It's Bandipur (safari) once more!

I have described previous safaris at Bandipur in detail, so my regular readers know that we always go with Basavanna—not just the best naturalist but the finest human being, and our good friend.

However, the last trip was special! As the dawn broke through and the fresh mountain air accompanied us for the morning safari, we spotted a mother-calf elephant pair near the highway, and that was joy enough!

Little did we know what a magnificent sight awaited us soon after-- Basavanna’s favorite tigress Gowri! Who allowed us to feast our eyes on her for a leisurely 15 minutes.





There was the usual meeting with elephants (and a mock charge), deer, gaur, sambar, langur and beautiful birds, including a rare nocturnal Eurasian Eagle owl.









In between, we stopped at the anti-poaching camp in the jungle (where Basavanna has friends to whom he regularly takes extra provisions, such is his kindness) and enjoyed the most delicious “black” tulsi tea!









































The night before I had asked about the Moyar Gorge, and next morning, Basavanna, in his quiet and thoughtful way, just took us to the very picturesque site.
































A stark reminder of the plight of animals was seeing a chital eating some plastic littered on the highway.







On this trip, the other enriching experience was meeting Sunita Dhairyam. (please scroll down to read about her :Where angels fear to tread.....)which also led me to the interesting souvenir shop near the forest reception center.

Waiting for the next trip!

For more pictures of Gowri, see
http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/59058/the_undisputed_beauty_of_bandipur_tiger.html?cat=16
And for excellent photos, Basavanna’s page at
http://www.indianaturewatch.net/view_cat.php?tag=Basavanna+H+S