Giraffes in the wild

It's amazing how wild animals merge into the background. Here is a lone giraffe standing in the middle of the African jungle. The colors in the background match his colours! Almost like a comouflage.

Giraffes have very long necks and legs. They do not have many predators, though lions can attack them. Giraffes can live up to 25 years in the wild.

Here are two giraffes foraging amongst the leaves in the African jungle.

You don't usually see giraffes sitting in the jungle. But here is one, relaxing.

They may look very elegant and graceful from afar, but close up giraffes are not exactly cute! This is a close up of the face of a giraffe. A portrait of a giraffe.

Related Images: Wild Zebras in Ruaha National Park Tanzania or a Man with camel - photograph and silhouette or check out the label "Animals."

You might also like Yaks in Ladakh or Cat Portraits or Black Hippos in the wild

Significance of Animals and other life in Hinduism

Even if one is not a religious Hindu, one cannot help revering the religion for one thing - it's understanding, love, and respect for animals. Animals have a right to be here, just as humans do, and no religion understands this better than Hinduism.Animal, mammal and even reptile imagery is common in Hinduism. Indian literature is also full of references to animals. And the references do not paint the creatures as evil.
The fables of West has few references to animals, and some paint the animals negatively. For example, the evil wolf in Red Riding Hood. On the other hand in Indian fables such as in the Panchatantra, The stories are full of animal characters and morals for humans and many of these stories date back to the  2nd or 3rd century BC.
And then, we have our Hindu Gods who are often depicted complete with their favourite animals, whether cows, elephants snakes or even rats! Used either as pets or vehicles. This made animals sacred for many centuries and helped preserve our wildlife although now the influences of the West has changed us to some extent.

Animals were always a part and parcel of our culture, and I am very proud of it. The Gods showed us the way.

Strangely westerners ridicule our "worship" of animals and even have contempt for it. They have ofcourse killed off most of their wildlife! They have little or not understanding of the importance of animals in Hinduism and even less about the right of a form of life to live, a right others have as much as humans. All their recent efforts to preserve animals are esoteric in nature, without a base in spiritualism. It's good ofcourse, a way for them to make up for the many centuries of animal slaughter.

Krishna loved milk and milk products and this is him with a pet cow.

Nandi, the Bull, is Lord Shiva's ride and found outside many temples.

Here is Shiva with his Nandi bail and also a snake around his neck. There are various interpretation of why there is a snake around the neck. The interpretation  is that "a snake hoards nothing, carries nothing, builds nothing, lives on air alone for a long time, and lives in mountains and forests. The venom of a snake, therefore, symbolizes the yogic power".

This is at the pre-historic site of the Kailashnath Temple at Ellora. This temple has several sculptures of lions and elephants. In Hinduism animals are considered on par with humans, not inferiors and that is why they have a place with God.

Turtles are often found in temples, at the feet of the Gods. In Hinduism, a tortoise is one who carries the world on his back, upholding the Earth and the sea. Turtles are revered in some other ancient cultures as well.

Read more about the importance of animals in Hinduism here.

You might also like or Krishna Temple in Mahabaleshwar or Diya graphics and illustrations and Sketch or other Hindu Religious symbols or check out all the photographs filed under Hinduism, Ellora, Art, Culture or Religion or Temples
The Image of different Religions is well illustrated in this post by taking random first images off the internet.

Wild Baby Giraffe

Pictures of a wild baby giraffe near the riverside where it has come to drink water. Taken in the Ruaha jungle in Tanzania, Africa.

A baby giraffe drinking water. Due to its long legs this process can become quite awkward!

You might also like Black Hippos in the wild or Wild Zebras in Ruaha National Park Tanzania
Or check out some photographs of Wildlife or of all the Animals on this blog.

Owls camouflaged

I knew that owls are the masters of camouflage but I had to see it to believe it. We almost missed seeing this one as we were on our Gir Safari in the Gir Forest sanctuary.

This was was not camouflaged but it was still difficult to spot.

You might also like to see photos or other birds: Emu the bird or Silhouettes of birds in flight or Fortune Telling by a parrot! or check out all the images filed under the label Birds or Animals

Dragon flies

Dragonflies have large rolling eyes, transparent wings and a long body. Their wing movement is incredibly fast, and are one of the fastest flying insects found. They are a predator insects good to have around because they eat pests like mosquitoes and ants. If you find that you are being innundated with ants and mosquitoes like all of us urban people, then blame the absence of the beautiful dragonflies. They are the most amazing creatures, because their design enables them to fly in all directions including in reverse!

Unfortunately they cannot survive in an urban environment as they are aquatic and need fresh water bodies around.

Those large pink blobs are its eyes. These huge eyes help them see in all directions. Although changing colour is not part of its camouflage technique, the dragonflies I found were hardly visible in the backdrop of the leaves and brush and the trees on which they were seen. Look at this golden one hardly visible to be naked eye in the bright sunlight. Its eyes appeared to be spots on the leaves, and its body a glint from the sun. These dragonflies have bodies which are barely 2-3 inches and are not easily seen if they are still.

