Accolade Alipore Zoological Park

Black Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina)

This is a unique specimen in the collection of Alipore Zoological Park. It's a Black Crowned Crane,scientific name Balearica Pavonina. They are mainly found in Savannah region in south of Sahara desert.Like all cranes they feed on small mammals, insect and reptiles.It is listed as endangered species specially in west due to habitat loss and degradation.

My advice to all children who visit a zoological park is to understand the species and then see it because it will help you to learn about the animal. 

Sharing my experience after visiting National Parks in India

            

Rajaji National Park

• Last year I visited Rajaji National Park on 20th December, as usual I was very excited. To start with I would love to give a brief description about the park. Rajaji National Park is located in Uttarakhand, it is an Indian National Park that encompasses the Shivaliks , near the foothills of the Himalayas.It spreads over 820 square kilometers and three districts of Uttarakhand i,e Haridwar, Dehradun, Pauri Gharwal. In 1983 three wildlife sanctuaries in the area namely Chilla, Motichur and Rajaji sanctuaries were merged into one.
• Rajaji National Park has been named after C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) a prominent leader of the freedom struggle, the second and last Governor- General of independent India and one of the first recipients of India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna (in 1954).

• Rajaji is famous for it's wide variety of Flora and Fauna. To start with I would like to choose Fauna, Rajaji National Park contains tropical and sub-tropical broad leaf forest in particular those of the "Upper Gangetic Plains" moist deciduous forest Eco-region. Important plants such as Shovea, Mallotus, Adina and Phoebe are found in the park and studies have revealed some important associations between them. Now to write about something that I love the most i,e Fauna. Rajaji is famous for both elephants and tigers. Though it has wide range other species such as Leopard, Jungle cat, Stripped Hyena, Goral, Indian hare, Sloth bear, Himalayan black bear, Python, Monitor Lizard, Indian Porcupine, Rhesus Macaque, Wild Boar, Sambhar, Barking Dear, King Cobra and Jackel. 315 species of birds are found inside the park, such as Great Pied Hornbill, Himalayan Pied Kingfisher and Fire Tailed Sunbird and other migratory birds across Himalayas. The river that flows through the park mainly contains two fishes such as Trout and Mahseer.

Standing in front a National Park with such a huge biodiversity was a treat and a dream coming true fact for nature lovers like me. I feel very proud that I got the opportunity. Now to start off with my experience, I purposefully choose my visit at these national parks when it is mostly off season. The reason behind the fact is that while in the park I don't like the commotion of the people and the possibility of seeing the illusive animals is at it's best. Though you have to prepare for the worst 9 out of 10 times. I find that many people has misconception about the wildlife sanctuaries and national parks, they think there's animals sitting at every corner of the park waiting for us to see them, we just have to borrow a car and enjoy. If one goes to the National Parks with this mentality then I sorry to say that you are totally mistaken and these things are not your cup of tea. Instead I would like to request everybody to enjoy this unique wilderness and if you are lucky,have patience and have high level of endurance you never know what nature preserves for you.I borrowed a local gepsey with a guide named Bhupinder.Bhupinder was an efficient man and knows every bit of the park as he is working there for last five to six years.Seeing my interest in wildlife he told me that he would love to take me to the areas where they generally don't take other tourists.I geared up and started my journey with huge expectation and excitement .

That was a cold and chilling day.At first we went to a watch tower for where as far many animals can be located but alas I couldn't see even a single one.

Lucky to grab one binocular form one of the local shop for rent

As I have told earlier one should follow the key word and march on and I did the same.Then we came across a dried river bed actually that was a tributary of Ganges.The prime drinking spot for variety for fauna that flourished in that region.It was a beautiful place and the forest officials had done a marvellous job in marking the driving route with stone in order to avoid difficulty while driving.On that river bed I saw a female Asiatic elephant crossing with her two babies in front of us.The feeling that i had at that point was beyond expectation and cannot be expressed in words.In one word mind boggling.My feeling at that point can be understood by those who had been to the wild and experienced that at one piece.

