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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Kabini Calling!!

Kabini Backwaters
After traveling to most of the Tiger Reserves in Karnataka, there was still one left to be ticked off the list, Kabini.

The backwaters of Kabini, which adjoins the Nagarhole National Park is a heaven for any wildlife photographer. After coming across a lot of leopard photographs from the region, i knew this was where i would make my first ever leopard image. Kabini is also famous for its large congregation of elephants during summers.

indian leopard at kabini
A leopard resting on top of a tree in Kabini

indian leopard at kabiniThe leopard grooms herself before setting off for the night

On the 10th of December along with Sagarika, Sandeep, Suman and Prasana, we left Bangalore at 7AM and headed for The Serai, in Kabini. We checked in at our resort just short of lunch and were introduced to the GM Mr. Ashwin Pinto, who gave us a brief introduction about the resort and also about Kabini. From the time we arrived, we were all exited about the jungle safari that was just an hour away and it is in that very Safari towards the end that we found her sitting on a tree. I was thrilled, my very first safari in Kabini and id got my leopard image. My trip was made.

The night was spent chatting with the others over dinner.

The next day we opted for the jungle safari again in the morning and the boat safari in the evening. The morning safari yielded some fantastic sightings in the form a Malabar Flying Squirrel in broad daylight. It is quite rare to see them during the day as they are mainly nocturnal. We also came across a huge tusker on the banks at Sunset Point.

tusker or bull indian elephant
A tusker enjoys a mud-bath on the banks of Kabini Backwaters

tusker or bull indian elephantA tusker on the banks of Kabini Backwaters

The evening boat ride yielded some very good elephant herd sightings. Kabini Backwaters is also home to a large number of Ospreys.

Osprey at kabini
An Osprey at Kabini Backwaters

Crested Serpent Eagle The SeraiCrested Serpent Eagle

The next day before it was time to leave, we went for a short nature walk along the banks of the Kabini Backwaters with the head naturalist Mr. Kuttappan who showed us quite a few birds. The highlight of which for me was the Blue-tailed Bee Eater.

Blue-tailed bee-eater
Blue-tailed Bee Eater

Wild Boar at kabiniWild boar in the backwaters

sambar deerA sambar deer grazing along the banks

I must take some time out to thank Mr. Ashwin Pinto, the GM at the The Serai, Kabini, who was kind enough to help us plan the trip.

Some more images from the trip:
That's me photographing elephants at Kabini during the boat safari

Tusker along the banks

Common Kingfisher small blue kingfisherCommon Kingfisher

sunset at kabiniSunset at Kabini


We stayed at The Serai. Do visit their website for more details: http://www.theserai.in/en/in-the-waterfront.html

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All Images are Copyrighted Angad Achappa and may not be used in any form, website or print/online media without written permission of the Photographer. For any inquiry for the photographs please contact: angadachappaphotography@hotmail.com

20 comments:

  1. Hi friends,

    First off, I completely agree with you about that show. I was thinking about that earlier today. Thanks....

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  2. Thanks for the great description and wonderful pictures.

    One more place to add to my already long wishlist!!

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  3. Superb shots Angad and congrats for your new lens... Oh and happy new year, full of nice wildlife encounter and beautiful pictures ;-)

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  4. Lovely pictures and awesome photography.

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  5. Wow! Thanks for sharing your adventure.

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  6. Crested Serpent Eagle, oh my what a stunner! The elephants and Jaguar are amazing along with other birds and such, yet that Eagle is a stunning creature~

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  7. That is amazing! Love the leopard pictures!
    Greetings from Switzerland
    Yvonne & Raphael

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  8. Outstanding collection of captures!!!

    Dang....share them with others.

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  9. Kabini is an awesome place and it never disappoints..wonderful shots though of the leppy!

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  10. Wow! What a lovely shots... Amazing and superb sights and pictures.

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  11. Kabini is a great place I hear and see amazing pics. These are some great captures as well, need to make a visit soon.

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  12. beautiful, thanks for dropping by..keep shooting..
    tank aka sulaiman
    www.mynameistank64.blogspot.com

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  13. Kabini looks like a most glorious place to visit to view wildlife. Exceptional photographs! Viewing your stunning images brought me back to my safari trips in Africa. Fantastic post! I look forward to viewing more photographs from your adventures.

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  14. Wow, those are gorgeous shots, especially like the leopard perched so lazily in the tree.

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  15. WOW!
    What a tour through your eyes!
    Every single picture is amazing!
    I love the elephants most, especially the B&W photo!
    Well done again!

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Comment and critique appreciated!