664 - 20th - The angry cat

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 20th Jan'11

560 - 28th - Little brown long-noses

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 28th Jun'09

394 - 13th - The colored reptile

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 13th Jan'09

I have posted another image of this reptile some time back on my blog. It was having some shades of black and blue in that one. This time it has returned to the blog in a more colorful way. If you see carefully, you can find at least four distinct colors.

It is amazing how nature has put so many colors into it's creations in many different forms. Though humans were given only some limited shades of white, black and brown, other animals seem to enjoy the colored extravagance.

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392 - 11th - The striped tortugas

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 11th Jan'09

I have seen turtles at many places but everywhere they are either Grey colored or have some shade of Brown. Yellow turtles with stripes of blue on top were really a pleasant surprise. This image is from the ecological reserve "Zoomat" from Tuxtla, Chiapas.

I am not sure if it was the abundance of these animals in southern Mexico, but the Zoo was full of them. At every second pool you could find them swimming deep in the water or just lazing around on rocks to catch some sunshine.

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387 - 6th - The white bird

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 6th Jan'09

I simply love the way these birds hunt for fishes. They wait on the branch till they see a fish, then they fly up in the air and suddenly shoot downwards like a missile, dive right into the water and come out with a fish in their beak. This is one of the most unusual way of fishing I have ever seen.

I was thinking of making a video of the entire thing but since the boat was sailing away, I didnt get enough time :)

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385 - 4th - The angry croco

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 4th Jan'09

We were cruising through the canyon at Tuxtla, when our boat driver suddenly halted and started heading towards the mountain wall. All of us knew that there is something he would like us to see. As we headed towards the place, none of us could figure out what it was. Only when he stopped and pointed in one direction, I could figure out that there is a crocodile lying on the rocks.

I took this picture from some two feet away from the animal. He was lying down as a stone and enjoying it's sun bath. Our guide told us that the waters at the canyon are infested with hundreds of them.

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359 - 9th - The black sheep

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 9th Dec'08

While climbing down the mountain in the jungles of Zitacuaro, I saw a herd of sheep grazing on a small patch of grass at some distance. I told my friends to go ahead and that I would meet them at the base. I walked for around ten minutes to reach the place and maintained a safe distance from the animals so that they don't get scared and run away.

Once there, I got behind a bush and clicked some photos. Due to the sun shining at the back, the photos got a a nice effect of a bright background and a dark foreground. Among all that I clicked, I liked this one the most.

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322 - 2nd - Mini pachyderm

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 2nd Nov'08

These mini reptiles with a scary look on their faces can be found in abundance all over the archeological zone in Tulum. They are free creatures and can be seen sun-bathing on rocks or strolling on the beach. They are not aggressive and can go almost unnoticed with a Grey rocky background.

I am scared of reptiles and this one with it's unusually big size was looking all the more scary. So I kept a fair distance from him and used the zoom of my lens to full effect to capture this one :)

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253 - 25th - Jelly Fish

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 25th Aug'08

Jelly fish is probably the most interesting and amazing of all the animal species I have ever seen. Its structure, the way it swims & the body mechanism is just unbelievable. In natural conditions, they are almost invisible but you can see them here because they are swimming against a deep blue background and are lighted from the side. I loved the way they moved by contracting and expanding their belly or the "umbrella" to talk in biological terms.

As a matter of cruel fact, they are an important part of Chinese cuisine. I hate when people love to murder such beautiful creatures just to satisfy their taste buds.

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251 - 23rd - Fighting for space

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 23rd Aug'08

Only one log of wood in the middle of the pond & around 10 turtles to be accommodated; the result is pretty much evident in the image :) This group of reddish brown turtles was finding it difficult to fit in the small space available. Hence every second minute one of them used to fall down back in the water, which would give space to another to climb over. It was quite interesting to watch them playing the game of rise and fall.

