ;which once used to be central point of the photographers because its being the favorite place of the male tiger called 'Rana'.  Besides it was a  green shaded area and close proximity to water provided many birding opportunities in the summers. However some 3 years ago forest department's development work in the area changed the entire facade of Kinichua. It  lost is old charm.

My guide opined that we stop on the jungle road by the side of a flowing narrow nala where he said male tiger "Chota Matka" was seen in the morning. I stopped there and waited for about 3 hours and then out of sheer boredom  asked the jeep driver to move ahead. There was some bird activity in the nala vegetation and I  clicked a Paradise Fly Catcher. I had driven for about 2 km form the previous halting point .
                                                                                

Then all of a sudden some activity was sensed in the wild and my guide told the jeep driver to reverse and rush to the old spot. All tourist jeeps standing dormant so far came to life and started making a beeline 

towards our going.

I had cautioned my jeep driver not to go too close as I was was using a 400 mm lens but the driver, in the haste of reaching to the animal first , lost the caution and stopped too close to "Chota Matka"who after crossing the nala, was trying to come on the jungle road.

I lost a wonderful photo opportunity and be content with a record shot. ' Chota Matka' is a huge 10 feet male tiger. Watching him walk just 3 feet away from the jeep was a thrill of super kind.

                                                                              

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Panna Tiger Reserve

 My Singapore based friend  was very keen  visiting Panna Tiger Reserve for long but due to   COVID restrictions placed by Singapore government he could come to India only in December 2021. I made arrangements then and we are were off to Panna.

We drove to Tenduleaf Resort , our stay at Panna ,   which is about 312 km from my place. Leaving early in the morning we covered Kanpur in 90 minutes but thereafter traffic up to Ghatampur and 30 km beyond was horrible. We wasted about 2 hours in the traffic jam, reaching our destination around 5 pm.

Panna Tiger Reserve is located in north MP and spreads in districts of Panna and Chatarpur over an area of 1645 km of which about 542 km is the core area. Only 20% of the core is open for tourism. River Ken meanders through  for about 55 km from South to North acting as a lifeline to the Reserve and dividing it in to two. It is a picturesque deciduous forest with large open Savanna grasslands.

Panna enjoys a very special place in the history of tiger conservation in India. From zero tiger count in 2009 to 70 tigers of now ,  Panna is the testimony of  brilliant and determined work done by the forest personnel under the leadership of Mr. R S Murthy , the then Director of PTR. It became a Project Tiger Reserve in 1994. 

PTR houses a very rich and varied wildlife right from Tigers to Leopards , incidentally Panna has richest concentration of Leopards among all wildlife parks in India , around 270 ,  Sloth Bears, Wild Cat, Dholes, and a variety of Deer . Some of the most healthy Sambhar Deer specimen can be seen here. It is also very rich in avian life and is a breeding place of red billed King Vultures.

My 27th December morning safari started from Madla gate with the sighting of a male Leopard who was on the prowl in the  early hours.

                                                                      

That was a good sighting. Moving further and after about 25 minutes we came across Tigress T-151 with her two 10-11 month old cubs. She came upon the jungle road and sat down hardly some 15-20 feet distant from our jeep. One of her more playful cubs climbed up upon a nearby tree branch.

                                                                                  

                                                                                        

We met Tigress T-151 and her cubs again in the late evening near Chauka Rapta area . They were crossing the river on their way to the other part of the jungle.

                                                                            

                                                                                  

                                                                                      

Thus the first day was quite entertaining. But the weather God brought rains in the night and that wet spell continued for the next two days. Rains and poor light made photography difficult. However on the the third day morning, when the rains had subsided a lot and day light  improved somewhat ,we met the cubs of Tigress T-141. These two cubs are almost adults but still accompany their mother. So the expectation was very high that the Tigress T - 141 may also be somewhere in the vicinity.

