World Wildlife Week: Nature lovers talk about animals in Maharashtra's forests

Pic courtesy Dr Caesar SenguptaA leap of greenWhat I spottedWhile Maharashtra has several reserves famous for tigerspotting namely Melghat Tadoba Pench Nagzira Sahyadri Bor Umred Karhandla and Tipeshwar Amboli Ghat is not as explored as the others I have always been fascinated by the lesser fauna of forests and particularly the rain forests The Malabar Gliding Frogs in pic are typical of Amboli True to their name they glide from one tree to another with the help of their webbed feet that act as wings The arent found elsewhereA lifetime memory has to be the frog named after me by Dr SD Biju Indosylvirana caesari or the Maharashtra Goldenbacked Frog in Koyna I was part of the research team led by Dr Biju called Lost Amphibians of India For several years this frog was called Hylarana temporalis This study proved that the species is nonexistent in India And the species that was wrongly named is a new species the Maharashtra Goldenbacked FrogBest time to spotMonsoon and post monsoonHow to get thereReach Sawantwadi either by road or train 520 km approximately Amboli is an hours driveDr Caesar Sengupta wildlife photographerPic CourtesyAsif N KhanPitta patter with a woodpeckerWhat I spottedMy favourite sighting has to be the Indian Pitta Pitta brachyura In Marathi the bird is known as navrang nine colours an appropriate name for this colourful bird They are local migrants breeding in the Himalayas and parts of central and western India you can spot them in Karnala as well The bird has a beautiful twonote whistleI was birding in Karnala Bird Sanctuary with a few friends from BNHS We were looking for another interesting bird called the Heartspotted Woodpecker when we heard the distinctive twonote whistle of the Indian Pitta The bird was a lifer birding term for a species not spotted by you before for both of us We located the tree and saw it flicking its head in rhythm on the top branches The morning light brought out its colours perfectly After calling for a while it came down looking for insects and gave us a chance to photograph itBest time to spotFirst and second week of JuneHow to get therePanvel is the nearest railway station Autorickshaws and taxis are available from the station to Karnala fort Karnala is also accessible by road via the MumbaiGoa highwayAsif N Khan associate officer at Bombay Natural History SocietyPic CourtesyKedar BhideThe big chaseWhat I spottedI have photographed more wildlife outside of protected areas But I remember this one shot of wild dogs from Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve While driving through Kolsa range around one corner we spotted a group of wild dogs who had just caught a sambar They were resting around the fallen sambar as they might have been tired after a long chase It was an unusual opportunity as it is not easy to find a wild dog in chase you may just spot a tiger but a wild dog is rareBest time to spotIn the winter months from November to DecemberHow to get thereTadoba is accesible by road via AurangabadNagpur highway 857 km Chandrapur is the nearest railway stationKedar Bhide herpetologist and wildlife photographerPic CourtesyDebi Goenka12 memorable minutesWhat I spottedMy favourite national parks in Maharashtra are Tadoba Melghat Tungareshwar NandurMadhameshwar and Pench But this spotting was when I was at Sanjay Gandhi National Park waiting for my colleagues who were delayed for a meeting I decided to go for a walk and took a forest guard along to keep me company We were walking along the main road listening to bird calls At a turning we saw a leopard walking towards us at a distance of about 30 metresThe leopard was as surprised as we were but didnt appear disturbed He looked at us and sat on the road We stood where we were to see what would happen This happy state of affairs continued for about 12 minutes Unfortunately for us a car drove down disturbing the leopard who ambled off the road We waited for a while hoping that the leopard would reemerge but he had enough of us This is the only time that I have seen a leopard while I was on foot I thanked my colleagues for coming lateBest time to get thereThroughout the year post sunsetHow to reachBorivli is the nearest railway station Autorickshaws and taxis are available outside the stationDebi Goenka environmentalist