I mistook this red dragonfyl for a pretty flower until I zoomed in with my telephoto lens.

This dragonfly has a yellow and black striped body and it merges with the dried grass and leaves in the background. Whether or not dragonflies change colour, they certainly know which area to hang around in! The large pink round orbs are the eyes and this dragonfly has a smile on its face!

A clearer picture of this beautiful yellow and black dragonfly. It's body reminds one of the stalk of a sugarcane plant! The straw and grass in the background merges perfectly well with the tiny body of this dragonfly making it very difficult to see in the brush.

The back of a dragonfly with turquoise blue netted wings. The wings of dragonflies are amazing, delicated netted things which move faster than the eye can see.

You might also like to see pictures of Big black fly with red eyes - Photos and Sketches or Bee Silhouettes and Sketch or Cobwebs or Spiderwebs or Photographs of brown and black bees or Citronella Orange Ants

Pigeons in the city

Pigeons are routinely fed in pigeon loving India. Grains are dumped outside housing societies and it's no wonder that their population is galloping by leaps and bounds. Pigeons being fairly docile doves, are tolerated, even loved by people. Perhaps that is why they are indiscriminately fed, and more often  by those who do not live near their nesting sites. As they give birth every other month, this means that the population of pigeons can increase rapidly if they find an easy source of food.
The nesting sites can become very dirty and germ ridden, specially when the pigeon population explodes like it has done in Mumbai. Pigeon droppings are also harmful for health and place for germs to breed. Be careful of the droppings as they are acidic, and over several years damage tiles and buildings.

As long as you don't breathe in their droppings or touch them, there is no fear of disease. But if by mistake you come into contact with their droppings or the birds themselves, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly. There have been reports of pigeon droppings contaminating the air and affecting some people with asthma and causing breathing difficulties.

In this picture note the large heap of grain dumped for the pigeons to feed, right outside a housing colony. Most people are ignorant of the health issues causes by feeding pigeons indiscriminately. At least until the pigeon starts to next right outside their own window!

A close up of a pigeon sitting on a cobbled rooftop. You can clearly see the orange coloured eyes with the large black pupils giving it a staring look.

These doves have adapted very well to city life because originally they inhabited rocky cliffs. The feral pigeon is the descendent of the rocky dove and find that ledges and window sills suit them fine! Being sociable they are found in flocks. Where you see one pigeon, be assured that many more are somewhere nearby.

The face of a pigeon, a portrait.

A pigeon perched on a ledge in a colony of skyscrapers.

Two pigeons standing on a building ledge with the city in the background.

You might also like to see photos or other birds: Emu the bird or Silhouettes of birds in flight or Fortune Telling by a parrot! or check out all the images filed under the label Birds.

Citronella Orange Ants

These are probably Citronella (Acanthomyops) ants although I thought at first they are Pharoah ants. They were surprisingly found on tree bark in Kerala, India although they are supposed to be native of North America. So I thought perhaps they are Pharoah ants (which are native to Indonesia and Africa) but finally concluded that they are Citronella as these type of ants make nests in rotting wood. Pharoah ants also have a darker coat on their belly and I did not see that here. These ants were found in the wild.

A close up of the orange, almost transclucent ant. A distinct black dot for the eye.

A swarm of the orange ant on a rotting tree.

A few orange ants crawling on the bark of a tree. Higher resolution pictures with far greater clarity are available.

You might also like to see pictures of Big black fly with red eyes - Photos and Sketches or Bee Silhouettes and Sketch or Cobwebs or Spiderwebs or Photographs of brown and black bees

Weaver Birds Images

There are over a hundred species of the weaver bird and these are pictures of some from India. Typically, weaver birds have a yellow crown and a striped brown feathers with flecks of yellow and a white underside. They are called Weaver birds because of their weaving skills. You can see one of them hard at work here, weaving pieces of thin twine into an elaborate nest, a cosy little home for him and has partner.

This weaver bird seems quite proud of his work of art. Nests are built by males for the females.

Several weaver bird nests hanging from the branches of a palm tree.

You might also like to see more photographs of Weaver bird nests
Or perhaps pictures of Emu the bird or Silhouettes of birds in flight or Fortune Telling by a parrot!

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Camouflaged crabs and crab holes

These tiny crabs, almost button sized, can hardly been seen against the grainy gray background of the sand on the beach. The shadows created by the sand match with the shadows on their body. Could these be horned ghost crabs? These type of crabs change colour according to their environment.

Here the naked eye will not be able to distinguish the crab which appears to have changed the colour to match the dry sand. The crab is on the left side of the picture.

The crab holes and homes where these tiny crabs live. Space enough for one's pinky or little finger to go through, not bigger than that.