Then as we drove slowly through the grasslands we saw numerous other animals like wild boars,peacock,spotted deers, sambars, hornbills, etc. It seemed that nature has preserved a lot for me,just when I stared thinking that today is my day and tried to push my luck a bit by jumping out of the vehicle Bhupinder warned me and told me "don't take thing for granted  when you are in wild" I appreciated him and quickly rectified my mistake.Slowly we drove our way back with an ever green memory and an enormous experience to share with everyone.Only despair was that i could not see the big cats and I heard that there were 13 Bengal tigers according to a recent census apart from Leopards.For this reason I will come back to Rajaji National Park all over again with new hope and mount of expectation.

Expectation grew bigger every time I visited these national parks and I feel an eternal urge to come back all over again

 One thing I must really say about Rajaji National Park is that the official are making an earnest effort to make people about these endangered wild species through promotional events and wildlife documentary.They make sure that every tourists who visits the park watches these documentary courtesy Arundhuti a shop named after a local resident female elephant.

Wild beckons what are you waiting for

"Kudos Rajaji National Park forest officers for making an effort in order to save these last patches of wild land where the wild animals still roam free."
 

This is a beautiful specimen of hawk family..........can you guess what is its name??? one of the revealing fact about hawk is that it is the fastest bird in this whole world..........when it dives from great heights it does not uses it's wing only it's tail to navigate and gravity..........it falls at such a high speed that if human try this our heart will burst at such a pressure.............miracle absolutely miracle.......and yes it's faster than cheetah......... kudos.........

Last month I went to Alipore Zoological Park with my cousin brother .........I went there to take few photographs of wild big cats........but it seems that was not my day as the cats were preferring cool shed in the far end of the cage and the crowd was overwhelming....so I did not get much of a chance to shoot them......I was sad but that is the reality when you are shooting wildlife.........but soon my sadness vanished when I came to the arena of Asiatic elephant..........they were so used to human contact that they gave some of the beautiful pictures what I was aiming about........here are some of my clicks..... 

I was very happy to see them .........but the next thing I remember that is my heart was filled with sadness as these pictures are extremely rare in the wild as these Asiatic elephants are extremely rare........Highly endangered species and if we don't act soon extinct within years........... Wake up, you people..........For further detail log on to www.earasia.org............check out how you can help......

Anecdote

The rule of the jungle is Survival, survival & survival...

Last month I went to a renowned national park in North Bengal with my friends. Though my friends are not enthusiastic wildlife lovers but still they decided to spent one of their valuable days of leave for my cause. We borrowed a park vehicle and went for a late afternoon stroll in the park.I can assure you one thing that those who feel wildlife is not their cup of tea will still be lured to see the wild animals in their belongings. We were looking everywhere to see any possible sign of life but in vain as we could see nothing except few birds that flew from the branches while we patrol. After a few moment we reached a frequently used animal track. We decided to turn off our cars engine and sat there for a while. Suddenly, I saw a black faced Langur sitting in the shed of a tree edging the ground for every possible scrap, oblivious to any possible danger as the Langur was hungry.In the mean while a peacock landed to the ground from the nearby tree possibly tracking insects that were crawling on the forest floor. The Langur was sitting in the tree shed quietly observing the Peacock which was so busy in its search for insects that it hardly noticed the Langur. I told my friends to keep quiet anticipating something interesting to happen, my friends got excited as they thought that even the Langur was amazed to see the beauty of the Peacock and was appreciating in its own way. Next thing I remember was that the Langur pounced on the Peacock which has to react immediately in order to save it's life.It was a lucky escape and the Peacock lived to die another day.We were happy to see the drama but definitely the Langur was not.

 

Moral: "Always expect the unexpected when you are in the wild".        

Wildlife is a simple word with a purposeful inner meaning and knowing the meaning of the word is only the primarily step towards entering into a completely new world.........here characters don't speak but yet they have emotions, feelings, anger and affection.....right from my childhood I was fascinated by them.........My aim is to create awareness among mankind in order to save this wild kingdom for our future generation........it's their right to enjoy this unique kingdom......... 

Welcome to the Wildlife Heaven