Rahul Alvares

This is probably one of the easiest of raptors to photograph (leaving aside them ubiquitous brahminy kites and black kites of course!). The easiest way to tell a marsh harrier from a black kite is to see how other birds … Continue reading →

If you live in Goa then you know that April and May are the two most hot and humid months. 90% humidity makes everything disgustingly sticky. But if there’s one benefit to this lousy weather it’s that forest birds are … Continue reading →

So Erle (my shooting buddy), Loyd (my birding buddy) and me are returning from a trip to the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary. Two in the afternoon and we are passing a lake just outside of Chandor. Erle stops the car for … Continue reading →

Jerdon’s nightjar 2nd April 2012 11.00 p.m. I’m in the car with Ray (my client), zeeve (my snake tracker) and Deepak (a forest guide) looking for animals in Cotigao again. The forest is frighteningly beautiful. At least to me, since  … Continue reading →

These were among my first shots with my 400 mm prime lens. I hadn’t learnt how to use the histogram back then. Besides I was only shooting JPEG at the time. So one of the images (with the green leaves … Continue reading →

Boa constrictors Snakes are probably the easiest animals to keep as pets. When compared to dogs, cats, birds and other warm-blooded animals, they are extremely low maintainance creatures. For instance, they need to be fed once in three weeks, they … Continue reading →

One of the rarer kingfishers of Goa. Apparently it can be found in quite a few places in Goa but I’ve only seen and photographed this bird on my boat trip. They are reasonably skittish but occasionally let you get quite … Continue reading →

I love photographing this raptor! All the shots below are taken on my boat trip. Usually you’ll get much closer to them when you are in a boat as compared to if you approached the same on foot. And if … Continue reading →

Its easy to photograph an Indian Roller siting down. Getting a shot of it flying is a different matter altogether! I must have taken about a hundred to get the few shots that I am satisfied with. Basically if the … Continue reading →

I’ve been trying to find and photograph the yellow wattled lapwing for a while now. The one spot I’d sometimes find them was at the Pilerne lake. But then they are always too far away to photograph. A week ago … Continue reading →

I’ve just got off my flight at Port Blair and am squinting at the sky. The sun is already pretty high up and it looks like it’s at least nine o’clock in the morning. But my watch tells me its … Continue reading →

I have goose bumps on my skin as I peer out the window of my sleeper coach. But it isn’t the cold. It’s the sight of a large hoarding which says ‘Welcome to Gir, the last home of the Asiatic … Continue reading →

Man-eaters in the Sunderbans ‘Wow! That’s quite a boat you’ve arranged for us, Arjan!’ I exclaim. Arjan smiles weakly. He’s not sure if I really like it. But I really do! And what’s not to like? It’s got a spacious, … Continue reading →

Lakshadweep Lakshadweep ‘This feels just like the Titanic’, I’m thinking. Fine, the ship I’m on is probably only a fifth in size. And I’m not as reckless as Leonardo di Caprio to be standing right on the edge with Kate … Continue reading →

Large-scaled Shieldtail ‘Hey look it’s a snake eating another snake!’ exclaimed Glen a client of mine. It was about eight in the morning and Glen was sitting on one side of a veranda wall sipping his coffee while his wife … Continue reading →

The Kashmir Agama After a night spent shivering inside my tent the strong morning sun was just what I needed. I spread out on the grass and greedily soaked in with my eyes the beautiful landscape of Uttarakhand. This was … Continue reading →

Green Bronzeback Tree snake The snake in the picture is dead. It was dead when I found it. Probably not long gone though, considering it wasn’t cold and rigid when I felt it. I had found it on my regular … Continue reading →

The Travancore Wolfsnake Most people are surprised to know that I don’t go looking for snakes. Almost all the snakes I handle and photograph are infact rescued animals. People from in and around my village in Goa call me whenever … Continue reading →

