Shot of the Month – June 2008

Once you know the story behind this photo, you can’t help but smile each time you see it.

This shot was taken at the entrance to the Ranthambore National Park in the Rajasthan Province of India.  Ranthambore is one of the best places in the world to go if you want to see tigers in the wild.  This was my third visit to this park and we had some unbelievable sightings on this trip.

At this park, you can only visit in the morning for a few hours and then all vehicles must leave to allow the animals some peace and quiet.  In late afternoon you can enter the park again for a few hours to try your luck in finding the elusive tiger.  There are several different entrances to the park but this one is found at the base of a fort.  In the upper reaches of the fort is a Ganesh temple which attracts pilgrims from around the country.  As the fort is located far from the nearest town, many worshippers cram into taxis to reach this holy spot.

In this photo, we see some of the taxi drivers waiting patiently for the worshipers to return so they can take them back to town.  At this same spot, twice each day, a handful of safari vehicles sit with expectant tourists while guides complete the paperwork necessary to enter the national park.

The parking area is typically a hubbub of activity.  Peacocks preen and call exotically from the nearby trees or from atop the fort ramparts.  Langar monkeys are ever present–some playing in the trees while others run over, under, and into the vehicles.  Pilgrims often dressed in bright, techno-color flowing outfits take water from the nearby fountain.  Drivers joke with one another, safari guides share stories of tigers almost seen, and the park guards and wardens chastise, usually mockingly, the guides for some infraction or another.

But I digress. On the wall, we see a line of taxi drivers, hanging out, watching the scene.  If you look closely you will see that one of the characters is not like the others.  It is a langar monkey.  A moment before the monkey had come up from behind the wall and tapped the guy with the red scarf on the hip, and nodded to the small space to his right.  The man looked at his colleague, who shrugged nonchalantly, and slid over.  The other men, domino-like, all slid down and made space for the monkey.  The langar monkey jumped up and sat down with his buddies.

And that was it.  No fuss, No amazement.  The guy in the brown shirt made no comments, no questioning.  The guys went on with their stories and conversations.  The monkey sat there and took it all in.

For all parties involved, everyone acted like it was perfectly normal to have a monkey tap you and ask if he may cut in and join your group.

See, you’re smiling, aren’t you?

Shot of the Month – May 2008

Let me share one of my fondest safari memories.

It was a special day in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana.  You would never believe that it was the desert—It was the rainy season and the desert had transformed itself into this wonderfully lush, WET, bountiful oasis.

On this day we counted 64 Black-backed Jackals!  They were all in high spirits since the rains had unleashed an eruption of frogs from underneath the ground.  The jackals were having a feast.

And that leads us to this photo.

We found 6 jackals running along, with one jackal carrying this massive African bullfrog.  It was clear that none of the jackals really wanted this bullfrog.  One jackal would put him down.  Another would come over and reluctantly pick him up.  Their instincts told them that they simply couldn’t leave such a meal behind.  But they had soooo much food around them; they didn’t really need the bullfrog.

So we laughed and laughed as one jackal after another repeated the sequence. Pick the frog up, run a bit, and put the frog down with a look of great angst and shame.

Next!

Pick the frog up, run a bit, and put it back down.

Finally, at wit’s end, the last jackal put the bullfrog down and the pack bounded off intent to escape any further predator dishonor.

Amazingly, the bullfrog had survived the ordeal and hopped off no worse for wear.

Until next month….:-)