Visit to Nagavalli to see the Slender Loris, 050414
Gopal called me and asked if I’d like to go to Nagavalli village, in Tumkur District, where there is a colony of
So off I went, though I had just returned from Hoskote lake!
As I got into the bus to join Gopal and friends, I saw this beautiful piece of artwork on the window!
We lost our way and reached Guleharavi, with this beautiful temple:
The region is so beautiful, with plenty of trees:
We stopped at Nagavalli village:
At the High School, a sign about the Slender Loris was put up:
We had pAni pUri and masAl pUri at this pushcart:
Mr Gundappa, affectionately known as "Gundappa Master" (he is a teacher in the High School) came and met us.
He led the way to the place where the Slender Loris could be found.
This villager looked at us curiously, as we passed:
Here's Gundappa Master with us:
We had arrived too early, and had to wait until dusk. Here we are: Davis, Gopal, Gundappa Master, Samrat and Tharangini:
The area was beautiful and I walked along the road:
Gundappa Master had a word or two with the villagers as they passed, including this man bringing his cattle green fodder:
Meanwhile, I was looking at the birds, and got this
ORIENTAL MAGPIE ROBIN:
In one field, a scarecrow guarded the crops:
The sun sank westwards:
It was gO dhUli lagna...the "hour of cowdust"..when the grazing cattle are brought home:
As I walked further, I found a farmer setting fire to the area along the road:
He told me that he was burning Lantana bushes:
The sun and the fire made a good counterpoint:
I was a little intrigued about why Lantana bushes should be set fire to at this time, but did not ask further.
The sun set, shimmering in the heat waves from the fire:
It seemed the whole sky was aflame:
Manu, one of Gundappa Master's assistants, brought us fresh cucumbers to crunch on!
Meanwhile, Samrat entertained us with various amazing wildlife videos on his mobile:
We began the walk into the fields to try and sight the "kAdupApA" as it is known locally:
A half-moon shone overhead, along with the first few stars:
We followed Gundappa Master as he went around, looking for the elusive mammals:
We did manage to find two, but the shy creatures immediately retreated into the foliage, so photography was just not possible. We decided not to disturb them too much, and ended the trip into the fields.
On our way back, we saw this Russell's Viper disappearing into the bushes:
This brick cottage looked beautiful in the dim moonlight:
We were happy with our sightings of the kAdupApA (baby of the forest), but decided that trying to see them was certainly causing them some disturbance and distress. So another trip is not likely!
for my first visit to Nagavalli, on Oct 12, 2007, when I got a shot of this beautiful creature:
For more photos of the evening,
for my FaceBook album.
Gundappa master says that the group has increased in numbers. I will be talking to Ameen Ahmed,of Wildlife And Nature Conservation (WANC) and will find out the facts of this conservation effort.