Elephants

When you drive up to the Nilgiris from Bangalore you pass through two wildlife parks. Its essentially one huge expanse of jungle but since its in two states its considered to be two. The portion in Karnataka is called the Bandipur National Park and the portion in Tamil Nadu is called the Mudumalai National Park.

The Flame of the Forest is in bloom.

On our drive up on Thursday we past through Mudumalai around 1.30 - 2 in the afternoon and we spotted a herd of elephants fairly close to the road. We stopped and watched them for a while and I managaed to get some pictures.

They are large but so silent and well camouflaged amidst the trees and undergrowth.

You need to drive slowly and keep a close watch of the jungle to be able to spot animals.

We didn't see any tuskers in this herd. The only movements were their ears and trunks. In the jungle they could well be overlooked and mistaken for large rocks.

You can see a herd of wild elephants a hundred times but its simply awesome each time you see them. They are spectacular beasts who you have to stop and watch and you will never ever tire of spotting a herd.You need to be alert because they are unpredictable especially if its a lone tusker or if there are calves in the herd. So there's no question of getting out of your vehicle and the engine must be kept running just in case they decide to charge.

These Langurs are striking don't you think.