A Walk in the Woods

Location: Bhitarakanika National Park, Orissa

Equipment: Nikon D80, Nikon 18-135 f/3.5-5.6 Lens

Colony of Scorpions Eating Winged Termites

I had witnessed this behaviour on June 20th around 6 AM in the morning at Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Orissa at a place called Chaurasimal.

This was just after the first rains and there were winged termites coming from within the ground from various places.

But what struck us was that in a small area of around 6'x6' there were close to 25 scorpions catching the winged termites with around 5-6 caught by each. Some even had upto 8-9 in both claws (included). They would then go down holes in the soil and stock them. They would then come back for more. 

I had never seen so many scorpions in one place leave aside catching prey like this in such a large scale. We saw the phenomenon for close to an hour or so.
Sharing a few images to show how it looked. Unfortunately I had left my wide angle lens back at the camp. Lesson learnt.


ID: Scorpions (Heterometrus swammerdami)
Location: Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa
Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

White-eyed Buzzard

ID: White-eyed Buzzard (Batastur teesa)

Location: Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Common Indian Tree Frog

ID: Common Indian Tree Frog (Polypedates maculatus)

Location: Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

Crested Serpent Eagle: A wider perspective

ID: Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

Location: Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Crested Serpent Eagle

ID: Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

Location: Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Common Tailorbird

ID: Common Tailorbird (Orthotomus sutorius)

Location: Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Indian Rock Lizard/Agama

ID: Indian Rock Lizard/Agama (Psammophilus blandfordanus)

Location: Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Babbling Brooks

Location: Upper Barahkamuda Range, Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6

Indian Nightjar

ID: Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus)

Location: Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

UBK Nights

Location: Upper Barahkamuda Range, Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6, Canon RS60-E3 Remote Trigger

Upper Barahkamuda Nights

Location: Upper Barahkamuda Range, Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa
Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6, Canon RS60-E3 Remote Trigger

Mystic Clouds

Location: Cuttack
Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF-S 18-55 f/3.5-5.6, Canon RS60-E3 Remote Trigger

Purple Swamphen / Purple Moorhen

ID: Purple Swamphen  a.k.a Purple Moorhen (Porphyrio porphyrio)

Location: Bhubaneswar Outskirts

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Bronze-winged Jacana

ID: Bronze-winged Jacana (Metopidius indicus)
Location: Bhubaneswar Outskirts
Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Indian Nightjar

ID: Indian Nightjar (Caprimulgus asiaticus)

Location: Similipal Biosphere Reserve, Orissa

Equipment: Canon EOS 1000D, Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

The light used is that from the headlights of a Gypsy

Spill Update

Some good news with regards to the spill in Bhitarkanika. From what I know latest, the spill has now dispersed into the river stream, however the layer is thin and as of now, no further spill has come in. If further Oil clearing isn't done fast, a bigger spill might happen in the future. Hopefully proper action in this regard will be taken by the proper authorities.

Linked to Previous Article (Oil Spill in Bhitarkanika National Park waters)

Oil Spill in Bhitarkanika National Park waters

I had recently made a short trip to Bhitarkanika National Park in Orissa which is home to over 1500 Estuarine Crocodiles, 8 species of Kingfishers, 215 species of avifauna (Resident and Migratory), 26 species of mammals, 34 species of reptiles, 15 species of fish and more. It is a mangrove ecosystem built around a river system and it opens into the sea at Gahirmatha marine sanctuary which is nesting grounds for the olive ridleys. The Paradip port is nearby and sadly enough the Dhamra Port is also coming in the nearby waters.
In September '09, a Mongolian ship called Black Rose carrying 4 tonnes of furnace oil as well as 24 tonnes of diesel sank off the Paradip waters. Ecologists were skeptical about the effects of a spill on the environment. However the Paradip Port Trust stated that the situation was under control.

Quoting a News Article from 22nd September stating the same.

Bhubaneswar, Sep 22 (IANS) A Mongolian ship that sank near the Paradip Port off the Orissa coast is causing no environmental damage, port authorities said Tuesday.
The Paradip Port Trust said the vessel sank Sep 9 with 924 tonnes of furnace oil. A total of 27 crew members were on board the ship. All but a Ukrainian engineer, whose body was found 10 days later, were rescued. A total of 900 tonnes of the oil was inside the double bottom tank that was fully secured. However, 24 tonnes of oil, including grease, was inside the engine room, the trust said in a statement.
“The port trust’s Pollution Response Tugs and Coast Guard vessels, which are monitoring the area, traced escape of little amount of grease and diesel from the sunken vessel Monday.
“It has been ascertained that the spill is from the service tank of the engine room and is negligible. It does not pose any threat. Also, there is no oil spill.
“There has been no danger to the marine environment so far. Both the port trust and Coast Guard are on high alert to tackle any pollution.”
A section of the media Monday said the ship had spilled huge amounts of furnace oil and a thick film of black crude oil was visible on the sea near Paradip. Dead fishes lie scattered on the shore.