                                                                         

                                                                                    

                                                                                  

In the afternoon, search for the trio continued and ultimately all were spotted in a thicket by the side of the jungle road. In no time all safari jeeps converged near the spot on the narrow  road in order to have look of the T-141 family when they cross the road.

My Guide did some smart thinking. He estimated that it would be some time before the T-141 family comes out of its hide and cross the road and in the meanwhile he would approach from the other end of the road so that we get a front view when the tiger crossing takes place.

I must admit his estimation was 100% accurate. In 10 minutes we made a turn around positioning ourselves on the jungle road about 25 feet distant and just opposite the rest of the safari jeeps waiting for the grand spectacle to happen.  And lo, the family crossed the road after about 10 minutes ; first the mother T-141 followed by her two cubs.

That moment I decided to rest my camera and give a chance to my phone. Enjoy the video. Click the blue.

                                                                             

Tiger Family

                                                                          

                                                                          
                                                                    

                                                                     

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The First Tiger

                                                            

My love affair with nature and wildlife photography started with a chance head-on encounter with a Royal Bengal Tiger in the narrow winding ghat roads of Amarkantak. It was way back in late eighties. I was working then with Raymond at their cement plant at Bilaspur. The company had given me a new Padmini car under their 'Own Your Car Scheme' and that facilitated my journeys to Lucknow , my home town, on annual leaves which I  used to take usually at the year end in the month of December. The  Durg - Sarnath  Express, the present day daily train between Allahabad and Durg, was a weekly train then sans any air conditioned coach.

So on one December morning we four - my wife, her mother,  my five years old son Akash and me, left Bilaspur early in the morning. The idea was to reach Allahabad before sunset in order to avoid the winter evening fog which one finds enveloping the road on approaching U P border. I was keen to pass the Sohagi Ghati area before sunset.

By 8 a. m. we were on the Amarkantak plateau. I was happy to maintain time. In the next 15-20 minutes the winding ghat road was to come to an end.  Thereafter road was mostly straight and I could speed.

Anyone who has driven in that sector will recall Amarkantak plateau's straight road turning into a deep incline at its end towards Shahdol. That very steep gradient runs for about 800 meter or so with two equally extreme hairpin bends in between marking end of the first and start of the second leg of that dangerous road section. It demands total concentration on the part of the driver. Any slip can send one down into the deep khadd.

I had driven past almost half of the slope. Driving slow in 2nd gear I was concentrating negotiating the first steep hairpin bend which was ahead and to come in a minute.  I then felt my wife's hand pressing my left shoulder, a  light press followed by a quick hard one like  dits and dahs of the Morse code. "Don't worry. I see the bend " said I to assure her.

"Oh , don't be silly. Stop and look to your left". There was a note of alarm in her voice. Applying brakes gently I pulled the hand brake lever backwards to the full lest the car rolls down the slope and turned my head leftwards as commanded. The car engine was running.

My searching eyes glanced the leftward area but failed to find anything noticeable. "Where, where", I asked Damini, my wife. Pointing her finger across the windshield she guided my vision to a point which was about 20 feet distant from the car. "Look there in the grass"she said.

There, at the spot amidst green - yellow 4-5 ft tall flowering jungle grass  I noticed a faint rustling movement and then something round in shape of orange-yellow  color with black markings and double the size of a number five football  peeped out. Nest appeared a white-yellow striped leg ending its suspension from the air to terra firma very slowly like the start of Michel Jackson's moonwalk. That round massive head turned slowly first to left and then to right , in our direction , as if doing a reconnaissance.

There was a strange kind of eerie. Frankly admitting my brain's information processing function went for a toss for a few milliseconds . "What is that " I asked Damini in a state of utter confusion.

"Don't you see that Tiger. You dimwit " came back the retort. A tiger. Oh my God ! A fearful realization hit me instantly. I wanted to speed away. Instinctively my left hand reached to lower the hand brake lever.

