Introduction not a reintroduction. We are not “reintroducing” a species that went extinct recently in India, instead we are “introducing” an alien predator in a habitat where they never ever existed. I am not convinced that there was a wild population of cheetahs in India, that went extinct recently. There would have been cheetahs in Baluchistan but not in the present day India, at least not in the last few centuries.

Cheetahs - an Introduction or Reintroduction. India’s Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 forbids the introduction of exotic species to India’s wilds, even if they are genetically close to their Indian subspecies. It is illegal to even provide them with wild prey in captivity. The cheetahs that we are getting are captive bred African cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus), a different sub species (or genetically different) from the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus). Therefore, it’s being called a “Reintroduction’ because Introduction is illegal

05:11 pm Ranthambhore 23rd June 2022 - A tigress called Laila in Bhakola valley. We saw her sitting in a pool of water behind some bushes about half an hour ago. They s was the third or fourth picture I took, after she got up and started walking. She crossed to our jeep’s left to spray mark a tree and then walked into a narrow entrance to a valley that widen up ahead. We drove on to park at where we thought we might catch up with her - a beautiful setting that tigers normally avoid.

Let me show you some ancient architecture from Ranthambhore national park on #WorldPhotographyDay This building, same as the one in the previous picture, is known as the Choti (or small) Chattri, so called because there is a larger one nearby called (not very creatively) Badi (or big) chattri. It’s basically a elevated, dome-shaped pavilion with a Shivling under it

Been on safaris in Ranthambhore for two weeks now. When I started it was hot & the forest was dry. Hardly an colours except in the few evergreen groves along permanent water sources. Pictures had a brown background Two days later it rained for a few hours which is a lot for us here. That totally transformed the forest. Water became available all over so the animals scattered across the forest. They now didn’t need to stay close to water holes. Water is everywhere

I am not good with written words. Languages were my worst subjects throughout. A 🧵 on pretty #nature pictures with no frills captions.

1. Tiger sleeping in a Chattri 2. Dancing Wildebeest

Wild pairs on Valentine’s Day

Had a fun morning with Rose ringed Parakeets at home. One female sat at the edge of this rubble stone stair well and then dived down to disappear out of my frame. She immediately took a U turn and I found her back in my frame. Looked as if she was admiring the wall

Tigers love water. They need to drink lots of it in hot Indian forests and since they drink slowly they spend a long time getting their fill of water. One of the easier pictures to get of tigers are when they are drinking. This one is of Ranthambhore’s best known tiger - Machali Here are some more pictures of tigers drinking from tightly framed head to half the body to the full body in the frame.

Just a random thread on photographing tigers in the wild. Rule number one - photographs are all & only about light. There are no other rules rules as such. Don’t do this ever - try to stay low that all my fight is about. Why would I stand up 🤦🏽‍♂️ Stay as low as possible generally speaking. That means parking the vehicle accordingly as you can’t get lower than the floor of your vehicle

I have been a serious still photographer for plus 20 odd years now. For the first decade I used camera equipment made by Canon. In 2008-09 I exchanged all my Canon kit with someone for Nikon equivalents. Around 6 years ago my friend @SandeshKadur got me to start shooting videos.. Shooting videos with a #Lumix - initially GH4 and then the awesome #LumixGH5 that shoots 4K on log at 10 bit on 422 - I still don’t know what it means but apparently this is the least that most broadcasters will work with. It shoots pretty decent stills though I rarely do that

Ndutu conservation area in Tanzania is in the region where Homo sapiens first made their appearance on this play. Large wild short grass plains with some trees in between. Our guide Silas parked us facing this. It made for a nice picture….. …..But Silas our friend and guide was not watching the vista. He found the first tree intriguing and we started driving towards it. Silas is good, really good

Dhonk or Anogeissus pendula in the most important tree of Ranthambhore. A very slow growing, hard wood and highly drought resistant species. It’s small leaves start drying in early winters and are shed by the onset of summers. The leaves are great food for ungulates here. Sambar and even Spotted deer can reach the lower branches, even if they have to stand on rear legs. Or they eat the leave that are shed on the ground. Spotted deer also follow langurs who drop a lot of leaves.

There is a lake called Rajbagh in Ranthambhore national park. This. In my opinion one of the prettier parts of Ranthambhore. Adjoining the other side of the shore of this lake, behind the palace in the background is a large open flat area where you park your jeep. It’s called very creatively ‘the platform’ - and this is the best way f all the spots in Ranthambhore for photography. The vistas are stunning in all the directions and there is a lot happening. You have a clear uninstructed view in all directions. If you look west in winters:

A group of tigers is called an ambush. It’s a beautiful sight. Once in a while you find an ambush in good light & it’s jackpot time for photographers. #ThePhotoHour #IndiWild But what comes to my mind when I hear the words ‘tiger’ and ‘ambush’ in the same sentence is this - the art of stalking prey. A 250-300 kg, +9 feet long, orange coloured ‘striped’ cat goes into stealth mode for hours, if required

There is a campaign started by #RajasthanTourism & #RajasthanForests where they want you to post a selfie taken in Rajasthan’s wilderness. I am not a selfie person but let’s show them my favourite wilderness in Rajasthan - Ranthambhore. It looks stunning before dawn Mind blowing at sunrise

Meet a tigress called Arrowhead from Ranthambhore. This picture is from 2015 when she was still a cub. Her brother Pac-Man is running behind -(I named him after a Pac-Man video game mark on his head). It’s story time Arrowhead, Pac-Man and another sister called Lightning were born to a legendary tigress called Krishna or T19 her official number, in early 2014. The four of them crossing the ‘land bridge’ on Rajbagh lake here in summers of 2014

On #WorldTourismDay let me tell you about my favourite place on this planet - the area of the three lakes in Ranthambhore national park. It’s a stunning place. I will take a few minutes of your time but it may brighten up your day. 🙏
#ThePhotoHour The overall backdrop is stunning because of a plus 1000 years old UNESCO World Heritage site Hill fort from which the park gets it name. It’s just too imposing. #Rajasthan

Since leopards of Chambal are show stoppers these days courtesy @manishariprasad - Here is a leopard from Ranthambhore which for those who didn’t know touched River Chambal. Ranthambhore has a very high density of leopards though most visitors don’t see much of them. This is because tigers kill them and to stay safe the smaller cat tends to stay in areas that tigers don’t frequent like steep slopes, hill tops etc. This is a typical sight here.

Pictures of common birds from a tiny sanctuary that we call home. We bought a barren piece of land to build our house on and are slowly trying to turn it into a mini sanctuary. All these pictures are from within our compound. #IndiAves #TribeIndiAves It’s easy to do and great fun. Every new species that we see is a ‘major discovery’ for us

Nothing to see here just a Banyan tree Ficus benghalensis - remember the name. In my opinion a poster tree of India