Encounter With Lion Tailed Macaques!.......At Agumbe!

 One fine morning we set out from Mangalore and headed straight towards Agumbe.This place is known to get a lot of rain and a Rain Research station is situated here.Agumbe is also famous for the magnificent King Cobras.We really wanted to see a King Cobra during our trip,but deep inside our minds we knew that it was unlikely to happen.

A Lion Tailed Macaque

Another famous denizen of the Western Ghats is the unique looking Lion Tailed Macaque.We were never thinking about these also famous monkey species.Only King Cobra was in our minds.

LTMs Live in Groups

We were fast approaching Agumbe and were negotiating a hair-pin curve and Lo and behold......there they are!

A troop of magnificent Lion Tailed Macaques.We initally thought there was only one but many followed.There was an adorable young one which was attached to its mothers belly.They seemed unusually friendly with us and stood very close to our car.They were expecting something from us but we never gave anything.It is not advisable to feed wild animals.

They behaved quite Friendly!

But it seems people feed them and thats why they were behaving so friendly.All of them were frolocking around our car for quite some time.There were vehicles coming behind us and they were honking their horns and seemed not interested in the LTMs!

But we were really excited to see them!Lion Tailed Macaques exists only in the Western Ghats and only a few survive.About 3500 of them are living in the wild as of today.They have distinct looks with their manes taking centre stage in their appearance.They are arboreal and lives in troops.They are not friendly with humans and have distinct wild characteristics.

We did not pay heed to the constant honkings from upcoming vehicles and stationed there for quite some time.Then we moved on and we saw one more LTM being fed by people.It consumed one full packet of chips in front of us!

LTMs Looks like Saints!

We moved on to reach Agumbe and more excitement was in store for us!....Did we meet the King Cobra?!.....Well thats another story!

They were very close to our car!

Up Close with a LTM!

Adorable Little One!

A Curious LTM!

A Magnificent LTM!

Jackals of India........A Fascinating Animal!

 Many of us every now and then visit the jungles of Indian and most of us are looking for Tigers,Lions and Leopard etc!But Indian jungles are not only about all these magnificent creatures,but a few less popular ones as well.

An Indian Jackal at Gir!

One such animal is the Jackal!They are known as Golden Jackal in India.There are 3 other sub-species of Golden Jacal which live in the Indian jungles.

Eurasian Golden Jacal

They are found in the wester parts of India.They are large animals with pale feet.Their nape and shoulders are of buff color.Outer fur is usually black.Chin and forethroat are whitish.

Indian Golden Jacal

Golden Jackals at Jim Corbett!

They are distributed throughout India.Their fur is a mixture of black and white with buff on the shoulders ,ears and legs.Face and lower flanks are grizzled with gray fur.Black color is predominant of the back and tail.Belly,chest and sides of legs are creamy white.

Southern Indian Jackal

They are also known as Sri Lankan Jackal are found in Southern part of India.Their outer coat is black springled with white.Their limbs are of rusty brown color.

A Sambar Deer walks past 2 resting Indian Jackals at Sariska

A Golden Jackal at Jim Corbett!

The Jackals normally found in the outskirts of cities and towns where thay can find a hole to live in.In day time they tend to spend their time sitting in the hole.They are nocturnal scavengers and sometimes hunt small mammals.They are also known to eat vegetables as well.

An Indian Jackal!

Next time when you visit a forest look out for the Jackal!