Gaurs of Bandhavgarh !!

This is a picture of the Gaurs of Bandhavgarh...grazing peacefully in their enclosure! They are doing well..19 of them. And they are all set to be released shortly into the Park itself! Two research students from WII are constantly monitoring them.

One of my favourite pictures from the re-location..Gaurs being released from the truck into their enclosure!!

Gaur Relocation in M.P-a milestone in India's Conservation!!

A Gaur herd tracked by Elephant back by H.S.Negi, FD of Kanha and Les Carlise.

January 20th 2011..the Big Day finally dawns..we have been waiting for this for 5 years! India's first wild-to-wild Gaur relocation becomes a reality!! The M.P Forest Department has taken a bold step to relocate Gaurs to Bandhavgarh NP. Now it has the confidence to undertake such a monumental task, as it is well prepared..years of planning have gone into it. Firstly, they have deployed the best practices and technology in moving wild animals from South Africa, acknowledged as a world leader in this area. Secondly, their Park managers and Vets have been sent to S.Africa on an exposure trip. Thirdly, the Wildlife Institute of India are very much a part of this project and lastly they have involved three of the best experts in the world in the actual operation. Dr.Dave Cooper, a Senior Vet of KZN Wildlife..who has an experience of 35 years and who has handled more then 50,000 wild animals so far! Jeff Cooke, head of Game Capture Unit of KZN Wildlife..15 years of experience and Les Carlisle, Conservation manager for andbeyond with 30 years of experience and who has moved over 40,000 animals in his checkered career! So we are talking about over 80 years of combined experience and a total of over 1,00,000 wild animals moved by these three gentlemen!!

The first Gaur darted by Dr.Akhilesh Mishra from Elephant-back!!

Dr.Dave Cooper in action!

Jeff Cooke with one of the tranquilised Gaurs being shifted to the Boma..

The Man with boundless energy and Vision-Les Carlise!

The Transport truck designed and built to safely transport big animals like Gaurs over long distances...it is seen parked along the capture Boma..or an enclosure in Kanha.

The first Gaurs released at 2.35 am on morning of 22nd Jan 2011 at Bandhavgarh!!

A total of 19 Gaurs were translocated..in four trips.

World over re-locations like this have contributed in reversing local extinctions..Black Rhino, Arabian Oryx are two famous examples. In India, if we have to move ahead to save animals like Asiatic Lions. Cheetah and Barasingha, we have to adopt a similar strategy. In this background, we have to laud the M.P Forest Department's vision to bring back the Gaurs which have disappeared from Bandhavgarh in 1998. This new population will be tracked by two researchers from WII for a period of three years (the adult animals have all been radio-collared)..so that their movement and range behaviour will be well understood.

There is no dearth of critics in this country..especially in the field of Conservation..in my opinion, most of them are either cynical or ill-informed or both. This move will be criticised endlessly..but i am totally convinced that if we have to save our wildlife, we have to adopt a more pragmatic and proactive strategy of managing our wildlife resources...gone are the days of 'passive management'. The philosophy of 'wildlife will take care of itself' is not going to work anymore. In fact,Tigers are already being translocated..so are the Rhinos in Assam. The translocation of Gaurs is one more such bold step in that direction of 'active management'. The difference is that M.P Forest dept decided to get the best expertise and technology in the world!

Personally, this is a highpoint in my life..i feel i have managed to contribute my two-pence to the Conservation movement in India..what started as a dream 5 years back..is now a reality!! My Company,Taj Safaris, fully backed my crazy dream..i am so proud of it!

But this is only a beginning..we have to Dream on....

These are only a few pictures i am sharing with you all..i have hundreds of them! I was fortunate enough to be an active participant in the entire operation! These were the most exciting ten days in my life!!

You all will have to wait for more news and pictures of this path-breaking project!!

The future of the Lions in Africa ?

My favourite Lion picture....

But what is the future of Lions in Africa? Alas, it is quite bleak and a cause of great concern. According to an IUCN study by Bauer and Van Der Merwe (2004), the Lion population in Africa stands at around 23,000..(must be down further in these 6 years) which is down from about 1,50,000-180,000 in the 1980's...a steep decline of nearly 90% in just about 25 years !

We think only the Tiger is on the decline..and somehow ignore the fate of the Lion..so all the 'amazing sightings' one gets in the Masai Mara are sadly not reflective of the true picture of the status of these magnificent Cats...such a sobering thought..

The Lions of Masai Mara !!

Masai Mara has one of the highest densities of Lions anywhere in World..some experts say it is indeed the highest..there are between 450 to 500 Lions in it's 1510 Sq kms! According to a recent IUCN study, the density of Lion population in Masai Mara is 30 Lions per 100 sq kms!

I had some amazing sightings in the blissful 3 weeks i spent in August 2010. We saw a total of 30 different adult Lions (most likely different)...over 40 adult Lioness...many sub-adults..about 5 actual hunts..9 attempts...these are a sample of my best Lion pictures....

A pair or a 'coalition' of young Lions we saw one early morning..in fact we heard them roaring very close to our tents that night..i was camping in the middle of the Mara with a photographer friend, Michael. You can make out by their sparse manes that they are yet to fully mature..they were quite tentative and tense as it was not their territory...

