Highlights

I have terrible luck with Big Cats, i would rather say terrible eyes for them.. In fact, I saw my first leopard only about 5 years ago… To this date, I have not seen a leopard on a Jeep Safari, though I seem to have a bit of luck for Tigers. I am fortunate that till date all my leopard sightings (yellows and blacks, cubs and adults) have all been on foot, except the first one where we went to check a kill along the path close to home with @surya_ramachandran (who tried harder than me to break my leopard jinx).. Living at the edge of the jungle with good big cat population around, provides lot of opportunities to see kills, scat, scratch marks and alarm calls on a daily basis, but seeing one has always been a chance encounter.. This morning, I woke up to a loud commotion of Spotted deer alarm calls, and I stepped out of the house to look in the direction. And before I could settle for a scan, a low growl came from behind and I turned to see a foggy yellow figurine just about 50 feet away. Quickly backtracking to the verandah, the second glance revealed the spots and the brown eyes, leaving no suspicion to what I am seeing. The leopard looked at me and decided to stay put. May be because I moved very slow and did not make any sound. After 2-3 minutes, I went in and got my camera with a mere 100mm lens, and clicked few pictures. The alarm calls in the meantime was only getting intense much to the annoyance of the cat superior, which moved in crouched position for few meters, then looked back at me (to see if I am a threat) and slowly melted in to the Eupitorium thickets.. The spotted deer let out few more isolated calls and faded out.. And well, My Jungle morning is made!!!!

Another one bites the dust! Parasitic fungi, Cordyceps has taken over this unsuspecting Robber fly, which was once a happy go lucky neighbourhood robber… On that fateful day, when the cordyceps was in full bloom(mushroom), it released the most dangerous bio weapon, its spores. And one such spore landed on this otherwise swift and agile robber fly. The spores are cylindrical and only about 3 microns in size which is too insignificant even for the tiny insect to notice.. The parasitic spore released an enzyme that dissolves the exoskeleton and entered the host. In only 2 days, the next mind-boggling move, the spore took over the brain of the host and made it walk to the edge and perch stationary at the end of a twig as this, while the mycelium kept spreading inside the host. The insect was still alive giving the fungus a perfect host substrate. In the next 7-10 days, the mycelium is ready to reproduce and bursts open from the inside with its fruiting bodies, the mushroom. The mushrooms carry thousands of these bio ammunition to released, which can further attack an unsuspecting fly around.. They are not dangerous to human kind or animals… :) #fungi #cordyceps #nature #wildlife #india #westernghats #insects #zombiefungi Location: Masinagudi, Nilgiris, India