Lifescapes Gallery

There’s nothing undercover about this sting operation. It’s all above board, very public, and cruelly exposes the pretentions of dangerous denizens like Messrs. Bee, Wasp & Hornet, and the limitations of their supposedly invincible weaponry. The main theatre of operation is the lush expanse of Kabini, where the Blue-tailed Bee-eaters are the designated super sleuths Read more >>

Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 24 Comments »

You are looking at a picture of Kabini’s most prized cows. Now, now…hold your horses! Before you think we’ve been grazing on a different kind of ‘grass’, allow us to clarify. Goats, in much of rural India, are considered the ‘poor man’s cow’, and Kabini is no exception to this belief. A herd of just Read more >>

Goats, Kabini | Posted in Kabini, Mammals | 32 Comments »

If the marketing whiz kids at those multinational companies could just brand and sell them, the Small Pratincoles of Kabini would probably be their No.1 bestsellers, at least with harassed housewives looking for deliverance from termites and bugs. These grey little shore birds are perhaps the most efficient insect hunters around, and are so confident Read more >>

Small Pratincole, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 11 Comments »

It could be an affirmation of the old adage that barking dogs never bite, for the Dhole, or wild dogs of Kabini, are examples of the converse being true, and are never known to bark. But then, why would one want to bark when you have over five caller tunes to stay in touch? The Read more >>

Dhole, Kabini | Posted in Kabini, Mammals | 16 Comments »

A leopard can’t change colour. Period. And we’ve always been told he can’t change his spots. Yet he qualifies as the Chameleon of the Big Cat family. The reason isn’t hard to see…he is! Trying to spot a leopard, when he doesn’t want to be seen, is like looking for one particular needle in a Read more >>

Leopard, Kabini | Posted in Kabini, Mammals | 37 Comments »

He’s small. Very small. But, size apart, there’s nothing little about this plover. This low flying sentinel of the wetlands is a lot of bird in a small frame, with a large bag of tricks up his sleeve. Consider, for starters, the patented ‘Broken Wing Feint’. When danger threatens his nest, he pretends to have Read more >>

Little Ringed Plover, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 21 Comments »

Because he wanted a new set of teeth. Because he was a Makhna, and didn’t have those gleaming dental showpieces that his more favoured cousin, the Tusker, flaunted with such panache. And, living as he did, in a biosphere with the largest concentration of Asiatic elephants in the world, the comparisons loomed large and with Read more >>

Makhna, Kabini | Posted in Kabini, Mammals | 20 Comments »

Headbangers of the avian world unite. Come summer, and The Rolling Stones of Kabini are ready to put on a show like no other. The Indian Roller is not a bird that believes in silent, meaningful romances. When he goes courting, he needs to let the whole world know, by serenading his mate through a Read more >>

Indian Roller, Kabini | Posted in Birds, Kabini | 23 Comments »

For all those weaned on martial arts movies, here’s good news. Another, highly entertaining, action packed thriller is playing at this very minute, in the jungles of Kabini, and the lead actor is a real dragon. The Common Indian Monitor doesn’t spit fire, but does everything a self respecting dragon action hero should. He can Read more >>

Common Indian Monitor, Kabini | Posted in Kabini, Reptiles | 42 Comments »