Tag Archives: India

Trip to Bera, Rajasthan

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Hidden in the belly of Rajasthan, Bera is a small town in Pali district with a considerable number of leopards but very few tourists. Bera was hardly known amongst the wild lifers, however of late it is gaining popularity and also known as leopard country. We ventured to Bera to hopefully spot leopards in a different setting than Gir National Park in Gujarat, India.

Castle Bera is the ancestral home of the Royal family of Bera, whose lineage dates back 400 years to the Legendary warrior King Maharana Pratap of Udaipur (Mewar). Castle Bera, built in 1638, is a luxury, award-winning Heritage Homestay hotel in Jawai Bera. We enjoyed the hospitality at the palace while looking for leopards.

Magnificent Castle
Castle Bera Postcard

Peaceful Buddha

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Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. Statues of Buddha, generally under a tree, are found all over India depicting him in a serene, peaceful, and meditative pose.

Peaceful Buddha

Sunset at the Temple

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Located in Vadodara district of Gujarat, Kayavarohan Shiv temple is one of the sixty-eight ‘teerthas’ (Pilgrimage) of Lord Shiva as mentioned in the Shiva Purana. According to the legends, Lord Shiva took the incarnation of Lakulish in this temple. Lord Shiva took the form of a brahmin child so the place is known as Kayavarohan. Kayavarohan lingam represents the formlessness and uniqueness of Lord Shiva. 

Visitors enjoying peace and serenity at the temple around sunset.

Sunset at the Temple

A Crouching, Moving Leopard

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The Indian leopard has strong legs and a long well-formed tail, a broad muzzle, short ears, and small, yellowish-grey eyes, light grey ocular bulbs. Its coat is spotted and rosetted on a pale yellow to the yellowish-brown or golden background. Leopards are elusive, and solitary animals. They are active mainly from dusk till dawn but in some regions, they are nocturnal. 

 Here is a leopard on the move, crouching low to the ground as if stalking something in Gir National Park.

Leopard Crouching

Leopard in Stride

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The Lion is probably the biggest enemy of the Leopard and a fight to the death will ensue when they come into contact. Hyenas and Baboons have also been known to attack and kill Leopards, in particular the young cubs. Leopards climb trees to survey the surrounding area for food, stay cool in the shade, store their prey and, most importantly, escape potential danger.

A leopard in full stride at Gir National Park, Gujarat, India.

Leopard in Stride

Leopard Walk

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Indian Leopard or Leopards are elusive and one of the most beautiful and most loved Big Cat among all the Big Cat Species. The feline is ‘smaller’ as compared to the other member of the big cat family. Indian Leopard can adapt itself to varying environments with ease and because of this, is the most successful in an era of habitat destruction, poaching and progressively increasing invasive human settlements!

Here is a young leopard walking in Gir National Park.

Leopard Walk

Leopards in Gir

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Apart from the Asiatic lion, Gir National Park also has a sizeable number of another elusive cat—the Indian leopard. Gujarat is the only state in India where lions and leopards have coexisted. According to the last census of leopards carried out in 2016, their population was 1,395 across Gujarat of which about 450 were in Junagadh and Gir-Somnath. 

Leopard’s Majesty
Leopard with Purposeful Stride

Lioness in Profile

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Lionesses are the primary hunters of the pride. They are smaller and more agile than males and they use teamwork to bring an animal down. After a successful hunt, all the lions in the pride share the meal. But there is a pecking order, with the adult males eating first, followed by the lionesses and finally the cubs.

A lioness strolling at Gir National Park, Gujarat, India.

Lioness in Profile

Barasingha

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The Barasingha, also known as the swamp deer, is a deer species distributed in the Indian subcontinent. It is a deer species with conspicuously large antlers. Overall, this mammal has as much as 12 antlers. In fact, the name of this species has Hindi origin and means ’12-antlered deer’. Unfortunately, Barasingha is nowadays among the most vulnerable deer species not only in the Indian Peninsula, but also throughout the world. The remaining small population of this species inhabits protected sanctuaries of India.

Here is a young Barasingha with damaged skin in Gir National Park.

Barasingha

Young Lion Focused

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A young male lion focuses on something of interest at Gir National Park, Gujarat, India. Young males are chased out of pride when they are around two years of age and start being sexually mature. These bewildered male lions then head out alone into the wild, getting injured while hunting, falling victim to alpha males in the jungle, or getting caught in snares if they mistakenly venture near the villages along the forest.

Young Lion Focused

Lioness of Gir

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Lionesses outnumber males by a substantial margin, despite a near 50% male/female birth ratio. This is probably due to the tendency of males to be nomads, take on more dangerous game, and be killed in pride takeover attempts. Lionesses are loving mothers who demonstrate communal care of cubs, with lactating mothers allowing any cub to suckle. Females employ a cooperative model of child-rearing, with one female staying behind to watch over the cubs while the other females hunt.

Here is a lioness strolling around in Gir National Park, Gujarat, India.

Backlighting a Lioness
Lioness in Stride
Lioness in Motion

Birds in Gir

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While lions are the main attraction in Gir National Park, India, there are also a lot of birds. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher is an attractive medium-sized flycatcher with blue upperparts and orange-and-white underparts, with the most orange on the chest and the throat. Spotted Dove is a small and somewhat long-tailed pigeon that is a common resident breeding bird across its native range on the Indian subcontinent.

Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
Spotted Dove