Chital @ Borivli National Park

[Murugan Anantharaman]

Managed to go to Borivli national park a few days back but was disappointed to know that the Director of the park was away. There were others but were not willing to permit entry into the park without a bribe. I decided to not encourage this and drove into certain motorable roads which did not need permission. To my surprise realised that virtually 90% of the park was not permitted for entry without a 'bribe'. Managed to see this herd of spotted deer.

Nikon D3100, f/5.6,SS 1/640,ISO 400, ec -.7,300mm. full frame image.

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Nice sighting.Nice image from Borivali (Sanjay Gandhi) N.P.Some leopards are there, who are under tremendous pressure.Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

[Mrudul Godbole]

Feel sad to know the state of BNP. If these things can happen so close to such a big city, what can we expect in the interiors . With the human population so close to the park, it is hard for the animals to survive there. Could you sight any leopards? Thanks for sharing.

[Murugan Anantharaman]

No Mrudul. I was not allowed to enter the core area so there was no chance. I could still manage to spot a 8foot long rat snake, jungle crow,some langurs and a black shouldered kite. Thats pretty much about it.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

Happy to find that atleast you could see a cheetal. I remember a few years back during the peak of leopard trouble, they had released a few deers from some zoos. Adequate protection has to be there for both predators and prey. If the prey density goes up, then one can find predators in non-core/buffer areas as well.

[Suraj Sreedhar]

Nice to see images from Borivli National Park.How far is it from Mumbai?
Thanks for sharing.

[Murugan Anantharaman]

Suraj: Its actually within the city limits . The major part of the city is around the park. Makes this increasingly difficult for the leopard and other animals to get their space.