Ratnabh - Wild-in-Soul

  Come January and parts of the Mumbai city will don a layer of pink, as flamingos (mostly lesser, and some greater too) fly for over 600 km to make Mumbai their home until the first monsoon showers arrive at Sewri. A large number of flamingos reach along with their babies from their breeding area in Kutch. Flamingos were first spotted in Mumbai back in 2000, and large flocks have since been seen here every winter from 2003. Their time of migration and the number that arrives in the city depends on various factors like the weather and rainfall in Kutch, as well as the suitability of the wintering habitat, level of disturbances, and hazards in the flying route Since their first visit, flamingo numbers have grown; the numbers seem to be stable for the last couple of years. In 2017, more than 20,000 have been recorded. By May end the birds start leaving for Kutch and by the first week of June, the last batch leaves. The scenery is a contrasting one with thousands of flamingos, mud...

  Always wanted a photograph of a group of wild boars crossing a forest track…. and never got one till this day in Tadoba. This was perfect… the light … the time… and the number of them and the various sizes.  The Indian wild boars (Sus scrofa) doesn’t draw much attention from the visitors to the forests but … they look gorgeous with their firm dorsal crest. It may be interesting to note that until the Turko-Afghan invasions of North India in the 12th century, the wild boar was greatly admired due its association with Varaha. A number of temples dedicated to Varaha still exist today across India. The boar was also the royal symbol of dynasties of the Guptas in the North and the Cholas and Vijayanagar in the South. These are fierce and powerful animals and present a formidable challenge even to predators like the tiger and leopard. There has been many incidents of boars fatally wounding tigers. They are prolific breeders and breed throughout the year. Females start breeding a...