Chital or spotted deer, in South India, are frequently found in close quarters to human habitation. I remember asking about this peculiar occurrence while all other creatures would stay well away from anything human, spotted deer would be found all around huts in the forest.
On safari in Kabini, I photographed so many spotted deer that I began to get quite fed up with them. Some of them were absolute charmers though. Like this fawn that went on the alert when our jeep stopped quite close to it.
I felt quite thrilled with the results when I previewed this picture for the first time and continue to enjoy it each time. Another that gives me a great deal of pleasure is this picture of a fawn suckling. There's something to be said about the care mammals give their young.
The fawn's tail was wagging so fast that I couldn't freeze it. True, the moment was but fleeting. The doe moved away rather quickly, perhaps because we were watching..jpg)
October 2007 saw me at B.R. Hills, where once again, I was treated to the sight of chital quite unafraid of human company. Barely a few feet from the safari jeep, this beautiful stag went on the alert filling us with hope that it had sensed a predator. To our disappointment, it turned out to be a second safari jeep.
The deer, we saw didn't seem to be fazed by the squeals of my fellow travellers some of whom had not seen chital in the wild. For Adu and me it was a rather "ho hum, another deer...".
Turning a corner along the beautiful forest trails often offers several surprises. Like the stag with new velvet on his antlers. In a few days he would rub the irritating velvet off and his polished prongs would have done battle for the doe of his choice.
Could it have been this beautiful lady of the forest?
12 comments:
Sunning! Such beautiful animals. I've spend many hours trying to get the few photos of roe deer that I have. I hope there will be a day when there are so many of them that I'll be fed up with them. :)
ahem....good morning. Remarkable photography, erudite use of language and inimitable presentation. ....erm....that's about it.
(scratching my head, thinking of something really intelligent to say, realizing that the medula oblongata is rather short, giving up.)
Dude, I've been here before but today is the first time I actually saw everything. One word. Awesome.
Thank you, Sanna. For your kind comments and for stopping by. I am trying to get in at least one blog entry per week, but that isn't always possible.
Rambler,
Thanks for dropping by and please know that your appreciation means a lot to me.
Great post, most people just ignore the deer for more "interesting" mammals...and I liked the photos a lot, too....talk about doe-eyed innocence, you have captured it!
deponti-on-LJ
Lovely Shots!
Really nice post! I wonder if you saw the friendly chital stag at Bannerghatta JLR during your NTP. There was one that would hang around the dining area and even let some kids touch him. There was also an extremely friendly sambar, either a young male or a female (forgot to check :D) whom we came across during one of our walks and who wanted a kiss from Geetha! We were busy petting him/her till Karthik shouted at us not to touch the wildlife!
Thanks molarbear, Uma and Mamta. I must say, it was Karthik who inspired me to post this. Yes, we do tend to ignore the spotted deer for THE MAMMALS. But I did have some interesting pictures and decided to do a write up about them.
Uma, we did see the chital stag at the JLR Bannerghatta property. He's there because he's blind in one eye. I forget which. My family and I were also enchanted by a timid doe that lurked around the stag but refused to allow us to get any closer. That was when we saw the Tickell's Blue Flycatcher.
Please do continue to drop by and let me have the benefit of your comments.
erm.....you sound different on the phone....hee hee...but you know what? Now that you are an awesome wildlife photographer, why don't you come down (all of you) to where I stay? You can gladly take photographs of my wild-life, and I will give you a nice pose.Then you can tell your friends that you captured the world's first reptilian mammal in his natural habitat.
On a serious note, two words this time.
Likewise, brother.
Oh, the mighty arms of atlas, hold the heavens from the earth.
Hi there,
Lovely photographs. Like Uma mentioned, yes, we do forget that the chital is wildlife and we should not touch them - they are prone to catch infection from us - not joking!
Where are you going next? Cant wait to see the photographs. RamblerOnner, havent visited your website either since ages, hopping over there now.
8-)
Hi Lubna,
Thanks for dropping by. I haven't got around to going anywhere lately. Travel is definitely on the cards in October, but I'm not sure yet where we're going. I might take up Rambleronner's invitation and go to Vizag so I can visit Araku Valley and the Irakala tribals who live there.
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