Wildlife of the Western Ghats, India
28th Jan - 5th Feb 2024
Sunrise in the Valparai area, Western Ghats
My first trip of 2024 was one I'd been planning for a long time... an exploration of the Western Ghats in south-wesern India. I'd paid a brief vistit nearly 20 years ago with my daughter Sarah, but this would be my first chance to focus on photographing the region's wildlife, much of which is found nowhere else in the world.
It was all arranged to my specific requirements through the excellent Ravi Kailas at Ficus Wildlife Tours (https://ficustours.in/about/). Ravi is a qualified biologist and expert on Indian wildlife who is also very good company. He organised everything and guided me personally for the second half of the trip and I would strongly recommend anyone considering a wildlife watching trip to India to contact him.
Nagarahole National Park
My driver Prakash (also impressive) picked me up at Bangalore airport and drove us to Kabini River Lodge in time for the first of four safaris at Nagarahole. The lodge was comfortable and well run, but the national park was very busy with large numbers of buses and safari jeeps following each other around the narrow forest tracks.
We saw lots of wildlife at Nagarahole, with good views of leopard, elephants, gaur, mongooses etc. but no wild dogs, sloth bear or tiger, the three main species I was hoping for. Overall I was a little disappointed with this National Park considering how much the accommodation and safaris had cost.
Sambar(Rusa unicolor) and Spotted Deer(Axis axis) drinking
Black-footed Gray Langur (Semnopithecus hypoleucos)
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus)
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus) family
Ruddy Mongoose (Urva smithii) eating a calotes lizard
Bandipur National Park
After a brief couple of hours drive, my next stop was Bandipur National Park. Similar to Nagarahol but with slightly different habitat, it was my last chance to try and spot the wild dogs, bears and tiger I was searching for.
Again it was very crowded but the wildlife was good including finally, a superb male tiger!... calmly patroling the lake shore while steadfastly ignoring queues of jeeps full of noisy admirers.
Tiger (Panthera tigris)
Little Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis)
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
Leopard Encounter!
From Bandipur, Prakash picked me up for the long drive south to Valparai. The main road passes through Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve and hearing spotted deer alarm calls we stopped to investigate. A very young spotted deer fawn came racing down the road towards us, followed by an adult female and not far behind, a young leopard! I grabbed my camera just in time for a few shots as it sped past.
By the time the leopard was alongside, the deer had disappeared into the forest, so it pulled up... looking slightly bemused. After staring at me for a moment, busy taking photos through the car window, it slowly made it's own way into the undergrowth and out of sight. A wonderful experience to make up for missing out on wild dogs and bears!
Leopard (Panthera pardus)
Valparai
Picking up Ravi on the way, we arrived at the superb Monica Garden Bungalow in time for our evening meal. This was easily my favourite accommodation of the trip with beautiful premises and wonderful food. The area is a hotspot for endemic mammals and birds, so the next day we set off at dawn in search of them, in particular my main target, the strange-looking lion-tailed macaque.
The first few hours were spent watching a variety of endemic birds and squirrels, but then Ravi found a large troop of macaques feeding on jackfruit in the forest, and we were able to spend a couple of hours quietly photographing them. The rest of the day was spent shooting endemic birds like the crimson-backed sunbird, followed by a night walk with excellent veiws of several Indian giant flying squirrels.
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis)
Crimson-backed Sunbird (Leptocoma minima)
Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)
Jungle Palm Squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus)
Periyar National Park
My final stay was in Periyar National Park. It was the weekend so again very busy but with some nice forest and plenty of wildlife. The lodge is actually inside the National Park so you can walk straight out into woodland where there are lots of nilgiri langurs, giant squirrels, deer and birds and the hotel staff put food out in the evening for a pair of porcupines that wander into the grounds.
There are boat trips around the large lake to watch mammals that come down to drink. They're packed with bus loads of local visitors at the weekend, but still very enjoyable. There are also guided night walks in the forest, but our National Park guide was completely uninterested in any animal life we spotted, so that was largely a waste of time.
Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica)
Nilgiri Langur (Semnopithecus johnii)
White-bellied Treepie (Dendrocitta leucogastra) eating a caterpillar
Dancing Frogs!
On my final morning in India, Ravi took me with one of the guides to a different section of Periyar National Park, along a steep path leading up into the mountains. I'd mentioned that I was particularly keen on seeing amphibians and reptiles but being the dry season we'd had little luck... this time though he hit the jackpot!
Sitting on a rock in a small stream that cascaded down the mountain he spotted a tiny frog, which to my surprise suddenly stuck out a long rear leg with a bright white foot! It was one of the world's most endangered amphibians, a beautiful dancing frog that's found nowhere else in the world. A superb end to a wonderful trip!
Beautiful Dancing Frog (Micrixalus adonis)
I thoroughly enjoyed this trip, which is the best of my four visits to India in terms of wildlife, largely thanks to the skill and knowledge of Ravi Kailas (www.ficustours.in). The crowds of people visiting India's national parks can be frustrating, but they're an indication of how successful wildlife conservation is proving there, and few countries have such well-qualified and knowledgable guides and conservationists. I have every intention of returning next year to explore some other regions of this huge, facination country... hopefully with the help of Ravi and Prakash.
Mammal Species
Nagarahole National Park
Leopard (Panthera pardus)Ruddy Mongoose (Urva smithii)
Stripe-necked Mongoose (Urva vitticolla)
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
Gaur (Bos gaurus)
Northern Red Muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis)
Sambar Deer(Rusa unicolor)
Spotted Deer(Axis axis)
Black-naped Hare (Lepus nigricollis)
Malabar Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica)
Jungle Palm Squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus)
Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata)
Black-footed Gray Langur (Semnopithecus hypoleucos)
Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus giganteus)
Bandipur National Park
Leopard (Panthera pardus)Tiger (Panthera tigris)
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
Gaur (Bos gaurus)
Northern Red Muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis)
Sambar Deer(Rusa unicolor)
Spotted Deer(Axis axis)
Jungle Palm Squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus)
Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata)
Black-footed Gray Langur (Semnopithecus hypoleucos)
Valparai
Stripe-necked Mongoose (Urva vitticolla)Small Indian civet (Viverricula indica)(camera trap)
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Gaur (Bos gaurus)
Northern Red Muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis)
Sambar Deer(Rusa unicolor)
Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica)(camera trap)
Black-naped Hare (Lepus nigricollis)
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis)
Malabar Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica)
Jungle Palm Squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus)
Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata)
Nilgiri Langur (Semnopithecus johnii)
Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)
Periyar National Park
Stripe-necked Mongoose (Urva vitticolla)Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
Sambar Deer(Rusa unicolor)
Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica)
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis)
Malabar Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica)
Jungle Palm Squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus)
Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata)
Nilgiri Langur (Semnopithecus johnii)
Dusky leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros ater)
Tiger (Panthera tigris) with some rather nervous spotted deer (Axis axis) in the background!