Today I went to attend one session of the ongoing Naturalists’ Training Program that is being run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts…or rather, by its Chief Naturalist, S.Karthikeyan or Karthik, about whom I have written a lot on LJ!

I spent a wonderful afternoon at the Bannerghatta National Park, where JLR has a property thankfully far away from the tourist crowd who come to visit the enclosed Safari Park…but we still went on the herbivore/bear/big cats safari like the tourists do…

I met a great set of people, some of whom actually read my LJ…!

Of course, it is late at night now, and I will have to post my photos to Flickr before I can describe the sights, sounds and scenes from the wasps’ nest being built to the wonder of a shikra swooping literally overhead as I went home…but just as an appetiser, here’s a picture everyone except hardcore naturalists will like:

Naturalists cannot count the tigers, lions, and leopards at the Bannerghatta National Park as “wild” at all…these animals are so used to people going past in the safari vans they might almost be called semi-domesticated. But the fact is that they will never be entirely used to humans and will only tolerate them at best…. as was proved by a ghastly incident some years ago when a girl was pulled from a van (which had no grilles then) and killed and dragged away into the undergrowth.

We had a little tourist in our van who, after seeing several tigers (including an albino) lisped to his parents, “Awright we saw tigers…where’s LION?” One day his parents will have to tell him that in the wild he will not find them together! ;-))

After I came home, and got rid of the day’s heat and dust with a glorious swim…. came over. Welcome, Vyshavi and hopefully, with you, and several others of your gang, too!

Will post pictures and an account of the NT Program in a day or two..