Lions, leopards and more in the Gir forests

Lions, leopards and more in the Gir forests

The Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary (also known as Sasan-Gir) is a forest and wildlife sanctuary in Gujarat, India. Established in 1965, with a total area of 1412 km square (about 258 km² for the fully protected area (the national park) and (1153 km² for the Sanctuary), the park is located 43 km in the north-east from Somnath, 65 km to the south-east of Junagadh and 60 km to south west of Amreli.

It is the sole home of the Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica) and is considered to be one of the most

important protected areas in Asia due to its supported species. The ecosystem of Gir, with  its diverse flora and fauna, is protected as a result of the efforts of the government forest department, wildlife activists and NGOs. The forest area of Gir and its lions were declared as "protected" in the early 1900s by the Nawab of the princely state of Junagadh. This initiative assisted in the conservation of the lions whose population had plummeted to only 15 through slaughter for trophy hunting.

The April 2010 census recorded the lion-count in Gir at 411, an increase of 52 compared to 2005. The lion breeding programme covering the park and surrounding area has bred about 180 lions incaptivity since its inception. 

Our visit to the Gir

My wife and me had planned a trip to the Gir forest for quite sometime. And we had these series of holidays coming in the November- the Guru Nanak Jayanti holidays on the 6^th of November 2014, a working day on the 7th, followed by Saturday and Sunday as holidays. Really a wonderful opportunity to relax, shoot (as in photography- LOL) and just laze around in the Nature’s lap. Things did not quite work out that way and I was shifted to the Finance department just a day or two before this trip. My predecessor Dr Hasmukh Adhiya wanted to give me some gurumantra on the nitty-gritty’s of the state finance before he left this charge, but I was more interested in getting the gurumantra from the Gir lions.

So off we went from Gandhinagar in the afternoon of the 5^th of November. We made a coffee halt at Limbdi at the excellent food court just beyond the Limbdi town, and then stopped only at Junagadh – to have a sumptuous dinner at the residence of Alok, the Collector of Junagadh. Returning to the same bungalow after a span of more than two decades along with my wife, we had several nostalgic moments- after all both our children grew up in the same bungalow and my younger son, Siddharth, was born in Junagadh, while Aditya used to play in the compound. Alok has taken good care of the place and at night the bungalow looked very alluring. We seem to realize the blessings of the place or our relations only when we move ahead …..

We then travelled to the Gir post dinner- to be the guests at the famed Sinh Sadan corner suite. The road from Gandhinagar to Junagadh is very decent and one can easily average 70-75 kmph, but after Junagadh, there are patches, the road rumbles at a few places and the forest department has also not encouraged a respectable two-lane road with broad shoulders. Well, as these bad patches serve as natural speed moderators for cars and motorized vehicles, one only hopes that the wildlife get a better road safety. In total it is almost 7-8 hours from Gandhinagar- Ahmedabad to the Gir forest, and on the whole an excellent drive.

A decade or so earlier, the Sinh Sadan or the forest guest house used to be the only decent place to stay in the Gir, but now luxurious resorts, guest houses etc, catering to all strata of tourists have come up. Great for tourism, not so great for the harassed wildlife and the foresters. I can surely say that Sinh Sadan still retains its old world charm, though it is trying hard to keep up with the new players in town. In the morning we still had the poha and tea (milk-tea to be more exact) and aloo-paranthas. Really we couldn’t have asked for a better breakfast to start the day.

Our forest visit was done both in the morning and evening of the 6th – and we encountered variety of animals and birds in both forays. We were lucky to see a large number of lions, and more significantly three sightings of the elusive leopards. Birds of course were plentiful and I am sure that had Gir not been a lion’s habitat, it would have been no less famous as a bird sanctuary. Indeed Gir is an important destination on the itinerary of the bird tours in Gujarat.

We used the Nikon D800 with the Tamron 150-600 mm lens. I continue to be a fan of this lens. The post production processing was done on Aperture.. still to use the Lightroom.

In the morning trip, we came across a pride of lions. we were particularly attracted to this young curious cub- said to be 8 months old. A lovely specimen it was...

Then we also passed across a battle scarred veteran - the scars well demonstrated its appetite for fight.  I was able to shoot it against the sun, and the light filtering through its mane indeed looked golden.

Well, well, well, the hindsight is surely not pretty.

The leopard, crouching behind the shrubs in the shades had merged so well in the surroundings that it was only the trained eyes of our guide that we could recognize it. And very soon , it left the place – equally hastlily and elusively. We were really lucky to see the leopard three times on the same day, but were able to shoot it only one time. Here it was and then it was not...

The chitals are perhaps over 60000 in number- such a pretty specimen and keep the food cycle of the lions and leopards in circulation. The chitals were normally in herds, but we managed to shoot this lonely one, almost lost and looking for its kinsmen.

Around evening time, the egrets found this perch around the Kamleshwar dam- the famous water body in the Gir forest and now the ultimate source of water in the Gir. 