You might also like Green caterpillar images or  Fried and roasted insects or Big black fly with red eyes - Photos and Sketches or Bee Silhouettes and Sketch or Cobwebs or Spiderwebs or Photographs of brown and black bees

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Eye of the Elephant!

If you ever wondered what an eye of an elephant looked like then you have come to the right place! This is a close-up photo of the yellow/orange eye of a 22- year old gray Indian elephant called Laxmi from Thekkady, Kerala.

The folds of the skin around the eyes and the huge body of an elephant almost hide its eyes.

Who would have imagined that an elephant has long eye-lashed that touch the skin under the eyes? Well here is a picture of an elephant watching you from half closed eye lids.

Related Pictures: Elephants on the streets of India or Cattle on city streets or Stray Cattle in India or Stray Dogs Pictures or Man with camel - photograph and silhouette or Yaks in Ladakh
Or Cat Portraits

You might also like Black Hippos in the wild or Green Caterpillar images or Wild Zebras in Ruaha National Park Tanzania or more pictures of Wildlife or all filed under the label Animals.

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Green caterpillar images

These are photographs of a green caterpillar found in Pune. I had never seen such a large fat caterpillar before and that too with a cute little yellow tail! Nor one with such huge alien-like eyes. It explained to me the genesis of the alien features found in so many SF movies!

Here it is with its head curved like an elephant's trunk. Made me wonder if it was an elephant hawk moth caterpillar but am not sure because there were no similar pictures on the net. This one was gooey and slimy and had a small yellow tail and a big head an stumps for legs.

Another view of the caterpillar, it's profile. The huge eyes on a fat head and long shiny body.

This is another angle and I have tweaked the photo a bit and this picture explains the various fictional aliens that we see in movies! At least their heads. Looks almost unreal.

Related Images: Fried and roasted insects or Big black fly with red eyes - Photos and Sketches or Bee Silhouettes and Sketch or Cobwebs or Spiderwebs or Photographs of brown and black bees or Bee Hives

Picture of a Frog

This is a free stock photo of a brown frog with striped legs. This one was seen in Thailand. Frogs are Amphibians.

Related Images: Colourful Lizards or Striped Ground Squirrels . 

Bee Silhouettes and Sketch

These are silhouettes of bees as well as a sketch.

A sketch or drawing of a bee.

Related Images: Photographs of brown and black bees or  Big black fly with red eyes - Photos and Sketches or Cobwebs or Spiderwebs 

Photographs of brown and black bees

Typically, bees are seen to be hairy and fuzzy with yellow and black stripes, but they can also be dark brown, black or even a metallic green and blue, with stripes of many colors. These photographs are of a black bee with brown wings on a spider lily flower seen in the rain forest of Malaysia.

This is the same photograph made into a coloured illustration, on photoshop.

Illustration of a black and brown bee on a white flower.

Related Pictures: Big black fly with red eyes or Cobwebs or Spiderwebs or Fried and roasted insects

Black Hippos in the wild

The photographs in this post were taken of hippopotamus in the wild in Ruaha National Park in Tanzania. Hippos are huge animals, and purely herbivorous. Their skin is thick and the Black Hippo as seen in the picture is more common in Africa. They are one of the largest mammals found on land.  The hippopotamus is a semi-aquatic animal. 

The hippos are very dangerous and one can watch them only from afar. Being a national park there is no fence to separate them from visitors and one has to be very careful. This is a picture of a black Hippo with an open mouth.

Their black colour enables them to merge into the scene. Here they look like black rocks.

Related Images: Wild Zebras in Ruaha National Park Tanzania or Wild Buffalo in Africa  or a Man with camel - photograph and silhouette or check out the label "Animals."

You might also like Yaks in Ladakh or Cat Portraits

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Wild Buffalo in Africa

This photograph of a wild buffalo was taken in the Tanzanian jungle in Africa. In Ruaha National Park. This buffalo may not seem dangerous, but actually it is a very dangerous animal! It was about to charge our jeep.

You might also like Eye of the Elephant! or Cattle on city streets or Stray Cattle in India or Stray Dogs Pictures or Man with camel - photograph and silhouette or Yaks in Ladakh
Or Cat Portraits
Or pictures of Black Hippos in the wild or Green Caterpillar images or Wild Zebras in Ruaha National Park Tanzania or check out all photos of Wildlife.

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Weaver bird nests

The nests of the Baya Weaver are woven cleverly and sealed except for a small tunnel entrance. The weaverbird is common in India and other parts of Southeast Asia. Their nests usually hang from trees.

In this photograph, the weaver bird has not finished his work and you can see him weaving his nest. The completed nests are on the left side of the image.

Some nests of the weaver bird hanging from palm trees.

These nests are right in our balcony, now deserted by the birds.

You might also like Weaver Birds Images
Or see more photos of birds: Emu the bird or Silhouettes of birds in flight or try the label Birds.

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