Mr & Mrs. Mouleart from Belgium joined us at Cardamom County for 2 days from January 24th through the 26th, 2012. One of their excursion choices was for a ride on a tamed gentle giant – The Elephant at Thekkady. Continue reading
National Parks
Green Vine Snake (Ahaetulla nasuta)
Photo: T J Varghese
Tufted gray langur (Semnopithecus priam)
Photo: T J Varghese - Chinnar wild life Sanctuary
About That Plowshare Tortoise
In an earlier post we pointed to a wondrous article in The New Yorker, and now a blog post on the magazine’s website has a collection of photo out-takes and some behind the scenes description of getting those shots:
The portrait that opens the piece, of Goode with a tortoise, just barely came together. “Everything was planned to the minute, and so many things could have gone wrong,” Torgovnik told me from Rwanda, where he was onto his next assignment.
Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius)
Photo: T J Varghese
Gavi Eco-Tourism
Gavi is 40 km from Thekkady, the western region of Periyar Tiger Reserve which is popular eco-tourism destination for jeep safari, trekking, camping, waterfalls etc. Continue reading
Fresh Water Otter
Photo: T J Varghese
The Fresh Water Otter is a carnivorous aquatic animal which is a familiar sighting in the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Continue reading
The Wild Cattle -Indian Gaur (Bos gaurus)
Photo:Varghese.T.J
Photo taken by Varghese T.J. in periyar tiger reserve, Kerala in April 2011.
The State Bird of Kerala – Great Hornbill (Buceros bicornis)
Photo taken by Varghese T.J. in Parambimkulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala in Febraury 2011.
The Big Cat – The Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris tigris)
Photo:TJ VARGEESE
Photo taken from Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary, Wayanad, Kerala, India on January 2010.
Common Monkey–Bonnet Macaque
photo:TJ VARGHESE
Nilgiri Langur (Trachypithecus johnii)
Photo taken from Gavi- ecotourism zone, north of periyar
Life of Periyar (Periyar Lake)
Photo by: Varghese TJ
The most familiar scenic view of Periyar Lake, which covers 26 Sq Km of the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Continue reading
Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia diversifolia)
Mexican Sunflower is a member of sunflower family native of mexico, introduced in India.
Mysore Thunbergia (Thunbergia mysorensis)
Mysore Thunbergia is a climber mostly found in Evergreen and semi-evergreen forest foothills of the Western Ghats. It is popularly known as Lady Shoe Flower due to the flower shape and large size. Sunbirds are the frequent visitor for these flowers which are rich in nectors. Flowering season is between October to January.
Niligiri Langur
Photo: taken 2 months ago by Shahul -a visitor at the Periyar Park
Niligiri Langur (Trachypithecus johnii) is endemic to the rainforests in the Western Ghats and they are one of the more common sights in the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Sambar Deer (Cervus unicolor)
SAMBAR DEER (Cervus unicolor) are found inhabiting mainly damp woodland environments, like marshes and swamps. In Periyar we have thousands of sambar deer, which is the favourite prey for Wild Dogs, Leopards and Tigers. Whenever they perceive danger, they start giving a repetitive honking alarm call.
Large Scaled Green Pit Viper (Periyar)
Elephants – Lord of the Jungle
The Periyar Tiger Reserve is famous for its elephant population. According to the 2010 Forest Department census, there are about 1279 wild elephants in the reserve. The world population of Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) is estimated to be around 60,000, about a tenth of the number of African elephants.
Lion King in Real Life
As a kid, I loved watching the Lion King. Either on the Disney Channel, VHS or live on Broadway, I was hooked. For me, safari in the Masai Mara is story of The Lion King coming to life: The whole gang was there- Simba, Nala, Pumba, Timon and even Rafiki!
Organikos 