Mythology propounds Vishnus avatar to correct evil on the planet, some of these in animal and man combinations. Narsimha a cross between a lion and a man, varaha a wild boar, matsaya a fish.

Yet on the other side is a fanatic following of religious norms oblivious of its inherent message. Rituals, which choke the existence of animals and defeat significance of harmonious man animal symbiosis.

Nag panchmi is a festival celebrated to worship lord shiva and his snakes.  On this auspicious day lakhs of snakes are caught and worshipped all across India. In pleasing the almighty man handling of snakes turn out to be fatal.

These snakes have been kept in round baskets for months; their fangs have been deliberately broken. Dehydrated the muscles have cramped and the snakes are barely able to move. After a month of solitary confinement these baskets are opened. Dehydrated snakes drink whatever is served to them, in this case, milk. Snakes are not meant to digest milk and are likely to die within few days.

Human interference unnoticed in the garb of fruitless ceremonies defeats the balance of the ecosystem day after day.

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Then, somehow never saw any vultures on our rooftop and never wondered why; later I came to know that the diclofenac a common painkiller in vet nary medicine had wiped out the entire population of vultures in our country.

Photographing vultures now has become rather difficult.  Few years back I came to know of a nesting colony in katernighat wildlife sanctuary in behraich district uttar Pradesh. Went to photograph them and realized that all the trees on which vultures sat have died. These dead trees reminded me of my grandmothers’ advice of not allowing them to sit on our terrace.  Did they really bring death?

In order to digest the bones of the dead, vultures have very acidic stomach juices. These acids are passed on with their excretes which kill the trees on which they perch.

Now I know that vultures do not bring death but help clean up the mess that might cause an epidemic. They are very effective scavengers that need to be protected.

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Pali district in Rajasthan is not a national park nor does it support the natural prey of the leopards. But is amongst the top destinations when it comes to photographing leopards.

The district is marked by numerous stone hills on privately owned land and leopards occupy almost all hills. They leave the hills during night hours and return to safety of the hills before dawn. They can be photographed resting against beautiful hill stones during broad daylight, a sight unparalleled to any other place where leopards are sighted frequently.

The beauty of the landscape of this unique eco-system is second to none. There is so much to see and grasp; Beautiful rewari men with their herds of cattle, particularly the impressive kankarej bulls with their impressive horns, women with their gorgeous outfits, the temples on beautiful hills and leopards.

Leopards are so adaptable that they have managed to survive amongst thickest of population; one can be surprised to see how leopards are living in such close proximity with humans.  Long may it be that way.

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Changeable hawk eagle or crested hawk eagle is an impressively built, medium sized raptor and amongst the first birds of prey that you are likely to come across when you start looking for raptors in Indian subcontinent. I was attracted to the bird while it was making a loud ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-kee sound, rising in crescendo, at Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh India. I haven’t come across a more beautiful raptor ever since. The bird is beautifully built, is slender, sharp, fit. Looks ready for the kill all the time.

It usually sits in a wooded area looking at the clearing for jungle fowls to come out in the open. It then dives down and strikes with a deadly force through its sharp talons. I was sitting on an elephant when it happened; mahout had got down to close the doors of the rhino enclosure after the morning safari in Dudhwa. Suddenly there was loud shrill scream. My god! the elephant got so scared, started running and banged me against a tree branch. I managed to stay above the elephant and the mahout managed to calm her down. It was a scream of a jungle fowl dying in the talons of a changeable hawk eagle. I managed few hazy shots before the bird flew away with the kill.

The bird comes in varied plumages hence the word ‘changeable’. The birds in Dudhwa have a short crest, while the same bird had a long distinct four-feathered crest in Tadoba National Park, Maharashtra. I have also come across a rare form of the same species in Sunderbans National Park: dark morph changeable hawk eagle. Some birds in dark morph doesn’t have a crest at all.

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More than three hundred species of spiders are known to mimic the outward appearance of ants, a phenomenon called myrmecomorphy.
This photograph was taken at Nawab Ganj Bird Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh, India. However, if you look carefully you can find this spider throughout India near the colony of red weaver ants.

Happy spotting…..

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