For the love of cats

Been adopted by cats in the neighbourhood? Kittens galore?

Cats can reproduce rapidly. Females could get pregnant as soon as they reach sexual maturity at 4-6 months. With a pregnancy cycle of about 9 weeks, and a litter size of 1-8 kittens, a cat could have up to 24 kittens a year!

Mamma cat who roams in our compound has had 3 litters the past year, with 3-4 kittens per litter. We haven’t been able to have her spayed because before one litter is weaned, we have found that she is already pregnant. We hope we can catch her in time the next time around, but in the meantime, we have been able to attend to two of her older kittens who stayed back in the compound.

Our two kittens Blacku and Gingu post sterilisation. Note the slightly notched left ears and shaved sides to enable surgery.

A Leap Day Prime Minister

After my 50+ years of life, I still personally don’t know anyone who was born on the Leap Day. With 1,461 days between two Leap Days, the odds are high at 1 in 1461. Given modern day technology, mothers can even opt out of having their babies on this day, increasing the odds. It seems that there are are about 5 million people worldwide who share the Leap birthday out of about 8 billion people on Earth.

So with no personal connections, 29th Feb always brings to mind Morarji Desai, India’s first non-Congress Prime Minister at 81 years of age, and in a way, the forerunner of current Indian politics.

Morarji Desai during his visit to the USA as Prime Minister of India, June 1978
[29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995]
(Pic courtesy: Wikipedia)

The Lantana Elephants

“The elephants” are in town again.

“Coexistence” The Great Elephant Migration is a travelling exhibition of unique elephant sculptures, and they’ve taken the earth by storm, making appearances at iconic locations all over the world.

Over the next one month (from 3rd February to 3rd March 2024), 100 lantana elephants will travel through Bengaluru’s Lalbagh. Smaller herds will also be traversing through tech parks, government offices, metro stations, lakes and various green spaces across the city.

Five months to fix a broken footpath in the heart of Bangalore?

Kingston Street, Richmond Town lies on my regular daily afternoon walking route. For months, I, and others would walk past one portion of broken footpath, and wonder what was keeping the BBMP from fixing it.

Broken footpath on Kingston Street, Bangalore, 06-Sep-2022

Bandipur diaries 5

Himavad Gopalaswamy Betta, at about 1450 m, is the highest hill located within the Bandipur National Park, and filled with fog through the year. It gets its name from the fog (Himavad in Kannada) and the Gopalaswamy temple that is located on the top of the hill (Betta in Kannada).

Those visiting the national park to see the wildlife usually make the trip up the hill, to see the temple. If one stays at Jungle Lodges & Resorts (JLR) for a two-day package, a trip to the temple is included and you will be taken in the government safari Bolero or bus. If you prefer to go in your own vehicle, you will be allowed till the foothills after which you will be put onto a government bus to take you to the top.

It is a nice drive up the hill, and if you are lucky, you may see elephants or other animals of the forest. Along the way, there are points from which one can get lovely views of the area around the forest.

Lots of trees, water bodies, and we spotted an elephant also

A view of the hills in Bandipur

Bandipur diaries 4

While driving through the forest, we spend a lot of time in seeing just trees and grass and mud and water. The bouncy ride can rock you to sleep, especially if you haven’t had a good night’s rest. Sometimes one can only hear the whirring of the Bolero engine, and when it goes off there is just silence. Seeing and hearing no “active” life is also soothing. It’s the feel of the wild.

Ant hills

Bandipur diaries 3

Apart from the carnivorous tigers and leopards, and the hundreds of elephants, Bandipur has many other animals that are necessary for survival of the forest ecosystem, and its quite exciting to see them in their natural habitat.

A safari bus in the Bandipur forest

Bandipur diaries 2

“Any sighting today?” is a common question after a jungle safari. By “sighting” one usually means the tiger. In our desire to spot the tiger in Bandipur, we often overlook the amazing smaller creatures.

The vast Jungle Lodges & Resorts (JLR) campus itself is home to many birds. On our arrival, we could hear the distinct chirp of the sunbirds as they hopped all over the banyan tree at the entrance.

Purple-rumped sunbirds

Bandipur diaries 1

Bandipur Forest has been a family favourite ever since my children were little. We usually drove to Bandipur from Bangalore, pausing at Mysore for a break on the way. The last couple of times though, we took the train to Mysore, and then road (either bus or taxi) to Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR) at Bandipur, where we always stay. From Mysore, the bus service to Ooty is very convenient with the bus halting, on request, right at the gate of JLR.

This new year, we were fortunate to be able to go for a couple of days during the week just before Sankranti (12th-14th Jan 2023), and off the peak holiday season, when there are fewer visitors to JLR and Bandipur Tiger Reserve / National Park.

Board at JLR

Remembering dad

Always in our thoughts.

Engineered life with unquestioning trust, inimitable courage and a heart of gold.
So that life for everyone else was justified.