Conservation Tourism

Too many birds, not enough Herps!!!

/ Jake / 8 Comments

We can’t let the birders have all the fun, so I’m going to start posting my favorite reptiles & amphibians!  (I’m clearly in good company on the subject, however!) These amazing creatures are often unjustly vilified, but if you take a closer look you will realize just how beautiful and unique they are.

So I will start for now with Crotalus cerastes, the desert sidewinder (SW US/NW Mexico) — This small pit viper is specially adapted to live in the desert, most notably in its locomotive behavior of “sidewinding” which leaves a trademark imprint in sand.  Enjoy!

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Periyar Sightings – October 15th, 2013

/ Salim.E.I / Leave a comment
Photo Credits : Manoj Vasudevan

Photo Credits: Manoj Vasudevan

Mr. Manoj Vasudevan, the leader of a visiting tour group, joined the nature walk last week at the Periyar National Park. We love it when our guests share their  shots with us ! Continue reading →

Thenmala – Ecotourism

/ Salim.E.I / Leave a comment
Photo credits : R R Renjith

Photo credits: R R Renjith

Thenmala is India’s first planned ecotourism destination. Located 500 metres above sea level in the foothills of the Kollam district of the Westeren Ghats, Thenmala’s 10 satellite ecotourism attractions create a colourful canvas of diverse flora, fauna and vast tracts of forests. Continue reading →

Understanding Animal Behaviour

/ Sudhir Shivaram / Leave a comment

Elephant in mock charge at Bandipur Tiger Reserve; photo credit: Sudhir Shivaram

If you want to be a good wildlife photographer, you need to be a good naturalist first. Understanding your subject’s behaviour and knowing the natural history is even more important than good equipment to make good images.

Elephants commonly make a mock charge when they have calves in their group. During a photographic safari in India’s national parks the drivers and guides are knowledgable about this behaviour and know how to react. When a jeep enters the vicinity with elephants they understand that a mock charge is likely.

After the mock charge the elephant relaxes and moves within the family group naturally. This is the opportunity for good behaviour shots. Continue reading →

Tourism Event in Thekkady

/ Kendra Barnett / Leave a comment
Entrance to the Tourism Event

Entrance to the Tourism Event

This past weekend Cardamom County was the venue for a Thekkady Destination Promotion Council (TDPC) event to promote the activities available in Thekkady and Kumily. At first I thought it was just going to be like other conference events I had witnessed in my 3 months here, but I soon realized I was wrong. The first evidence of my misconception came when someone asked me if I was coming early to see the elephants before the guests arrived.  I was completely surprised by the question but of course I responded, “yes!” quite aware that this event was becoming a lot more interesting than I had previously thought. Continue reading →