One of the young Lions looking back at his partner...i love his auburn colour in the golden glow of the morning sun..

One of the several Lions we saw..this one was walking at a steady pace one early morning..not even pausing to glance at us..notice the high grass one can see at this time of the year...

We came across this Lion on a Topi kill..well hidden in a 'nallah'...i barely managed to get a picture through the thick, thorny bushes...

One of the two beautiful males in another coalition of Lions..we came across several of these male-only coalitions...the biggest one was five in number !

He was looking worried at some Vultures swooping down to their Buffalo kill...

One of the three males in another coalition...notice the spray as he is marking a fallen tree..

His two partners..walking close by...they had a determined walk at a good pace..as if they a distant territory in mind...

Another handsome dark-maned Lion.....

One early morning we came across this big male trying to drag a young Buffalo kill...

He was trying to get a good bite at the Buffalo..this is a full-frame shot..we were really close!!

This Lion is nick-named 'Notch' and is made famous by the BBC film 'Big Cat Diary'

'Notch' is indeed a very handsome, Black-maned Lion..notice the scars on his face..and all over his body..he is a veteran of the Mara Plains..and heads a coalition of five strong male Lions!!

A 'cat nap' in progress..Lions are champion sleepers!

More wildlife from the Bale Mountains !

The other side of the Sanetti plateau is the Harenna forest..look at these moss and lichen laden trees which are dominated by Juniper and Hagenia species.

The birds you see here are all very special..and almost every bird you see are either 'endemic' or 'near endemic' to the area..in this picture is a Thick-billed Raven.

Chestnut-naped Francolin

The handsome Guereza Colobus monkey (Colobus guereza)..the highland form has much thicker and longer fur.

The Endemic Spot-breasted Plover

The shy and rarely seen Giant Hog ( Hylochoerus meinertzhageni)

Another Endemic - the Blue-winged Goose

Bohor Reedbuck (Redunca redunca)

Another special-the Rouget's Rail

Menelik's Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus)

Mountain Nyala (Tragelaphus buxtoni)..not closely related to the Nyala of Southern Africa..but probably to the Greater Kudu..an antelope which is endemic to Ethiopia.

The guard was most reluctant to take a picture with me!

Ethiopian Wolf !!

The Sanetti Plateau of the Bale Mountain National Park (2,200 sq km), which is located in the highlands of Ethiopia. This is the secretive habitat of one of most enigmatic predators in the world-the Ethiopian Wolf !! So secretive and unexplored is this habitat...that the Wolf population of Bale Mountains was first known to science as recently as 1959!!

This is one of the most surreal wildlife habitats i have ever set my foot into...it's beauty and desolateness made my mind go numb...it was as if i was no longer a part of this world...it did not matter anymore if i do not see an Ethiopian Wolf...for which i came on a quest from thousands of miles away...and i only have a day to explore and seek it...

Endless miles of such scenery..notice the Augur Buzzard perched high...the Sanetti Plateau is cited as the world's largest expanse of Afro-alpine moorland, a montane habitat confined to altitudes of 3,500 to 4,500 meters on East Africa's tallest mountains...

And suddenly a Wolf !! I just could not believe my eyes !!

It gave me a quick glance...and scampered away!!

I was so fortunate...to have set me eyes on this rare, mysterious and beautiful animal..a stuff of dreams for any wild lifer...

The Ethiopian Wolf ('Canis simensis'), which was formerly known as the 'Simien fox', is an intriguing animal by itself. DNA analysis suggests that Ethiopian wolves share a recent common ancestry with the Eurasian wolf ('Canis lupus'). In spite of the restricted range (mainly Afro-alpine meadows and moorlands in Ethiopia), small habitat and rodent-catching behaviour of the Ethiopian species, it's specialisation appears to be a relative recent adaptation. These highly endangered (IUCN Status) hunters are entirely dependent on rodents, mainly the Giant mole-rats, which comprise of nearly 40% of their diet. Less than 500 animals are believed to be remain in the Bale mountains, which is their last retreat and even less in the Simien mountains in N.Ethiopia.

Back from an amazing trip !!

Bale Mountain National Park-Ethiopia

I just got back from a most amazing trip to Masai Mara, where i spent 3 weeks and Ethiopia !!

The highlights were:

1. Camping in the middle of Masai Mara..with Lions calling close by at night and avoiding Hippos in the pre-dawn darkness, while walking to the Loo!

2. Fantastic sightings in the Mara-about 25 different Male Lions, many more Lioness with Cubs, several hunts with one photographed entirely! Superb Cheetah sightings, Black Rhino, Martial Eagle with a kill etc!!

3. Discovering a lovely new country, Ethiopia! And visiting the hauntingly beautiful Bale Mountain NP, where i was extremely fortunate to see the Ethiopian Wolf and also the endemic Mountain Nyala...also many endemic birds.

As soon as i landed, i had to travel to Kanha..where the connectivity is really bad..i managed to upload one picture! You will have to wait for some more days for more!