 And even the green bee-eaters huddled in company around the dam- apparently all these birds would feast on the insects and other fauna around the water body. Incidentally this photo was selected by Flickr Explore and thus became my highest viewed and faved photo on the Flickr.

And how could I miss my favorite King fisher- the white throated one. I found this all around the water bodies in Gujarat -  Velavadar, Gir and even Punit van in Gandhinagar.

 I took this shot is of steppe eagle, just when it was preparing for the flight. I had kept my camera ready in anticipation and the eagle obliged. The next shot is the White -eyed  Buzzard.

And the bulbuls- my name sake.... Another beautiful bird specimen.

Another bird species the  double striped thick knee (Burhinus bistriatus) which shows how the flora and fauna can camouflage in nature and can practically go unobserved. This bird was practically indistinct from its surroundings, much like the leopards.

You can visit my photostream on flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/39456218@N00/

Blackbuck and birds at Velavadar

Gujarat Sanctuaries and Velavadar

Gujarat is a unique state that has many kinds of habitats. These varied landforms include dry deciduous forests, majestic grasslands, wetlands, marine ecosystems and rich moist deciduous forests. These habitats are home to some extremely rare wildlife. The Asiatic Lion is found only in Gir. The Wild Ass in the Rann of Kutch, the rare great Indian bustard in the bird reserves, the world's only four-horned antelope and the Black Buck are some other valued species protected in Gujarat. Black bucks are found in a small part of Bhal region, south of Ahmedabad,  and covering an area of 34.52 sq.km, which was declared as Blackbuck National Park in July 1976, This sanctuary which is an open grassland has been declared primarily for Blackbucks. The beauty of the grassland is enhanced by the movements of blackbucks and nilgais, which one can see from long distances. The blackbuck is most conspicuous for its jumping over the levels of grass. The grassland lies between two rivers namely Parvalia and Alang, which drain into the Gulf of Cambay. During the monsoon the area is often flooded. The blackbuck herds are mostly to be found in the northern part of the sanctuary, while the southern part has patches of thorn forest providing excellent opportunities for bird watching (specially birds of prey). The Alang river forms the southern border of the Park and is the favorite retreat for wolves. The park can be toured by vehicle and also on foot. (For further details please see  www.gujaratforest.org/black_buck1.htm) 

 Our Velavadar Visit

On the 19th of October, 2014, Saturday as our afternoon was free (a meeting having been rescheduled) me and my wife Meena started for the much heralded Velavadar Black buck sanctuary. Actually the suggestion about Velavadar came during the weekly officers' luncheon meeting from Vipul Mittra, who was till recently handling the tourism portfolio in the Gujarat state. He advised us to make a one day trip to Velavadar and stay at the Blackbuck Lodge about which he was sure we would enjoy. We followed his advice and arrived at the Lodge after a two and a half hour drive from Gandhinagar, Gujarat. It is always advisable to be very sure of the directions, but here me and my driver both assumed that we know the direction en route to Bhavnagar. So at several places we had to ask for the exact directions and that added to the anxiety of our reaching there before sunset. In any case, for the uninitiated, it is on Ahmedabad- Bhavnagar route, about 25 km ahead of the Dholera Special Investment Region. One has to take a right turn from the Adhelai village crossing and after about a 5 km drive one reaches the Sanctuary and just at the end of sanctuary limits, there is the Blackbuck Lodge. As the sun was to set soon, we just dumped our few pieces of luggage in our tastefully decorated room and went to the Sanctuary armed with the cameras. And what a delight it was.......

Of course what we saw first were the Blackbucks and hundreds of them in droves. Ever since Gujarat government declared this relatively small area as sanctuary in 1976, blackbucks have really got a reprieve of life. In this sanctuary they are not afraid of vehicular movement or some human beings , but surely walking is not encouraged here as hyenas and wolves also co-exist. We found a golden yellow grass,almost like the Savannah of Latin America, and the evening glowing sun produced a magical , almost ethereal colors.  As the grass was almost  3-4 ft in height, it provided some sort of natural cover to the black-bucks. Initially we thought that this grassland was a big hindrance to photography, but soon realized that this produced a magical feel to the place. All in all, a photographer's delight...

Our camera  was Nikon D800 along with Tamron 150-600mm lens. So far I have found this lens to be highly satisfactory and have not suffered from the absence of prime lens. We had not taken any tripod and realized soon enough that it was a mistake. Even for stationary birds for example the shots of Rollers or the owlet, I had to go for very high ISO which surely affected the quality of the shots. Of course the harriers were quite frisky and those shots had to be hand held compulsorily. I have utilized Aperture  for post processing, but as Apple has stopped further development in this software, I will have to migrate to Lightroom or photoshop. Oh, another learning curve...

The following shot of the blackbucks has been highly appreciated on my Flickr account. 

The blackbucks are not reluctant to head- butting and it is reported that they often they lose their antlers in the process. This is also related to winning the rights over the females. Of the various shots I took of this head-butting I found the one below  most appealing as both the bucks were symmetrical in fighting , with their legs and necks forming a M or a V in the process.

