Photo Credits: Roji Anthony
The Periyar Tiger Reserve is home to an estimated 500-1000 Wild Gaur, popularly known as “Indian Bison”. They are ferocious looking but shy bovines, and some of the largest in the world. The male bison can weight up to 1000 kg, grows to 6 feet in height and has very dark brown skin. Female gaur are smaller in size and are a lighter brownish black, and the calves are even lighter still. Continue reading
Photo credits: Aparna P
Leptosia Nina (Fabricius) is a small white butterfly with rounded wings, commonly found across India including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, but predominantly in plains and the foothills of the Western Ghats up to 1600 meters. Continue reading
When we first met Dr. Meg Lowman last year we were already familiar with the use of tree climbing techniques for forest biology research. But the pioneer of canopy ecology includes an additional dimension to her REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) by acknowledging that physical mobility has little to do with being an effective field biologist. “To explore the canopy we climb ropes not trees, and in the lab we use microscopes, computers and minds, which have no limits.”
The Baker University program had been open to eight students, half of whom had ambulatory disabilities. All eight students were professionally trained to ascend into the canopy to collect moss, lichen and leaves to measure the impact of the invertebrates like tardigrades (water bears) on the habitat. Continue reading
Photo credits: MN Shaji
Kerala’s Idukki District is known for its famous dams, forests and rich animal habitat. With an astonishing 50 percent of the total area under green cover this hilly region has managed to retain its charm and pristine environment. Idukki’s stunning natural beauty and diverse wildlife make it dream tourist destination. Continue reading
Photo credits: Aparna P
The Tawny Coster (Acraea terpsicore) is a colorful butterfly distributed all over Kerala from the plains to the hill ranges up to 1500. They are primarily found close to and during monsoon season, prefering open grass land, forest edges and gardens. Continue reading
Photo credits: MN Shaji
Located near Kozhikode, Kadalundi Bird Sanctuary spreads over a cluster of islands in a scenic area surrounded by hillocks where the Kadalundi River flows into the Arabian Sea. Continue reading
Migrating Bar Tailed Godwit – Mulki, India
Every autumn the Bar-tailed godwit undertakes an eight-day journey from Alaska to New Zealand. The bird flies non-stop, rarely breaking the whopping 11,000 kilometer journey to rest or eat.
This wading bird is far superior to all aircraft constructed by humans when it comes to the art of flying for a long time without a break; unlike seabirds, they can neither rest on water nor feed at sea. Continue reading
Nilgiri Langur
It’s been a while since we shared with you pictures of visitors from Periyar at Cardamom County. Here are a few photos of a family of Nilgiri Langur that took a quick stop at our resort on their way to their final destination: the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Continue reading
Photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
Bandipur National Park is one of the most famous wildlife national parks in South India, and is part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. Covering an area of 880 sq km, it was once one of the private wildlife reserves of the Mysore Maharaja. Today, Bandipur National Park is a protected zone for over 100 species of mammals, Continue reading
This pygmy chameleon is one of many such unique and new species discovered in the Mount Mabu forest of Mozambique. Photograph: Kew Gardens/Julian Bayliss
Bob Dylan, in 1976, released a song called Mozambique. It does not mention biodiversity as one of the reasons to visit the country, but it is better written than the following headline (something has happened to the Guardian‘s Environment section in recent months):
Protect the Mozambique forest found on Google Earth, scientists say
Mount Mabu rainforest teeming with new and unique species including pygmy chameleons and bronze-colour snakes
Photo credit: Praveen Bhaskaran
Vagamon is a land with undisturbed forests, exotic flora and fauna — green glades and verdant meadows interspersed with shola forest combine to create a picturesque landscape. 1200 metres above sea level, Vagamon is located approximately 45 km from Thekkady; a true paradise for hikers and trekkers. Continue reading
More than one contributor to this site has been a fan of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology for several decades. During graduate school, for example, when Sapsucker Woods provided more than just a walk in the woods. The Lab’s fan base is global, for good reason, both among casual bird lovers and more serious bird watchers. The Lab became the focus of professional interest to several of us when we began managing lodges in the rain forests of Central America, and we discovered what we had not known while at Cornell: it has the largest collection of field recordings of bird songs in the world. Guests at our lodges were awed by this resource when it was pointed out to them. The images above reflect more recent appreciation we have for the Lab. Continue reading
Image Credit: Pradnyesh Sawant
This may be the first national park where tigers aren’t at the center of attention! Located in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam, Kaziranga is home to two thirds of the world’s Great One-Horned Rhinoceroses. Large breeding populations of elephants, buffalos, swamp deer, and tigers reside here as well. Furthermore, this park is recognized by Birdlife International for its diversity and conservation of various species of birds. Kaziranga was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its unique environment and wildlife in 1985. Continue reading
The research of Dr. Ana Rodrigues and her colleagues, much appreciated by our team here in the Western Ghats (no hard feelings, of course, that Colombia has a hotspot considered greater in terms of irreplaceability), is featured in a story in today’s Guardian:
…”This beautiful mountain, which is not far from cities and towns, is being colonised by rich people building second homes,” said Dr Ana Rodrigues, a researcher at the CEFE-CNRS institute in France, who led the new study. The team’s analysis of the world’s 173,000 nature reserves identified 138 that were “exceptionally irreplaceable.”
