I usually don't go on boat safaris, preferring the forest and the drive among the beautiful trees. This time though, my nephews who are with us want to do a boat safari to see if they can spot some water birds in the evening. I reluctantly agree, it has been several years since I have gone on the river itself.
Just a few minutes on the water, we have barely settled ourselves when I spot a whole family of Smooth Coated River Otters hurry on to small island in the water. See how close we still are to the river bank.
I have never, ever, seen this many Otters at once. We usually see two or three of them on the river bank, hiding half in the water. There are more than twenty of them here! Some are moving around, out of the frame. Did you know a group of Otters is called a "Romp"?
I can't get enough of this, we are quite close to them. And the boat is moving closer and closer. I tell the driver to switch off the engine so that we can observe these magnificent creatures in silence. These photos are at 200mm, I can't go below that with my lens.
Some of them are repeatedly getting up on the hind legs to ensure we are keeping our distance and not coming too close to them. Mostly the men folk I guess, always suspicious of strangers around their family.
Portrait of a Smooth Coated River Otter. Again, I have never, ever, been this close to one. Whew, this is a wonderful experience for me and everyone in the boat. Most of them don't realize how lucky they are to get so close to these elusive creatures.
The Otters slip back into the river one by one and are quickly gone. Several high fives later, we move off. Not knowing what is waiting for us.
A Darter is drying its feathers off after a plunge in the river.
Another mom and calf graze on the river bank. I must say that being on the river looking inwards gives a completely different perspective on the forest. I think I'll do more boat safaris from now on.
We spot a gigantic Mugger Crocodile just waiting for prey to walk down to the water. We notice him when we are really close and he is startled by us, immediately slipping down into the water.
A different pair of elephants are refershing themselves with an evening drink. This is some distance away from the croc, in case you are wondering.
There is an old Ganesha idol carved in stone on the river bank. The local tribals worship this idol regularly, hence the Arishina and Kumkuma (Haldi and Kumkum) on the idol. A few Spotted Deer are also paying their obeisance to the Lord.
A few minutes later, our boat driver frantically gestures towards the river bank. A tiger! Relaxing just inside the tree line, mostly after a good meal and a hearty drink of water. Oh, this is a very different angle to see him indeed!
This bank is actually in Bandipur Forest, not Nagarhole. So we are having an "illicit" sighting
Apparently, this part of the Bandipur forest is not accessible for jeep safaris, so they wouldn't be able to spot this at all.
We spend a few minutes jockeying the boat for a better angle, we dare not drift any closer for fear that he will get up and walk inside, not to be seen again. He is watching something inside the forest, maybe a herd of deer close by. He is not interested in them, just keeping an eye in case. See those white spots behind his ears? No one knows why tigers have them. There are a hundred theories of course.
He sits there for quite a while, not too bothered by our silent presence behind him. We are not in any way close to him, my lens is stretched to its full 500mm. And this is cropped a bit to get even closer.
Not a very good place to sit down, photographically speaking. A few metres closer or backwards and he could have given us a great darshan. But I'm still thankful.
After about twenty minutes, during which I have nearly filled my memory card with photos, he gets up and walks into the forest.
A final swish of his tail and His Royal Highness vanishes into the dark forest. Oh, did I mention that this is very late in the evening, darkness is almost upon us and I am shooting at 6400 ISO?
We return back to Gol Ghar, extremely satisfied and you know how a good sighting brings out the laughter. Not to mention serious bragging rights while showing off the tiger images to envious tourists back in the restaurant. Especially on a boat safari!
And thus ends another visit to this home away from home. As always, my equipment is the Nikon D500 and the Nikkor 200-500mm lens and as ever, I hope you people enjoy these photos as much as I enjoy taking them. Until next time then, bye and drive safe.