Periyar Tiger Reserve

On Friday I went on a 12 km guided hike in through the mountainous Periyar Tiger Reserve. I went with the hope of viewing some of the Reserve's fine wildlife species -- and I was not disappointed! What follows is a picture I took of a group of 5 elephants lazily grazing in a clearing. Some two of the elephants are obscured by the foliage.

Fortunately we did not encounter one of the 40 tigers in the Reserve. But such sightings are rare indeed. We did see a large troop of bison, several large squirrels, the black-capped kingfisher (that's halcyon pileata to you, Johnny), the racket-tail drongo, and a wild orchid.

And the day before, Monica and I saw a pair of 12-foot ratsnakes in the throes of mating (video link, 2.6 MB). Oddly enough, this was just below a highway bridge in town, in the light of day. Don't these snakes have any decency?