The article may be found here.

During my last visit I noticed certain disturbing signs which proved contrary to the statements made in September that the spill was in control. On 17th Dec, we noticed that in high tide, the water in the national park was dark with a thick layer of oil on its surface. I asked a few of the forest officials as to why they had not reported it as yet, they said that it was only in the last 2-3 days (ie 15th-16th Dec) that the oil had started coming during the high tide. The oil from the sunken Mongolian Ship has entered the sanctuary waters. Oil spills can have disastrous consequences to this extremely fragile and rare ecosystem.

Sharing images from the same trip showing the oil spill...
You take a call and think if this is only a minor spill or the beginning of a major ecological disaster.

NOTE: This happening has not yet been reported by the forest officials. The Crocodile Census in BhitarKanika is from 31st Dec '09 to 8th Jan '10

An Estuarine Crocodile enters the oil affected waters of the creek.

Being Good Neighbours

The beauty of nature lies in its sheer mysteries. Be it the Aurora Borealis or the way the animals migrate long distances tracking the exact same path at the same time every year. Each time one keeps wondering, how does this happen… and how much one may wonder, it pulls one still deeper into the mystery. But some things when left the way they were supposed to be, bloom into brilliance, amazing everyone. Yet, even a small interference can be catastrophic.

A case of such relevance begins in the coasts of Orissa every year from November to February. Yes, the annual Olive Ridley arribada. The beaches of Orissa host the second largest Olive Ridley nesting sites in the world, second only to Costa Rica. Every year close to 2.5 lakh turtles mate in the shallow waters of the Bay of Bengal and lay eggs primarily on 3 locations: Rushikulya, Gahirmatha and Devi in Orissa. The eggs are laid in number upto 200 per turtle. The female turtles come out of their watery world and ‘invade’ the shores in the thousands. They dig pits in the sand with their hind flippers upto a foot and a half deep and lay their eggs. The eggs take around 45 days to hatch and in early April, the hatchlings emerge: Millions of them scampering towards the crashing waves. Not many would survive past the first few days. Their survival rate is 1 in a 1000 to every egg laid. Each year the adult turtles return to the very shores where they were born reiterating this beautiful mysterious cycle of birth and death.

Death? Yes, each year the turtle season rings the death knell for thousands of turtles. Close to 17000 turtles die every year from illegal trawling and human interference. The beaches get lined with carcasses and rot, with feral dogs, hyenas, wolves, foxes and other predators having a field day. People come on these beaches and see this gruesome graveyard with death everywhere but no one flinches. Not many care to even ponder a why. It’s the rule of nature they say. Is it I ask? Respect the dead people blurt out. Yet, brainless and heartless maniacs are seen sitting on the dead bodies and clicking pictures as if they had claimed trophies to hang up on their walls. That might be still acceptable to certain people as they are dead and what a person does is his call; which brings us to the issue at hand…

Trawlers kill a lot of turtles every year and the ones that survive come to the beaches for nesting. It is a great attraction for eco-tourism for the state and people come to witness this phenomenon in increasing numbers. Most don’t even know what to do and what not to. They get excited at the sight of them and start shouting and man-handling the turtles. They throw lights into their eyes and try to aid them in digging the pits for the eggs.

What they don’t realise are that they are actually making the turtle nervous. Olive Ridleys are very sensitive to light and flashing bright LED lights into their faces is harmful. Also, it is imperative that the process be kept as isolated as possible from humans. I have seen people piggy backing on the backs of the turtles and shooting images of their kids grinning. Is this how we have learnt to preserve our fellow neighbours of the environment? There is no respect for these amazing creatures from the side of humans. Is this what ‘civilised society’ and over 15 years of rigorous education has taught us? It makes my heart jump with joy every time I see a turtle moreso when I see it actually laying eggs. It is a magical experience. But at the same time it outrages not just me but I’m sure all of the ‘sane fraternity’ each time one sees such outrageous activities on the part of people. It saddens my heart with each carcass that I come across walking the beaches, thinking of the great pains and the great distances these beauties endure to come to these locations just to end up rotting on the beaches.

Picture: Shot at Devi River Mouth in January 2009

In the following image I wanted to portray the possible emotion and outcry in the mind of a turtle with human presence and interference fast approaching. What is its fate?

Shot early morning at Rushikulya River mouth on 22nd February 2009

Nikon D80 with Nikon 18-135mm (Full Frame Image)

SS 1/60 | F 7.1 | ISO 140

If we care enough for people, we can care enough for them too. If we can respect people, we can respect them too. If we can live alongside our neighbours, we can live alongside them too. If we can live our own lives… why can’t we let them live theirs too?