Two lovely specimen of blackbucks.

The next day morning we found an excellent shot of a young female buck in flight.

The other mammals found there include  hyena and wolves, but as these animals are relatively short statured, we could not see them in the tall grass. What really amazed us was the large presence of the blue bulls or what is called nilgai in India. Lovely proud animals and again in the golden light provided another great photo op. The shot below is the morning shot of the female nilgai with a dronga on her left ear.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Birds in Velavadar

Velavadar has now become a birder's delight and is firmly placed in the Bird tourism of Gujarat. The species we were able to see over a period of two outings- an evening and a morning, were really substantial. There were so many varieties and species of birds and the guide was extremely anxious to show them to us. In fact at least 91 varieties of common birds are supposed to be found here. ( for a full listing see the website of Blackbuck Lodge). The guides kept on emphasizing that Velavadar is the largest area in the whole world for the roosting of harriers. (A harrier is any of the several species of diurnal hawks forming the Circinae sub-family of the Accipitridae family of birds of prey).  Due to our limited knowledge then, we were not able to distinguish between the various types of harriers but after returning to Gandhinagar, we once again went through our Salim Ali books, and promised to ourselves that in the next visit we will not miss even a single bird sighting. By the next time I would also be in a position to take camera shots of Birds in Flight, which surely requires great technical skills , as I realized this time.             

The cranes in various poses                                                                           

Eurasian Roller :  European roller (Coracias garrulus) is a long-distance migrant bird from warm, dry, open country with scattered trees, preferring lowland open countryside with patches of oak Quercus forest, mature pine Pinus woodland with heathery clearings, orchards, mixed farmland, river valleys, and plains with scattered thorny or leafy trees. It winters primarily in dry wooded savanna and bushy plains, where it typically nests in tree holes.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

The Indian Roller  (Coracias benghalensis) is a member of the roller family of birds. They are found widely across tropical Asia stretching from Iraq eastward across the Indian Subcontinent to Indochina and are best known for the aerobatic displays of the male during the breeding season. They are very commonly seen perched along roadside trees and wires and are commonly seen in open grassland and scrub forest habitats.

Another harrier ( probably the Montagu harrier)nroosting on the road. A very interesting feature was the large number of these harriers on the road especially in the evening - surely we had never seen so many of them at one place. Velavadar justifiably claims to be the world’s largest communal harrier roosting site. 
  

Montagu harrier (Circus pygargus) is a migratory bird of prey of the harrier family. This species can be found in a middle-latitude band of predominantly temperate climates, but also in Mediterranean, and boreal zones. Although it has been found nesting up to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), it is essentially a lowland species, and nests mostly in broad river valleys, plains, and levels bordering lakes and the sea. It can breed in wetlands, though these are often smaller and dryer than those used by the marsh harrier. It also utilizes heaths, dunes, moors, and can be found in the steppe. It adapts to shrub lands in gorse or heather and to areas planted with young conifers.

Kestrel in flight.

One of the various bird species, a Juvenile Rosy starling, one of the common residents of the Indian sub-continent. But to the untrained eyes and ears, quite a learning.

A spotted owlet which we were able to see near a building abandoned after the 2001 earthquake. The spotted owlet (Athene brama) is a small owl which breeds in tropical Asia from India to Southeast Asia. A common resident of open habitats including farmland and human habitation, it has adapted to living in cities. They roost in small groups in the hollows of trees or in cavities in rocks or buildings. It nests in a hole in a tree or building, laying 3–5 eggs.The spotted owlet is small (21 cm) and stocky.

A female collared bush chat.

We have taken so many excellent shots of this variety of white throated kingfisher  that we were somewhat disappointed by this long distance shot. This was found on the opposite side of the road perched on a tree near the waterbody.

This grand egret was almost like the symbol of the Black Buck Lodge, around the man made pond near the Reception of the Lodge. The egret was very peaceful with its surroundings, quite unconcerned with the all the happenings around it.

The Blackbuck Lodge
For stay at Velavadar, there is no better option than this highly rated and recommended Lodge. Though named a Lodge, it has got all modern technologies available, including a full fledged wi-fi in the rooms and  lavish, if not extravagant, lunch and dinner, with both Continental and local Indian cuisine. As the very involved owner Mickey Desai informed us, he has been able to lure a chef from the Luxury Cruise liner. No wonder, we had excellent risotto, pumpkin soup and a chicken roast - all fresh from the nearby local organic farms. Mickey has also been able to provide employment to over 30 local youth, now they are an epitome of manners and courtesy. A job well done, Mickey. There is also a forest guest house within the sanctuary area and that is also rated quite well. However, as even the Lodge is just 5 minutes away from the Sanctuary, distance should not be a criterion in deciding where to stay. In any case night stay is a requirement for any serious photographer or wild life lover, as one must see the wild life at least during early morning around 630 hours when the Sanctuary opens and then again in the afternoon.

For my overall photostream please see on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/39456218@N00/