"Don't do anything silly. Cut down the engine" said Damini. By that time  the tiger , out of the grass cover, had started walking slowly in our direction perhaps to to see the jokers who were about to cross his path encased in some nonsense looking white metal contraption.

Car windows rolled up in a jiffy and doors locked hurriedly, our eyes got fixed at the beast walking head on in our direction. My heart thumped in a fearful apprehension. Will the brute attack our car? Why not to frighten him before he does that! My fingers reached for the circular horn pad in the steering wheel only to be brushed away by a swift forceful sweep of Damini's hand.

"Sit tight . Horn my startle him and he may charge" came the stern advice.

The tiger, its head down, kept walking majestically in the middle of the road in our direction. In the diffused sunlight its shimmering winter coat looked magical. His stout body with its rhythmic rippling of shoulder and neck muscles at every step that he took, presented a cat-walk of a totally different kind.

Öh , he is very near " exclaimed Damini taking me out of the trance. I kept mum, as anyone could imagine , for after all what could I say in that state of mind. Next happened the unexpected. The feline stopped in its tracks for a second. Then lifting the  head up he gave us a brief visual inspection as close as about 7 ft from the car. And perhaps not finding us worth to his stature , the King walked down the road vanishing in the woods. 

"Hey bhagwan. Aaj to merte-merte bachey " ( O'God. What a close escape from death today ) The voice from the back seat broke the pin drop silence in the car . That  was my mother - in -law trying to regain her composure with a swig from the water bottle. But the best came from Akash who I thought was asleep. "Daddy can I step out and watch the tiger going"!

Happy ending. We reached Allahabad before sunset. Liberal doses of tea and tips on driving manners from Damini helped.

                                                                                 II

 That brief meeting with tiger ignited my passion for wildlife photography but I had  no camera. So I requested Capt. Prabhakar, the Chief Pilot of Raymond to get me one. As luck would have it Capt. Prabhakar was to leave soon for Singapore for  fitting of some new avionics in the company's aircraft and when he landed back at Bilaspur a month later I was  presented an   Olympus OM-2N body along with  Zuiko 50 mm and 100 mm telephoto lenses. I frequented Achanakmar forest  regularly on every Sunday thereafter hoping to see a tiger and taking a shot from my new acquisition. But the animal did not oblige. In the meanwhile my job had started demanding time and therefore camera had to be put back in its bag. Nevertheless I learnt and my understanding of photography gradually improved. 

In 2001 I came to Indogulf Fertilisers , Jagdishpur. There in its verdant campus my bungalow abutted a 6 acres of man made forest and home to about two dozen Peacocks, many Monitor Lizards, a pack of Jackals,  few Pythons and a variety of birds. Sort of a mini zoo. Beautiful roses and other seasonal flowers were another visual delight. I started thinking of picking up camera again and thus while returning from one of my foreign jaunts I picked up a DSLR and a telephoto lens.

All this went on fine but deep somewhere  in the heart the dormant longing to click tiger in its environs got live again. Unable to suppress any longer I ranged up a wildlife photographer friend on mine for advice. After hearing me patiently he gave me some appreciable tips. He said that I shouldn't be "tiger - centric" but aim for the entire gamut of wonderful fauna that our country is endowed of and before embarking I must read as much as I can about tiger to know the animal. He said that wildlife photography was arduous and time taking . He doubted I was really ready for it. In a way he was right.

As advised I went for the wildlife literature whatever I could lay hands on. Books by Prater, Champion, Kipling, Sterndale, Jim Corbett and Anderson et al were read. That gave me lot of awareness about nature , tiger and biodiversity. 

After retirement in 2011 I had lot of time. So giving a start to my long pending desire I started visiting tiger reserves. Bandhavgarh, Tadoba and Pench are my favorites. I tried the neighboring Dudhwa also but gave up after sometime finding it not photographer friendly. A beautiful park but needing professional management.

