The Grasshopper

Brown Grasshopper | August 2011

“Why bother about winter?” said the Grasshopper; “we have got plenty of food at present.” But the Ant went on its way and continued its toil. When the winter came the Grasshopper had no food, and found itself dying of hunger, while it saw the ants distributing every day corn and grain from the stores they had collected in the summer. Then the Grasshopper knew.

- The Grasshopper and the Ant | Aesop's Fables

Homecoming

Homecoming | Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve, October 2009

I was skimming through some old photographs in my laptop when I came across this and got a bit nostalgic. This one was taken while I was conducting a study on the domestic cattle encroachment in Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR) for my undergrad thesis work in 2009. The photograph shows a cattle herd returning to the village after grazing in the reserve area.

The 175 sq.km. area of the reserve constitutes the floodplains of the Sapta Koshi River (one of the three main tributaries of the Ganges) in the south eastern Terai. The reserve is a Ramsar site - a wetland of international significance and is rich in flora and fauna diversity. With 486 species of resident and migratory birds, Koshi Tappu is a birder's paradise.

KTWR is inhabited by Nepal's last remaining population of wild water buffalo Bubalus arnee (locally known as Arna). They have to compete with the domestic cattle for food and habitat and face the risk of diseases, and genetic pollution as a result of interbreeding. 

Random Nature Photography - "Will you walk into my parlour?"

Aug 26, 2011; Location: Some random rice field in Trishuli; Camera: Canon SX200 IS

"Sweet creature!" said the Spider, "you're witty and you're wise,

How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!

I've a little looking-glass upon my parlour shelf,

If you'll step in one moment, dear, you shall behold yourself."

- from "The Spider and the Fly" poem by Mary Howitt