Nature and people stories from India

Does your heart wrench, when you see the 2 collages below? This is the saga of this paradise - the Uran wetlands, that we lost in 2010, to human greed. Uran wetlands were home to around 200 species, including migratory birds. Not less than an estimated 75 species would  breed there. First breeding records of several bird species had been found at Uran eg the black breasted weaver birds, a species which was found breeding in the region after 52 yrs. Several of the IUCN Red Data status birds would regularly winter here. eg. the lesser flamingos, black tailed godwit, painted storks, oriental white ibis etc. It was a wintering area for many other bird species, including several Critically Endangered, Vulnerable and Near-threatened species.  Many bird ringing studies have been conducted by senior ornithologists here. Uran was an important stopover for several passage migrant birds that came in from as far as Europe, Central Asia and the Arctic Tundra. This kind of a unique ecosyst

The first time I got fascinated by tigers was during my trip in 2001 to Ranthambore. However, that was barely a tiger sighting. Lady luck deserted us during that trip. My next encounter with the royal felines was in 2004 at Bandhavgarh. We saw them in 5 out of the 6 safaris we did.......during the very first safari, the legendary B2 (yes, famous tigers too have been given names by the forest dept., either based on the territory they dominate or whose offsprings they are) walked right beside our gypsy and we were mad with happiness. B2 is Bandhavgarh's legend for having defended his territory and fathered many litters. He is no more now but his fans still swear by his regalia. During the same trip we also saw a mating pair of the feline cats which was the ultimate high of the trip. However I only had a point and shoot film camera then and got no noteworthy shots. Since then I only did birding trips and didn't see the tiger again for 5 years. When I acquired my DSLR in July 200