 Photographing tigers has been a  memorable phase of my life and the feline  impressed me thoroughly. Suffice to say that tiger is the most majestic animal  both in appearance and personal traits. No other wild animal can equal tiger.  In 2017 I authored a book on tiger titled "The Vanishing Stripes". The book was rated as 'most authentic' work on Royal Bengal Tiger in India.

                                                                         III

Of late wildlife and nature photography had become very popular in the country. The advent of digital cameras  and rising income levels have made this possible. More and more people now are drawn to tiger reserves to see the Royal Bengal Tiger and click him in his natural habitat. That is very heart warming. But simply being a wildlife photographer is not enough. The increasing number of tiger lovers in the country must  advocate the cause of conservation also as our jungle are being cut mercilessly in the name of infrastructure and development. Our greed and destructive genius both combined together are destroying nation's flora and fauna . We are losing our wilds and wetlands at an alarming rate. Wild denizens are short of living space and falling prey to snare , poison and bullet in search of home. And now that the words "poor"and "adivasi" have acquired a strong political connotation , tiger and jungle both  face an aggravated danger of being destroyed in the name of "public welfare" as we saw it happening in the recent past in Maharashtra. On the other hand we have not been able to prevent large scale  poaching  that  goes on unabated , unreported and assuming form  of a lucrative profession. This year we have lost about 400 Leopards, 80 Elephants and more than 100 Tigers , the ratio of natural vs. unnatural deaths being 40:60 respectively. It is very sad to read that  we are left now  with less than 150 Great Indian Bustards or that our unique One Horned Rhino is being killed at the rate of one animal per month for its horns, The present trend continuing , India may be devoid of its jungles and wildlife in the next 50 years. Generations coming after us will see the wild animals only in photographs. Books may read like "once upon a time there used to be forests and tigers in India". With that thought , as a wildlife and nature  photographer, I seem to be doing a good job - for the posterity.

                                                           ___________________________

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Testing Canon 5 D mark IV with Canon Extender 2x iii and 1.4x iii with EF 300mm F/2.8 L II telephoto lens - A field Report

 Though I had received my Canon 5 D Mark IV body and Extender 2x iii in February 2020 itself , I couldn't test them due to Covid 19 lock down that followed soon after. It was only in the first week of November , when the Covid spread stood contained quite a lot,  that I decided to head for Himalayan foothills for field testing my newly acquired imaging gears.

I spent 2 days in Chafi  and Pangot forests near the hill station of Nainital in Uttarakhand. .  These two areas are known for being the finest places for all those who may wish to click a wide species of  Himalayan birds. My idea was to capture some challenging objects in their native environs so as to understand the technical capabilities of the equipment while testing one's camera skills and physical fitness too. Himalayan forests were the perfect place for it.

As we know that Extender 2x reduces light by 2 stops. Thus my 300 F/2.8 L II lens became F/ 5.6 . I clicked a Himalayan Black Partridge to start with at F/5.6 , 1/800, ISO 6400 with minus 0.7 compensation. It was shot in RAW and converted to JPG after processing with Canon DDP 4 software. The result was quite acceptable. ( All other images also are shot in RAW and converted to JPG as explained above. )

Next I shot a Greater Yellow-nape Woodpecker at F/7.1, 1/200 at ISO 6400. Again the image didn't disappoint.

Next I tried some shots with Extender 1.4x. Here the results were excellent . I shot in AV, TV and P modes just to find out camera performance and I must admit that it gave me no cause to complain. Even in most trying light conditions, low and back light, results were very nice.

             F/5 , 1/1000 , ISO 3200 

                                                                   F/4, 1/1000 , ISO 4000

F/6.3 , 1 /1000 , ISO 3200

The test was satisfying. Extender 2x iii performs well on EOS 5 D Mark IV body provided it is mated with a prime lens. With Extender 1.4 x it is as sharp as the bare telephoto lens that I was using. Also EOS 5 D Mark IV has got good resolution and  its low light performance remains very good.