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245 - 17th - Spotted beauty

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 17th Aug'08

I spotted this butterfly while walking out of the archeological zone in Cuetzalan. It was hopping from one flower to another and I had to follow it for around 5 minutes to get some decent shots. After a couple of shots it seemed as if she was posing for me :) She gave me some 10 different poses and all can be classified as perfect "butterfly macros"

When I finished clicking the photos and returned to my friend to show her how they came, she told me that the local people who were standing nearby and were observing me chasing the butterfly, were laughing out loud while I was busy in my photo-endeavor ;) They must be thinking that this tourist from the city has never seen a butterfly sitting on flowers :) But as I always say - "Who cares as long as you get a nice photo"

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209 - 12th - Foamy the squirrel

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th July'08

I was having a walk in the garden at the front of my house when I saw this squirrel staring at something which I couldn't exactly figure out. Fortunately I had my camera with me & thanks to the photo-fancy animal who didnt shy away from the camera I got this cute shot.

Standing on its rear limbs, it was really a nice way to pose in front of the camera.

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189 - 22nd - Magnificently White

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 22nd June'08

White Tiger (Panthera tigris) is a tiger with a genetic condition that nearly eliminates pigment in the normally orange fur although they still have dark stripes. Compared to orange tigers without the white gene, white tigers tend to be larger both at birth and at full adult size. The unusual coloration of white tigers has made them popular in zoos and entertainment that showcases exotic animals. (Courtesy Wikipedia)

I shot this one at the Africam Safari in Puebla. It was brought from the tiger reserve in Bengal, India.

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172 - 5th - Rock hard

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 5th June'08

He lay majestically out in the open - hard as a rock. We were moving around him for about 10 minutes and he didn't even wink his eye. He just lay down in complete oblivion with everything happening around him.

But don't mistake this animal for being lazy just because it appears that way. Rhinos are capable of running much faster than humans & in an open battle field can easily overcome any hostile enemy.

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169 - 2nd - Count the animals

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 2nd June'08

This photo is just like one of those "find the objects" puzzles. Though the elephant appears to be the only animal visible, if you see closely, there are many others. Can you find out how many are there?

I could find 5 :)

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156 - 20th - Definitely Male

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 20th May'08

The sheer look on his face gave you a "bullish" impression. As if he is standing in front of you in absolute command with an I-fear-none expression on his face. His large horns and thick beard like hair added to his masculine look. A perfect example of emboldened manhood.

This is from the archives of "Africam Safari", Puebla. I don't know the name of the animal, but it appeared to be some kind of wild goat.

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132 - 26th - Thirsty

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 26th Apr'08

I have usually seen such stills at Discovery channel or while watching the NGC or Animal planet. A thirsty animal sipping water at the lake side oblivious of the evil intentions of the predators hiding nearby. Suddenly a crocodile launches itself from beneath the water and grabs the animal's throat in it's vicious jaws. The next moment the crock disappears inside the lake along with it's prey.

As for me, I clicked this one while having a boat ride in a lake at Africam Safari in Puebla.

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125 - 19th - Royal Bengal Tiger

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 19th Apr'08

You cant experience the awe and the magnanimity of this animal until you see it up close, right in front of your face. You feel so miniature and non-existent in front of the raw power of the royal Bengal tiger, that you just stop and stare. Its sheer size and unmatchable beauty is a rare combination of killing looks and lethal strength.

Seeing the animal out in the open and just some meters away from your face is an experience of a lifetime.

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123 - 17th - The deer family

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 17th Apr'08

I took the photo of this deer family during a visit to a local wild life park in Puebla, Africam Safari. Daddy sitting serious as ever, mom having a silent nap while the kiddo lost in his own world. Like humans, animals too have a strong sense of familial bonding.

I have taken a lot of animal photos this week. So be prepared for a wild life saga during the next few days.

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58 - 12th - The small crabs

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Feb'08

When the beach is empty and not many people are around, which is usually during the day or early morning, you can see hundreds of small crabs playing hide and seek in the moist sand just bordering the sea-waves. They dig up small holes and are very quick to hide in them once they sense anything or anyone approaching them.

Luckily, I managed to get a shot of one of those "little crabs" when it was just going to enter its burrow.

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