Sundarbans in West Bengal has become popular for increased tiger sightings. However, the sighting of lesser cats, like the Leopard Cat and the Fishing Cat, still remains rare due to their nocturnal habits. In fact, the latter is one of the least seen mammals in Indian Sundarbans.
I had a fleeting glimpse of an individual in Feb 2017 basking in the early morning sun during a foggy winter morning. In Feb 2019, a few of us got to see a … Read More
I had the good fortune of this sighting in the summer of 2017 at Tadoba Tiger reserve. On a morning safari, while driving from a waterhole in anticipation of a tiger, we encountered some movement in the bushes. As we turned off our engine, we saw a small cat appear out of the bush. Initially we thought it to be a jungle cat kitten, but later realized we had just spotted one of the most elusive members of the cat … Read More
Every nature photographer should willingly and happily follow this simple credo – even when no one else is watching.
This is not hard to do, and for those with a genuine love for nature, or even just a conscience, it should be second nature. Unfortunately, thanks to the vast numbers of people who now own high-end photography equipment, and are constantly on the look out for excitement – and instant gratification on social media … Read More
The increasing trend of mobile photography can be extremely stressful to animals and potentially dangerous for those taking the pictures. Here in the Anamalais, people started approaching this sambar stag with mobile phone cameras while he was waiting to cross the road. The situation is similar with all animals, including elephants. No wonder then that animals attack people! Of course they then get blamed for it. … Read More
On the 18th of October, 2011, we were camping in a trekking shed, on the way to Mukurthi peak in the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu. The trek involved walking about 3 km through wattle and grassland to reach a stream, followed by another uphill trek. Two of us reached the last hill around 11 AM, and as it was hot, we decided to turn back. The disappointment at not completing the trek turned out to be a blessing in disguise. As … Read More
The GIB does not differentiate between a photographer and a poacher and treats them both as a serious threat. So, even approaching the bird for benign purposes such as wanting to take a picture can pose a serious threat to these birds, whose number has plummeted below 200 in India.
The GIB lives in open, short grass plains. It uses its height of 3.5 to 4 feet to scan for threats, and is able to perceive them from a long … Read More
A rapid assessment study of the grasslands of Hesaraghatta, outside Bangalore, shows that unregulated and excessive vehicular movement of bird photographers is creating permanent vehicle tracks, causing significant disturbance to the feeding and foraging activities of birds, imposing severe stress on the local birdlife, as well as damaging the ecosystem for some rare butterflies.
Conservation India condemns such unethical and insensitive photography and urges wildlife photographers to strictly adhere to the cardinal rule of nature photography — “The welfare of … Read More
On Dec 15th, 2012, we (Neelakandan Madavana and Navneeth Kishor) visited Pampadum Shola National Park, in Idukki district of Kerala. It was around 6pm and we were returning to camp after a trek. We noticed a movement in a tree trunk, not far from us and on closer observation, noticed this Brown Palm Civet climbing up to rest on a branch. These civets can easily go unnoticed to photographer’s eyes, and indeed, they were thought to be locally extinct in … Read More
On November 4th, 2010, a friend and I were on our way through Mysore to a resort near Nagarahole. We were not expecting to see any interesting wildlife on the way, but we were amazed when we suddenly spotted this Rusty Spotted Cat (Prionailurus rubiginosus) near Karapura. We took a record image. These cats are thought to be rare, although new information suggests that they may actually be more common than assumed.
See this other post about a … Read More
INVITATION
On the occasion of World Tourism Day, the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC), and Sanctuary Asia are pleased to invite you to preview the winning entries of the Wild Maharashtra Photography Contest.
The exhibition will be on display daily until Sept 30th, 2012 from 11am until 7pm.
Some of the best photographers, such as Baiju Patil who took the Blue-tailed Bee-eater image in Jayakwadi, Maharashtra, sent us some of the most stunning images and these have resulted in … Read More
On August 15, 2010, we were in the Nilgiris, in search of a leopard that had killed a porcupine the previous day. It was raining heavily in the morning, but stopped around 3 PM. As the rain stopped, we noticed something black on top of a hill and we cautiously approached it. We climbed about 500 feet of the hill, but the animal had vanished by the time we reached the top. We waited for sometime and a common leopard … Read More
Answer from Shekar Dattatri, Conservation India:
As part of the Species Recovery Programme for the Great Indian Bustard, the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has reportedly banned photography of the Great Indian Bustard during its breeding season from April to October. The reason cited is: “Unethical photography during breeding season often acts as a constant source of disturbance to the bustards and disturbs breeding patterns.”
Anyone found photographing GIBs during the ban period is liable to be prosecuted … Read More
This was photographed from a resort boat on safari in the Kabini backwaters. A police vehicle was very close to a tigress resting at the edge of the forest cover and it looked like the occupants of the vehicle were unaware of the tiger’s presence!… Read More
There are probably more amateur nature photographers in India than in any other developing country in the world. India’s most popular web portal for sharing nature photography, India Nature Watch, has several thousand members, some of who now routinely produce the kind of jaw-dropping images that were once the exclusive preserve of magazines like National Geographic or Geo. While this is something to be proud of, the question we are asking today is, “is it time for India’s wildlife … Read More
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