Sameer Jain (Kittu)Leave a comment

Making a splash

Aditya and I set out for a safari into Kabini, as usual in the rickety forest department bus. Hopeful as always, Aditya announced to me, “We will see a big cat, Kittu Mama!” I smiled as the driver crossed the check post and onto the old MM Road (Mysore-Mananthavadi). A few kilometers down the road and crossing a bridge, a photographer beside me, jumped off his seat…Tiger! Tiger!, he remarked excitedly! As the driver reversed, a gorgeous tiger came into sight, sitting in a small pool below the bridge. It was the Tiger Tank female.

No sooner had the bus stopped, the entire crowd in the bus swarmed towards the front seats wielding their mobile phones and point and shoot cameras. The bus was loaded with tourists from Kerala and in a matter of seconds, I was pushed away and in front of me stood the Great Wall of Kerala! With absolutely no space to shoot or see, I put the camera down and stood beside the door. With all the commotion in the safari bus, the tiger eventually got disturbed and left the scene.

Disgusted and disappointed, I got back to my seat and turned off the camera. No hopes of shooting in this bus, I thought to myself. As the driver explored various routes, we sighted elephants, gaur and chital. No signs of leopard lazing on a tree or the even more exciting male who occasionally sits on the temple especially during monsoon months.

The driver veered towards the backwaters road and was stopped by Aditya. Lets try the hoskere waterhole, he suggested. Enthusiastically, he took us to the waterhole, all eyes widened as soon as the waterhole came into sight! A young tiger was enjoying the cool waters in the mild drizzle.

My first thought was she might make a quick exit as soon as she sees our vehicle. Not even remotely perturbed, a dry twig floating in the pool soon became a toy for her and entertainment for us.

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Wading the waters, she took time out to set her gaze upon us and inspect what was causing all the noise!

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As she neared the edge of the waterhole after entertaining us for almost ten minutes, she stared into space as if in deep contemplation.

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A minute later, she got out of the pool, scent marked a few trees beside the safari track and made her way back into the woods. Quite easily the boldest tiger I had seen in Kabini. The disappointment having missed the previous tiger, was overturned with the joy of having witnessed such a lovely sight.

In the last two years she has become arguably the most photographed tiger in Kabini and is now a busy mother of three tiny cubs. Until we meet again!

Images made with Canon 500 f4 IS + 1D Mark IV  in July 2016

Sameer Jain (Kittu)Leave a comment

A year of blogging

Cool breeze passes by as I sit by the backwaters in the dead of the night. Beside me, a couple of friends cast their imaginary fishing lines, and enact a struggle as if they had caught an African catfish (an invasive species). My thoughts wander toward the evening safari during which we narrowly missed the Black Panther.

Many such memories from various jungles came flashing back as I sat by the banks. Narrow misses, close encounters and no sightings in game drives are common in a wild life enthusiast’s days. All of these experiences penned down, one story at a time in the blog. A year gone by since it’s inception and I have somehow managed to post 52 photoblogs.

While choosing pictures was not so difficult, the writing part definitely was! Travel, meetings, busy times, lack of focus, no peace and quiet are excuses I often come up with. Despite that a blogpost went online every week. That being said, most importantly it has improved my writing and increased focus on the smaller details.

The last year has seen some significant development, from switching camera gear to Nikon and shifting hunting grounds. Bandipur an all time favorite, now faces stiff competition from Kabini which is slowly working its way up the list of favorites.

Commemorating one year of blogging, here is a collection of favorites from the above mentioned parks.

Here’s to more shooting, writing and blogging!

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Celebrating Tigers

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Tiger and Tourists | Bandipur Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, 2012

The mere mention of the word tiger is enough to get the adrenaline rushing for most people. If they see one, even if it were a glance, they feel blessed. I remember a sighting in Bandipur when a jeep full of people were dumbstruck throughout the ten minute sighting and spoke only after the tiger left. Such is the charisma of the striped cat.

People from all over the world and of course India too, throng various national parks and tiger reserves that our country has to offer. Popular parks like Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench (Madhya Pradesh), Tadoba (Maharashtra), Ranthambhore (Rajasthan), Corbett Tiger Reserve (Uttarakhand), Mudumalai, Bandipur, Nagarhole, Periyar (Southern India) to name a few, host a large number of tourists, wildlife enthusiasts, photographers every year. The agenda of the trip is very clear in their minds – Tiger!

Yesterday, 29th July was International Tiger Day, an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation. I think we must celebrate the existence of this magnificent creature everyday.

The above image is of a tigress from the Bandipur, fondly called Gowri. Many visitors that evening felt blessed as she graced us with her presence. Having raised multiple litters, she has left behind her legacy in Bandipur. To many more tigers and many more sightings!

Image shot with: Canon 300 2.8 IS II + 1D Mark III

 

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Look what the Hawk dragged in

 

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Crested Hawk Eagle with Monitor Lizard kill | Kabini

 

Raptors in the wild are not an uncommon sight but catching them in action is rare. A crested serpent eagle, devouring a frog it had killed only moments ago, was sighted at a far off branch. Too far to make images but nothing escapes the ranges of binoculars.

Driving further ahead our naturalist called out crested hawk eagle! Moments later he excitedly tells us “Sir, it is with a monitor lizard kill!” Looking through the lens, I saw the headless monitor lizard held in the tight clutches of the raptor’s powerful talons. Over a quarter an hour we sat observing the feeding via binoculars and also making images of the action.

I have seen picures of this raptor species with kills varying from malabar giant squirrels, jungle/common mynas, egrets to name a few. Its always nice to have one action packed image of your own 🙂

Shot details: Canon – 1D Mark IV + 500 f4 IS; Kabini, Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, Karnataka, India