Looking for tigers

We have been to two wildlife reserves during our time here - Bheemeshwari Nature Camp and Periyar Tiger Reserve.  I suppose one of the attractions of coming to India was the possibility of seeing different wildlife - and tigers were definitely top of my list with elephants a close second.

But- as the guide at Periyar pointed out as we set off into the park in our Jeep - it's not a television programme.  Most of the time is spent peering into the trees hoping to catch a glimpse of something; the wildlife doesn't rush to jump out in front of you.  At least only the naughty monkeys that live around humans anyway.  And to put it in context, one of our guides had worked at Periyar for 14 years and the other for 7, and each of them had only seen a tiger a couple of times.

So I  haven't seen a tiger.

 But I have seen:
Macaques
Black monkeys
Spotted deer
Malabar giant squirrels
Bulbul
Two elephants - a long way away, but definitely there
Tree pies
Sunbirds
Gaur
A mongoose
A kingfisher
An assortment of beetles and spiders including the very lovely red velvet beetle
Fish eagles
Egrets
Ibises
And my personal favourite - the Malabar whistling thrush.

Our trip to Periyar included a trek through the forest.  It was a misty day so the beautiful views were hidden by clouds, and some interesting creatures that emerged from the mist turned out to be domestic cows!  Suddenly the relative silence of the forest was broken by an eerie whistling.  It was as if some creepy man was hanging around in the forest waiting to get you, and whistling to let you know he was there.  But it was my new favourite bird.

So I could spend my time lamenting that I only saw two distant elephants' bottoms, and not so much as a tiger's whisker, but actually I am happy instead to celebrate the beauty of the red velvet beetle and the weirdness of the Malabar whistling thrush.