The Blackbucks at GNP and Tal Chappar

My good naturalist friend Bhanu was at Taal Chappar, Rajasthan recently, and as I plan to go there in January, I have been following her closely!

These pictures below were just so magical, that I had to share them here, so I can revisit them whenever I want to.  It looked like a scene from some fantasy movie with a pair of mythical creatures,  and if I blinked they would be gone.

These are the beautiful blackbucks that the Bishnoi protect and why not. 

These were larger and with more widespread horns than the ones I had seen at GNP, and Bhanu informed me that the two were different subspecies.

North-western Blackbuck - subspecies (Antilope cervicapra rajputanae) found in northern India, from Rajasthan upto Punjab.

South-eastern Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra cervicapra).

I look forward to seeing these beautiful creatures on the lovely grasslands of Tal Chappar. Thank you Bhanu!

Helipad threatens blackbuck habitat - The Hindu

The Hindu
The 30-acre polo ground has been specially earmarked for the black buck.
The proposed helipad is within 200 metres of their habitat. Photo: K.
Pichumani

Forest dept. objects to proposed facility at Guindy National Park

The 30-acre polo ground inside Guindy National Park,
the last remaining habitat of the blackbuck, an endangered antelope, is
under threat.

Officials at Raj Bhavan plan to create a
helipad there, despite objections from forest department officials,
said a senior forest officer.

Around 3.30 p.m. on
Wednesday, a team of officials, including Hans Raj Verma, principal
secretary, environment and forests, and Ramesh Chand Meena, secretary to
governor, inspected the polo ground. After this, a meeting was held at
the Secretariat.

On July 22, 2013, Mohan Verghese
Chunkath, additional chief secretary and secretary, environment and
forests, had written a letter to Jatindra Nath Swain, principal
secretary, public (protocol) department, stating that the noise and
escalated activity over formation of a helipad at Raj Bhavan would
impact the flora and fauna in the area.

The polo
ground has been specially earmarked for blackbuck, numbering 320, and
the area is maintained to suit the habitat needs of the animal.

The
proposed helipad is within 200 metres of the blackbuck habitat. Hence,
it is not advisable to create a helipad there, he said.

This
is not the first time such a proposal is being pushed, said another
forest officer. In September 1998, bushes in the polo ground area were
cleared to create a helipad to facilitate the landing of then Prime
Minister A. B. Vajpayee.

However, as forest officers
were adamant in their decision to not allow the formation of the
helipad, the idea was dropped and a helipad was created inside Anna
University.

Naturalists, on condition of anonymity,
said the authorities could create a permanent helipad at Anna
University. Guindy National Park is the last patch of blackbuck habitat,
and should not be disturbed at any cost.

Already,
under the pretext of expansion on the IIT-Madras campus, many open areas
that were once blackbuck habitats have been taken over and buildings
have come up there, they said.

July jottings

Nizhal's PWD park

• Need to number the trees
• Usha cuts palm webbing along with the paper, oops.
• Arrive, and its all cloudy, green and overgrown.

Nice!

• Spider eyeballs me. Annoyed at being disturbed.
• Look at his hairy legs...or is it hers?
• Scurries away under another leaf, and I decide not to disturb his peace.

• Butterflies everywhere
• Common lime, plain tigers flitting about.
• These two caught, and its just my Sony Ericcson phone cam!

• Two chital stags looked on curiously, nervous as well?
• We are only labelling the saplings, boys, I wanted to say.
• But the closer we got the more fidgety they were. And then with a leap and a charge they were off, beautiful antlers and all.

Anyways, the job was done, the rain held off, and the snakes stayed away.

A man called Cutlet

One of the founding members of the Madras Naturalist Society was Mr RKG Menon. It was a name that I had heard, but I had not really bothered to find out more. He passed away a year ago, and I came across this interesting tribute to the man, his mission, passion and kindness.

Lone palm tree, Sir! | eco logic

Here's a colourful quote from the man, in the article.

“Write it down. If you think its all in your memory, it is not worth it. It’s just kaka-pee [crow-shit]“

There's a whole website now dedicated to his papers, jottings and observations. Its a stupendous collection of work on The Blackbuck.

A wonderful way to remember him and salute his work, and a great reference tool for greenhorns like me.

Blackbuck and Chital at the GNP - a favourite subject for Cutlet

Kanha Memories - The graceful and handsome Barasinghas

Continued from Kanha Memories

18th April 2007:

This was the sight that awaited us on our morning ride.  The early morning light shone off their skins and their noses glittered black as they stood, the two male stags, fully alert to the danger that we may pose. 

Our jeep was the only one on this route, and I think on the entire trip we were the only ones lucky enough to have seen this magnificent herd.  

These hard-hoofed swamp deer are found only in Kanha.  Imagine, at one point they roamed the entire northern plains of India.  Probably decimated for their majestic antlers which have 10-12 points.
The tall grass is their favourite food, and they roam the meadows of Kanha.  Their numbers are nowhere near as high as that of the ubiquitous chital, and in the seventies their numbers were down to below a 100.  MP Government claims around 350-400 now, but if there were so many, they were not in evidence.

Their colour gives them an excellent camouflage in the tall grass, and when we passed them and looked back, we could not spot them,  so well had they merged in to the grassland.

A young stag keeping an eye on us
The herd crosses the road, all the while keeping us in their sightsThat whole morning ride, was very satisfying.  First the barasinghas, then the vultures, and the excitement of a possible hidden tiger in the grass.  Our guide was one D P Patel, an older, paan-chewing veteran, while our driver Amandeep Singh was the opposite - a greenhorn in his first week of work!

On the evening ride that day, the skies opened up, and we were all completely wet and soaked as the open jeeps provided no protection.  The guides took us for temporary shelter to a forest camp.  It was quite a awe-inspiring sight to see lightning streak all the way down to the horizon, lighting up a tree in a flash of light, before finishing in a murderous clap of thunder.

Once the rain slowed into a steady drizzle, we returned in the jeeps, wet, cold but in high spirits.  One more pant down, wet and smelly.  To add to the sambar-filled pant of the journey.

Only one left for another 3 days.... who wants to wash clothes in Kanha?  I hoped it would not come to that!

Continued in Tiger Tales.

A jewel in the jungle

After all these long years in Madras, I can finally say that I've visited the Guindy National Park. Not the snake park or the children's park, but the protected reserve behind a locked gate.

Sunday evening and Banumathi of MNS took a bunch of 15 of us into the park. The basics of nature walking - silence, dull clothes and a keen eye.

This beautiful antigonon spray greeted us on our entry. Its a lovely creeper, and commonly called Coral Vine. I believe there's a white variety, which I have not come across. This pink variety is all over the KFI school walls, Blue Cross and various large estates in south Madras.

I learnt about the difference between a bug and a beetle - the bug sucks and the beetle chews. Saw some great looking insects - the jewel bug, the green link spider, the flightless grasshopper, and other creepy crawlies. Some parakeets, posed for us, as also the coppersmith barbets.

One of the high points was definitely coming across this little marvel called the jewel bug. It was a real beauty, its colours glitterring in the sun. Belongs to the Scutelleridae family.

Learnt that bugs like this "suck", while beetles chew!

One learns something new everyday.....

Frog spawn - oh I thought it was a rossogolla - star tortoises, and the endangered black buck. What kind of strange human beings could shoot these magnificent and handsome creatures?

Ate wild berries, worked up a good sweat, and was in the heart of south Madras without the sound of a bus, or a crow. The big aeroplanes though roared by at regular intervals, startling the fawn and gambolling deer.