Not hunting ....

Back from 3 amazing weeks in India. Had a fantastic holiday meeting family and friends.

Spent 4 awesome days in Kabini JLR.
Saw tiger, leopard, sloth bear, dhole, bull gaur, bull elephant, much more.

I need to load photos on to imagur.




Tiger poop fresh on the road


Sloth Bear



Grey Jungle Fowl


Big Bull gaur



Photo does not do justice to the scene

















Malabar Gian Squirrell

Naki,
What's the Gaur status these days ? Are populations sound, increasing, only just hanging on or struggling to stay stable ?

Would be a dream hunt for me although I know unlikely to ever eventuate.

Too bad, gaur did not get released in Aussie land
Could have been huntable by now

quote:

Originally posted by M.Shy:
Too bad, gaur did not get released in Aussie land
Could have been huntable by now

Agreed, 100%

Gaur have increased considerably and are common in their range across the country. Records of gaur killed by tigers have become common in the last 15 years or so.

From the 1960s to the 80s they were decimated by rinderpest disease. In South India, beef cattle used to be walked to the market through the jungle to Kerala (where beef is eaten by most people). These animals spread diseases to the wildlife and gaur were the most susceptible. This used to happen every few years and gaur were rarely seen.

After new laws were implemented and enforced to only ship stock with veterinary certification and in trucks, the problem has been eliminated.

In the Nilgiri district - towns like Ooty, Coonoor, Kothagiri etc, Gaur are common in golf courses, parks, back gardens and local streets. They are common in tea gardens.

In other parts of India they seem to be doing fine.

At the moment there is no wild animal conflict as gaur by nature are not aggressive like the cape buffalo or the Assam wild buffalo.

I doubt that hunting will ever be offered. However culling has now been allowed for Nilgai, Chital, Black buck & wild boar in some states. One day gaur could be culled if they are a pest in cities.

quote:

Originally posted by 30.06king:
Naki,
What's the Gaur status these days ? Are populations sound, increasing, only just hanging on or struggling to stay stable ?

Would be a dream hunt for me although I know unlikely to ever eventuate.

I disagree slightly.

Gaur would have done well in the humid & wet regions but not in the dry areas.

In the wild, they live in the same regions as the Banteng in NE India (in the 1930s), Burma, Thailand etc.

quote:

Originally posted by 30.06king:

quote:

Originally posted by M.Shy:
Too bad, gaur did not get released in Aussie land
Could have been huntable by now

Agreed, 100%

New photos added - right size I trust

Thanks, very nice to see those.

Daytime leopard is quite unusual to see.

thank you for the pictures and an exotic destination.

Here is the report from the other thread - just removed the pic links.

___________

I got back from a great holiday in India with the whole family.

It was a fantastic holiday catching up with family after many years. I caught up with some good college friends after almost 50 years! Amazing how you connect with old friends even after such a long time.

We also spend 4 incredibly amazing days at the Kabini JLR lodge / Nagarhole tiger reserve. I had been here in 2012 and 2017. Both were very good trips but brief. This far trip exceeded expectations several fold.

Day 1. Evening jeep safari - we saw the usual cheetal deer and an adult sloth bear (rare in this reserve) coming down to drink at the water hole. We also say a stripe necked mongoose - a very pretty animal. I could not get a good photo.

Day 2. Morning jeep safari - We saw the same bear again at another waterhole. We also say some gaur females with calves, sambar

Day 2. Evening boat safari - this was a bit tedious. Recent heavy rains had filled the reservoir to almost full capacity and there were no open baks with grass for the animals to feed. The usual chital were everywhere. We finally saya group of 10 otters that were hunting and coming towards us. We say them at less than 100 meters

Day 3. Morning jeep safari - This was a good day and we say a pack of dole close up at around 20 meters of less. Really active animals grooming and preparing for a hunt. Stomachs were very slim and empty.

We saw a few sambar including a reasonable stag of over 30 inches but no photos. A few gaur were around but no big bulls. We did see an elephant tusker (bull) but it was over a 100 meter away and in the jungle.