Please leave your comments.

                     

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Birding at Ganeshgudi and South Goa

My birding trip to Ganeshgudi was getting postponed since long for one reason or the other. But after the Uttarakhand trip in November 2019 I promised myself to visit Ganeshgudi in the new year. And thus I was at the famous Old Magazine House,  the so called Birder's  Mecca  at Ganeshgudi, in the first week of February 2020 for a 2 day birding trip.

The Old Magazine House is located amidst verdant forest.  The   set up there  is basic but comfortable as it should be at a jungle lodge. The surroundings are absolutely serene giving you the much desired relief from the cacophony and huff that a urban dweller gets 24x7 in the city. And so is the air : pure sans poisonous mixture of fumes of various origins. Very  good for the lung detoxification.

 The Old Magazine House has a simple photography set up. There is a hide, of about 30 feet in length turning to the right at the end, made of green net cloth with aperture cuts or openings  at the height of about 4.5 feet. So the  camera must be mounted on a tripod or  heavy bean bag if one is using a long lens. Since the birds are not fed here, their arrival is sporadic. That means long waits . As the photographer must  stand all the time while at the hide, it is tiring and  telling upon  leg muscles. The perches and bird baths, about 10 in numbers,

are at about 20 feet distant from the hide. Another peculiarity there is  the light conditions. The perches are in the shaded area while the background gets strong natural light. That results in lot of focus hunting.
My first day, started at about 9.00 am after breakfast, ended well . There were hits and misses. In the final tally  were  Mrs. Gould's Sunbird,  ,  Brown-cheeked Fulvetta, Tickell's Blue Flycatcher, Blue-capped Rock Thrush and Giant Malabar Squirrel besides many record shots.

The second day started rather early. Led by the resident naturalist-guide Mr. Vinayak we walked  a birding trail. About 1.5 km away, by the side of construction site near the main road , we found a Grey Malabar Hornbill perched in a tree in the morning golden light. There were many other beautiful birds and the fellow birders enjoyed clicking them.  The regular photo session at the hide started by 9.00 am after breakfast. By the session end I had Black - lored Tit, Paradise Flycatcher, Yellow -browed Bulbul and  Black-naped Monarch.

That brought  my Ganeshgudi sojourn to an end. I had an early dinner and retired for the night. I needed sleep and rest to my swollen  ankles.

My next stop was Nature's Nest , a resort at Sacordem, South Goa, owned and managed by Shreerang Phadke . Shreerang himself is an avid wildlife lover and conservationist and that reflects at his resort which is so green and eco-friendly. Nature's Nest offers many birding opportunities . One can find Sunbirds of various hues and colours  in great numbers in the resort compound. Bulbuls, Blyth's Starlings, Black Birds and Woodpeckers can be found at its hide. I spent one day capturing these beauties.

Nest day I headed for the Bondla Wildlife Sanctuary, which is about 18km distant from the Nature's Nest , in search of the rare Malabar Trogan. I was lucky to get them but unfortunately the male bird was perched on the electric wires. I got a full view  of the bird and have kept it as a record shot only as generally I do not snap birds perched on wires /railings etc. But the female Trogan was in the  natural habitat and she made a good pose.

A pair of Chestnut Shoulder Patronia was also there perched in a tree.

In the evening I headed for the Bhagwan Mahaveer Wildlife Sanctuary in search of the Blue Eared Kingfisher and the Srilankan Frogmouth. The first one didn't oblige but the second one did. It was sleeping but as luck would have, it opened eyes as I was about to click.

South Goa is very green . However it does need a lesson or two in keeping the environment unpolluted. Empty beer bottles and edible packets  littered on the sides of the sanctuary road do not make a good sight and show our poor civic sense. And so is the restaurant located on the right hand side of the bridge whose litter finds disposed off in the  beautiful stream flowing below. Will Goa Forest Department look in to it? Please leave your comments.

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