Naturally Srini

The other day, I had an hour to kill at the Tata Management Training Centre in Pune. This is an amazing place, almost like a national park in the heart of the city. Fortunately, I had my camera bag with me, so I went walking around with my 17-55mm and 70-200mm lenses. Unfortunately, I didn't have the Sigma 150-500mm nor was I carrying an extender. So 200mm was going to be my max zoom.

While I was walking around, hearing various bird calls and taking aim at some kites that were hovering above, I was told about some resident owls. Immediately, I went looking for them and was fortunate to spot one of them almost immediately. This Spotted Owlet stared at me for a while and finding no interest (or threat) in me, closed its eyes and looked away.

I looked around and saw a lady who was really stressed out. The least I could do was to record her pain as honestly as possible.

As I looked around, there were a few tall trees and a nice canopy of leaves through which the setting sun was shooting rays intermittently. One couldn't imagine that just 100 metres away was one of the busiest roads of Pune. 

The above photo (at 21mm) captures what I was able to see with the naked eye at that moment. I noticed that there was some slight movement in the hole in the trunk. Sure enough, when I looked through the lens, I saw another Spotted Owlet there.

I was intrigued because the TMTC admin head hadn't mentioned anything about this tree. Very slowly, I moved closer... the owlet stepped behind as I approached. I stood still and a few seconds later, it moved back to its earlier position.

I got a few shots and then I started looking around, trying to see if there was anything else interesting. Through the corner of my eye, I observed some movement in the hole; I focused the camera there, and here's what I saw.

The owlet was in the same position but it appeared somewhat different. I clicked a pic and compared it with the previous snap - yes, this was one was clearly a different owlet. Wow, there was a pair here! I waited for a couple of minutes to see what would happen. And then, the other one re-appeared.

I was really excited. Not only had I chanced upon an owl nest that the locals didn't know about, but I had also found a pair living there. It wasn't clear to me what the relationship between the two was... the second owlet clearly looked smaller / younger than the first one. After giving me the affectionate pose for a few seconds, the 'younger' one disappeared to the back of the hole. The first owlet continued to stare at me for sometime. The sound of the trains from the station nearby continued to disturb it. After a while, even it stepped back, out of sight.

By then, it was time for my meeting and I rushed to the office, with a story to tell...

It was almost the end of a two day photography workshop at Thekkady. The last walk session had been very productive and we were walking back towards the trek office. I was trying some random iPhone panorama shots of the plain and water-body, when I heard our instructor, Sudhir Shivram call out. 

We saw a few wild dogs (Dhole) running out of some bushes. As we started clicking, we realized that there were quite a few of them... soon, there was a pack of 20+ dogs running and playing around there.

For nearly fifteen minutes, we watched them (including a few puppies) play and mark territory. Then they disappeared into some other bushes.

We walked further and the group suddenly spotted a Great Indian Hornbill perched on a tall tree. As I tried getting my tripod in place, it flew away, giving me this out of focus BIF.

It was getting late, and we crossed the water body on a raft and were climbing up to the exit. Now I am not sure who spotted it first but there was a shout and we looked across towards where the Dhole had been playing. Sudhir, who must have used his 800mm lens to get a good visual, shouted that the dogs were killing a sambar and he shot off like a rabbit, in spite of his heavy lens and tripod. I hesitated for a second if I should do the same; what the heck, I was here for photography and such an opportunity could not be missed. My Sigma would at best get me 500mm but that's better than nothing.

Here's one of the first shots I got with my Sigma.

You can see that the sambar was still standing up. At least 8 or 9 dogs were attacking it; the dog at its tail was already tearing flesh of the sambar's back. One dog was standing watch.

Exactly 3 seconds after this photo was taken, the sambar was down on the ground. Within two minutes, the dogs were tearing into the sambar's flesh. Mind you, the sambar was still "alive" at this time.

This requires a closer look, for the gory detail.

I waited for a few minutes, shooting in video mode too, but I could not watch it much longer. Sambar served with idli or dosa is fine, this was too raw for my liking. Of course, out in the jungle, it was just another meal.

It was our 12th safari drive in India, our first in Kabini... and we hadn't spotted a tiger yet. My wife was questioning if tigers even existed any longer. I had read that tigers were spotted once in a while in Kabini, but there was a better chance of seeing a leopard. Tired of spotted deer, langur and peacocks, we desperately wanted to catch sight of a big cat... leopard, if not a tiger.

About twenty minutes into our drive, our guide (an enthusiastic Basavayya) received a call on his mobile. His expression indicated that something exciting had been spotted. "If you will permit, we will now drive very fast because a leopard has been spotted," he whispered. Of course we permitted him...

We reached the spot a few minutes later; there were two other vehicles with people excitedly pointing towards the dense deciduous forest that marks the Western Ghats. "Look at that curved branch between the two trees ahead, there's a leopard lying on it," Basavayya instructed us. Which two trees? There were many curved branches. This is what we could see with the naked eye.

While the others in the vehicle tried to time-share the guide's binoculars, I used the 500mm end of my Sigma to scan the area that the guide was pointing at. This is what I saw.

Finally, something! Of course, as a I clicked a few shots of the leopard, I realized that there was too much distraction in the background and one of the trees was blocking the leopard's head. Our guide realized that I was not getting a good shot and asked the driver to move the vehicle ahead. Now, I could get a better shot. I also got some time to adjust the camera exposure settings.

A few clicks later, I was not satisfied. What's the point if one can't get the face of the animal (even if its eyes were closed). I hoped (aloud) that the leopard would shift its head towards us, and maybe even look at us. How long could we wait? And should we not vacate the space for other vehicles to occupy? Basavayya noticed my predicament... he said, "Let us wait till our photographer gets a good photo." 

And wait, we did, for almost twenty minutes. I kept the camera focused on the leopard (thanks to back-button focusing and my new bean-bag), waiting for something to happen.

Suddenly, the leopard's head moved and it turned towards us.

Wow! The binoculars were passed around again. I kept my eyes focused on the leopard and my fingers active on the shutter button. Maybe it would yawn or do something interesting...

Yes, it did... a :p to all of us for disturbing its lazing hour! Here's a closer crop:

Having ticked us off, it went back to its resting pose, but now, face turned this side.

A few minutes later, we left that spot, satisfied that our patience and Basavayya's persistence had paid off. He grinned and said, "Sooper photo, sir!"

(Title translation: Us Two, Our Two)

We were on a safari drive in Kabini (Nagerhole National Park); during the summer months, the Kabini backwaters attracts many elephants from other parts of the Western Ghats. Therefore, it wasn't a surprise that we saw several elephants during our four drives into the park. On one such occasion, we spotted a couple of elephants in a plain (this was the Kabini reservoir which would be filled with water a few weeks later).

As I observed through the lens, it became obvious that there were more than two elephants out there. A third was facing away... and almost hidden away from our view was a fourth, a baby!

It was a family of four. The guide said that the baby must not be more than three-months old, and would stay highly protected by the parents.

We spent some time, waiting for them to separate out a bit. But, there was enough grass there and the family was content just standing there, enjoying breakfast. The elder son - probably 7-8 years old - moved around a bit, but the baby remained out of sight. About five minutes had passed since we had stopped at that point, and the driver was restless, wanting to get a move on. I requested that we wait for a while because I wanted to get the full family.

Even a couple of minutes later, this was all that I could get.

Just when it seemed that there was no point in waiting any longer, the baby elephant ventured out of mamma's protection and began her (his?) own exploration. Now I had a family photo!