Himalayan Tahr (Thar) is a near threatened species of mammals according to the IUCN Red List. As the name suggests they can only be found in the Himalayas.
During the GIBT 2018 – CS trip, we found quite a good number of them at Chopta. For all of us Himalayan Tahr was a new species.
The main focus of GIBT 2018 – CS is to find Himalayan Monal, Khalij Pheasant & Koklass Pheasant. We have only selected two destinations, Chopta and Sattal. Said that we have decided to do birding on our way wherever possible. Both Chopta and Sattal are in the state of Uttarakhand. We started our trip from New Delhi and ended in New Delhi.
Our first checklist came from the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi itself and the first bird was a Bank Myna followed by Feral Pigeons. On our way to Chopta, the first destination, we have recorded a number of other common species like House Crow, Common Myna, etc. We also touched two states, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
The first bird seen from the Uttarakhand is a Crested Kingfisher. Though we had a good view of it no good photographs were taken. We saw the bird before we reached Chopta. We saw them when we stopped for a break on our way.
Indian Wild Ass, Equus hemionus khur, is a species of Wild Ass that are only found in the state of Gujarat as of today. It is estimated that there are only less than 5,000 individuals that are in the wild. They are mainly seen in the Wild Ass Wildlife Santuary in LRK, Gujarat.
Jungle Cat, Felis chaus, also known as Reed Cat or Swamp Cat is a species of cat found through Middle East, Indian Subcontinent Southern China and South East Asia. The species can adapt to different terrains and due to its increased range it is listed as Least Concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Jungle Cat is typically diurnal but can be seen hunting through out the day. Their main diet includes small mammals like birds, gerbils, hares and rodents. These solitary cats only interact with others only during mating season. Like other cats, Jungle Cats marks their territories by spraying urine.
I have seen the Jungle Cats quite a few times during my trips to different areas but never managed to get a photo like the above until I visited Velavader in Dec 2017. On 29th of Dec, 2017, during our GIBT 2017 – NI trip, around 5:45 in the evening, while we were birding at Velavador, Gujarat, a Jungle cat appeared in front us. It almost ignored us and walked steadily towards a near by water hole. We approached the cat very cautiously from our vehicle keeping a pretty good distance from it. As it reached the water hole, we were unable to spot it again for almost 10 minutes. Luck was with us. The cat reappeared and started walking though the track ahead of us for another few minutes. We managed to get some decent photographs of it. We do not want to disturb the cat for a long time and we left him to his business after a few minutes of observation.
Just a couple of days back (27th Dec, 2017) at Little Rann of Kutch we were able to see another Jungle Cat around 8:30 in the night. Though I managed a few clicks of it, the above photo is my personal favorite.
It was a species that we never thought to see during our GIBT 2017 – NI trip. For sure it was a sweet surprise.
GIBT 2017 – NI was a much awaited tour to see and photograph more birds from India. The trip started on 20th of Dec and ended on 31st Dec. During the trip two states were covered. Gujarat and Rajasthan.
The trip started from Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 20th morning around 10:30. The following route were taken during the trip.
Day 1 : Ahmedabad to Jaisalmar
Day 2 : Jaisalmar
Day 3 : Jaisalmar
Day 4 : Vijaysagar Lake, Khichan
Day 5 : Rann of Kutch
Day 6 : Rann of Kutch
Day 7 : Nalsarovar
Day 8 : Velavader
Day 9 : Nalsarovar