Creatures big and small

A book that encourages people to care for conservation through excellent photographs and valuable information. By A.J.T. Johnsingh

CAPTURING Wildlife Moments in India, a coffee-table book by Ashok Mahindra, with a foreword by Dr Asad R. Rahmani, Director of the Bombay Natural History Society, is another recent addition to Indian wildlife literature.

Mahindra, a qualified chartered account from England and Wales and a former treasurer, trustee and vice-president of WWF-India, is now a wildlife photographer. He visited about 40 wildlife sanctuaries in India, such as the Corbett, Kaziranga and Ranthambhore Tiger Reserves and other little-known places such as Bera in southern Rajasthan and Amboli in the Western Ghats, to capture photographs for this book.

His gift to conservation efforts is the creation of the Hem Chand Mahindra Wildlife Foundation (HCMWF), which, along with Saevus, a wildlife magazine, gives annual awards to wildlife warriors selected from the staff of Indian protected areas.

Asad Rahmani, who champions the cause of little-known creatures, is extremely pleased with the book as it has photographs of not only the charismatic tiger, the elephant and the rhino but also of the Malabar gliding frog, the mudskipper (an amphibious fish) and the house sparrow. Nevertheless, the cover picture in the book is of the tiger Ustad (T24 of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve), which, after it reportedly killed four humans, was translocated to Sajjangarh, a glorified zoo, on May 16, 2015.

Stars of Ranthambore

Of the 120 photographs in the book, 11 are of tigers and, of these, three are of Ustad and two are of Machili, or T16. Machili, who lived a little over 16 years, raised nine cubs, fought a 14-foot-long crocodile and is said to have contributed $100 million to the national exchequer over a period of 10 years by attracting tourists to Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. A photograph of her taken towards the end of her life, with all the canines worn out, which implied that she would find it difficult to hunt natural prey, clearly reminds us that nothing is permanent in nature.

The book provides considerable information to wildlife photographers: interesting places to stay, wildlife hot spots in the country, tips on cameras and techniques to take photographs. The author also gives the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) status for about 30 species (such as whether a species is critically endangered, endangered, vulnerable or near-threatened) and suggestions for special concessional packages for schoolchildren.

Resource: http://www.frontline.in/