Day 3. Evening jeep safari - this was a spectacular evening. We had a quiet hour and had parked the jeep near the reservoir when another jeep came up and told us that they had just seen a leopard cross the road behind us. We heard a lot of alarm calls from Chital and langur. The driver / guide was amazing. He went berserk and drove around like a rally driver (almost) and started triangulating among the network of roads withing a few hundred meters and finally we saw the leopard crossing the road and out in the open at about 40 meters. It was absolutely amazing to see the leopard walk by with a chital stag following it and screaming it alarm calls. Unfortunately I was so awe struct that I forgot to tale a video or photos.

Lady luck was showering us with her fortune as we got a radio message about a tiger. We were privileged to see a tigress basking in the evening sun at about 40 meters. We were told that it had 2 sub adult cubs that were shy and rarely seen.
This was a spectacular day with sightings of dhole (rare in this reserve) tiger and leopard.

Day 4. Morning jeep safari - We again had a good drive and saw a magnificent bull gaur up real close and a cow elephant with calf. The bull gaur is the largest bovine in the world along with the Wild buffalo of Assam. They can weigh over 1 tonne. Tigers kill the females, young bulls and calves. Rarely a bull is killed by a pair of family of tigers.

Day 4. Evening jeep safari - the rest of the family had enough of safari rides and went to Mysore to see historical palaces. I went for the drive and had another amazing 3 hours. We saw the various deer including the elusive Muntjack male

We then got another call about a leopard sighting and we got a glimpse of a leopard walking through the bushes and on to a Banyan Ficus tree. he then gave his "sawing" roar call. Apparently he was calling for a female. he moved around and gave us a great view for about 5 to 10 minutes. In that time he called twice more. Thrilling experience hearing those calls so close up.

We then went to the same location where we say the tiger the previous evening. The theory was that the tiger had a kill near by and hence the basking with a full stomach. There were a lot of alarm calls around from chital and langur to signal the presence of a big cat. We then heard growling and snarling which indicated that the tigress and the sub adult cubs were feeding on the kill and competing for the food.

Overall an incredible experience. We also saw Imperial green pigeon, grey jungle fowl, peafowl, grey langur, bonnet macaque, stripe necked mongoose, Malabar giant squirrel and lots of birds.

I think the jungle fowl is pretty cool!

Yes mate. I used to shoot them in the tea plantations in the early 80s.

The photos do not do them justice. Those are not breeding plumage, which develope in spring (March, April).

The hackle feathers in a real mature rooster have various shades of yellow, orange, gold, rust red. Each feather hasa patina of 3 or 4 ovals with the red dot in the middle. They glow like a jewel.

I still have one that I skinned and salted 40+ years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by Bakes:
I think the jungle fowl is pretty cool!

That bull guar is amazing! Never thought the phrase "beautiful cattle" would enter my mind, but very exotic looking critter. Thanks for sharing.

Naki:

Mighty fine pictures.

Enjoyed seeing them very much.

Thank you for sharing seldom seen species.

Hope you are doing well.

George

quote:

Photo does not do justice to the scene

[QUOTE]

Naki,

I can't explain it but I got it as soon as I saw that scene. "A sense of wonder and what could be" maybe.

Mark

Yes Mark. It is a very deep and complex feeling that cannot be explained in words. The sights are amazing - like the sun rays filtering through the canopy, the dew drops among the giant spider webs, the rust brown colour of the Malabar giant squirrel or the glossy black of the bull gaur in diffused sunlight..... The sounds of the jungle are also complex. Even more so than what I heard in Africa. Seeing that photo of the river reminds of its chuckling sound. Unfortunately we are no longer allowed to walk in such National parks.

I have been to Africa once and experienced the sunset in the wild Kalahari of Botswana, The Chobe / Zambezi river safari, Vic falls etc. That was a similar "spiritual" experience.

I have been going to Indian forest / jungles since I was very young, and I have been in all kinds of ecosystems ranging from scrub semi-desert to the high alpine Himalayas above the tree line. Those experiences are just soul enriching.

There seems to be a poetic element to such experiences.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
[QUOTE]Photo does not do justice to the scene

quote:

Naki,

I can't explain it but I got it as soon as I saw that scene. "A sense of wonder and what could be" maybe.

Mark