Wildlife Whisperer

THE WILDLIFE WHISPERER (PART 4 – Conservation) In my jungle forays I started witnessing that jungles and jungle safaris were managed differently. The rules of entry and exit, the training of naturalists, the involvement / buy-in of local communities, and the comfort of tourists had tremendous variations. Some forests were thriving with species and tourists, while others were thriving with species but had few tourists. My first idea, two years ago, was of floating a naturalist exchange programme, from different forests, for cross-learning purposes. I felt privileged that I get to visit multiple parks, but so many of the excellent naturalist did not have similar kind of opportunity, when they would benefit so much more from these visits. Couple of conversations later I realised that the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) did have a similar programme, challenge as always was in its execution. Two further ideas that I deliberated upon was the provision of basic benefits

Winged Whisperer: (Part 3 - The Growth)  A large part of my fascination with forests has centred around the big cats, especially the tiger. With subsequent visits to forests I developed a fondness for leopards, one of the most agile and resilient cats, and the Himalayan Black Bear – a royal and elegant species. Unknown to the wider world, tiger stripes are like fingerprints and no two stripes are same. Same is the case of spots on a leopard. Every leopard has different spots called rosettes, and a black panther is nothing but a regular melanistic leopard whose dark or black coloration hides the spots. The stripes and rosettes on cats’ act as a camouflage and serve a dual purpose, as a defence mechanism and / or as a stalking tool. In my jungle safaris, I met fellow wild-lifers who were fascinated by different species, like birds, macro animals, etc. though I had been content being a cat person. I oc casionally clicked birds, but only in action, and only while waiting for a cat

Wildlife Whisperer: (Part 2 - The Learnings) Before entering the world of actual jungles, the synonym that I associated with jungles was ‘jungle raaj’, essentially meaning chaos and anarchy. Where might is right. An adage used to describe much of the chaos that humankind is associated with. Now, having visited jungles multiple times, across the length and breadth of the country, I can guarantee that whoever has coined the word, or uses it regularly, has never ever entered a real jungle. Because a jungle is about absolute order, respect, balance and sustainability - as long as humans do not interfere. There was a time when humans were awed by nature, and responsive to it. Now, with a sense of entitlement creeping in, we think we have ownership and rite of passage everywhere, including the jungles and wilderness. Some of my basic learnings from the jungles are: 1. In jungles there is no hoarding. Animals hunt / eat ONLY when hungry. No random killing. No killing to eat later

THE JOURNEY OF WILDLIFE WHISPERER (PART 1 – The Beginning) My tryst with wildlife started in March 2008, when I accidentally wandered off to Bandhavgarh National Park (Madhya Pradesh – central India), as a part of an itinerary curated for a friend who was visiting India for the first time. We went to Agra, Khajuraho and Bandhavgarh – logic of the itinerary being to introduce him to different beautiful aspects of India – one of the wonders of the world, an ancient heritage site and a jungle. In our 1 st safari itself, before I saw the tiger, I heard it roar, a happy roar of a full tummy as it descended a hill. We were 3 people in the gypsy, one felt super scared, one entertained and one ecstatic. No prizes for guessing which one of these was me. Back then I did not have a DSLR. I was still shooting with a point and shoot, and the 1 st picture that I clicked of the tiger was a blur, as it was moving while we exited the gate. The thrill stayed with me and inspired me