Photo credit: Abhinavmnnit
If you are looking for a wildlife sanctuary with a blend of rich history, Ranthambore National Park is the national park for you! Inside the park, the formidable Ranthambore fort lies overlooking the entire park area. There are three Hindu temples inside the fort dedicated to Ganesh, Shiva and Ramlalaji constructed in the 12th century. The fort itself was built in the 10th century and played a critical role in the historical development of Rajastan. Due to its strategic location between north and central India, many rulers coveted and fought over the area. Continue reading
Bamboo Rafting
In recent posts we’ve been sharing what guests spot during their excursion on the bamboo rafts. We were delighted that Ms. Helen Worsley was willing to share her experience through these beautiful photographs.
Bamboo rafting is either a half-day or full day program that starts in the early hours of morning. Forest guides in the reserve take guests on a 2-hour hike to where the rafts have been docked. The group consists of a maximum of 10 people excluding the guides who explain about the rich flora and fauna they spot on their hike. The hike itself is breathtaking for its wild beauty and by the time guests reach the raft they’re usually looking forward to what is to come. Continue reading
Sighting Of The Day
Cardamom County receives guests of all ages who are enthusiastic about trekking, hiking and bamboo rafting as well as others who just like to relax in the beautiful ambiance of our property. Our privileged location across the street from the Periyar Tiger Reserve means a lot of overlap of fauna such as birds, butterflies and even monkeys between us, although obviously we don’t have any tigers on property! Continue reading
Sambar Deer
Where better to spot wildlife than on the lake looking to quench their thirst, cool down or save themselves from wild dogs? Here we share the documentation of the Bowden family’s experience visiting the Periyar Tiger Reserve on a boat cruise. The Periyar reservoir expands over 26 square kilometers and is the main resource of water for not only the animals in the reserve but also the state of Tamil Nadu, where it provides daily water for livelihood in 3 of its districts. Continue reading
semi evergreen forest
Recent guests from Austria staying at Cardamom County shared photos of their Border Hike experience with us. The Periyar Tiger Reserve extends over 925 sq kilometers and this particular trek covers a minimum of 18km of the peripheral zone. It’s difficult not to get lost and even more difficult to spot animals in the rich flora of the reserve, hence the importance of the professionally trained forest guides. Continue reading
Some places in the world are known for lush greenery, others for steep cliffs and snowy glaciers and others still for refreshing water lapping against hot beaches. But of all the landscapes in the world, harsh deserts are perhaps the one that fewest people have experienced. Believing it to be not as pleasant as other landscapes, many people miss out on the tremendous beauty found in deserts. Precisely because there are very few people, visiting deserts like the Little Rann of Kutch gives a traveler the chance to ponder a world before there were so many of us around.
The Wild Ass Sanctuary of the Little Rann of Kutch, spreading across nearly 5000 square kilometers of the Little Rann, is the only place on earth where the endangered Indian Wild Ass, Equus hemionus khur, known locally as the ghudkhar, still lives.
Because of the Sanctuary’s proximity to the Gulf of Kutch and its location on the migration routes of many bird species, it is a very important site for birds to feed and breed in. Continue reading
Organikos 