The story of others sightings and my sighings....
April 16, 2008
(who last posted in Jan 2007 here ),called today, from Bandipur, where he has taken a voluntary two-month assignment as a naturalist, taking a break from his regular software development job.
Prior to this, he had SMS-ed me : "Sightings so far, 5 small Indian civet, 5 Dhole, loads of Sambar, Chital, Langur, Elephant, and of course a tiger half an hour back..."
So I thought I would ask him about them...and he broke in to tell me that today he had seen five tigers, three of them on the road, and two of whom were playing with each other.
Of course I am not going to believe stories like this; the SIT (South Indian Tiger) does NOT exist until I can see one with my own eyes.
As far as my sighting of the SIT goes, it remains a sighing...a sighing wish that one day I too will be lucky. Somehow, in the north of India, tigers don't seem to mind my looking at them, but these (non-existent, imaginary) SIT's are so coy and wary of me...
The same goes for the Slender Loris which I thought I might try to get a look at, in the IISc campus today. There was a showing of a David Attenborough BBC documentary, and since a day-shot of a Slender Loris had been posted on INW , I thought I would try.
But when we asked, we were told that the only reason the Loris had been seen by daylight was because one had been injured by a passing car. (Just imagine, here I am, dying to see one by daylight, and some motorist actually runs over it.) Otherwise, it is noctural, and so it can only be heard in the wilderness area near the Centre for Environmental Studies.
Yes, I did get to see a few of these shy animals in Tumkur, and got some foozly shots, too; but I certainly would like to see one by day...but seeing an injured one is the only way of doing it, I don't want that! So...more sighing instead of sighting, and I came back home with a few shots of the very, very beautiful campus... Oh me, MICIAUA...(My Internet Connection Is Acting Up Again)...so will post some pics of an incredible vine, lovely trees, and also a Circle goddess...what's that, you say? You will find out..tomorrow, hopefully!