The Malabar Gliding Frog I’ve never really liked frogs and for years I always avoided them. Unlike snakes which are very dry to the touch most frogs are extremely slimy. Some tend to urinate when handled (a trick of theirs … Continue reading →

The Cat Snake Semi-venomous As a snake rescuer the list of species I pick up from human habitation is limited to around ten odd species. Cobras, Kraits, Russell’s Vipers, Ratsnakes, Pythons, Whitaker Boa’s, Striped Keelbacks, Checkered Keelbacks, Wolfsnakes and Bronzeback … Continue reading →

The Shieldtail Non-venomous ‘Arrrrgh’ came the guttural sound from my guide Vagu as he came to a sudden halt in front of a small snake lying on our path. I was in Agumbe, it was the middle of the monsoon … Continue reading →

Baby Boas The beginning of the monsoons are an excellent time for baby animals of all kinds. I’ve realized over the years that most animals time their young ones to be born exactly when there will be plenty of food … Continue reading →

For those who came in late (remember this well worn line from Phantom Comics?!!!) my trip to Ladakh was a disaster. Just the day I landed in Delhi news came in of a cloud burst. The landslides and floods claimed … Continue reading →

The Indian Mud or Flap-Shell Turtle Max weight 5.2 kg. Length females upto 35 cm. Males 10 cm less One of the benefits of having a notoriety as a snake handler is that people bring you all sorts of interesting … Continue reading →

I’ve always had a thing for handling dangerous animals. When I was at the Croc Bank in Mamallapuram Gerry Martin one day casually mentioned to me that he could teach me how to handle scorpions. It was a big mistake … Continue reading →

Pythons usually disappear from the face of the earth in Goa during the summer season. For many years I could never quite figure out what happened to them during the months of March, April and May. Then one day I … Continue reading →

Venomous I should make it a rule to carry two things wherever I go: my binoculars and my camera. More than once I have bumped into something really interesting and then regretted not having my equipment at hand. Sometimes it’s … Continue reading →

The Common Indian Bronzeback Tree Snake Non-venomous The Common Indian Bronzeback is one of the slimmest snakes in India. Its upper body is bronze-brown in color which matches well with the color of twigs and therefore gives it excellent camouflage. … Continue reading →

The Buffstriped Keelback Non-venomous The Striped keelback is a beautiful snake. The anterior region of its body is a spectacular mix of brilliant red, pink and yellow colours. It gets its name from two buff colored stripes that run from … Continue reading →

The Banded Racer Non-venomous ‘If you’re gonna get rid of your fear of snakes you’re gonna have to get bitten someday.’ I explained to Shippo. He was an eighteen year old lanky lad from my own village in Parra, and … Continue reading →

The Checkered Keelback Non-venomous The Checkered keelback is definitely the most aggressive snake I’ve known. I hold scars from bites of this snake I suffered over twelve years ago! Newly caught Checkered keelbacks are so aggressive they will lunge and … Continue reading →

The Agumbe Rainforest Ever since I watched one of Rom Whitaker’s documentaries on the King cobra I’ve wanted to go to Agumbe. Apparently Rom himself had caught his first King Cobra in Agumbe in 1971 and he maintains that Agumbe … Continue reading →

Tiger Trails As someone who earns his living seeking out birds and snakes in wildlife sanctuaries for foreign tourists in Goa, I’m busiest from November to April.  By May my flow of clients is a mere trickle and it’s time … Continue reading →

Non-venomous Beaked Worm Snakes certainly look very comical. They’ve got a round face, no neck, tiny dot like scale covered eyes and a sharp beak-like nose. The beak is an efficient tool for burrowing in the soil and since I’ve … Continue reading →

Russell’s or Variegated Kukri Non-venomous Rescuing snakes in people’s houses I rarely find rare snakes (you might say that’s why they are called rare!). Sometimes though, snakes which are listed as relatively common in snake books are pretty rare finds … Continue reading →

Non-venomous Average length: 7-14 feet The Indian Rock python I’m called to rescue is usually guilty of entering chicken coups and swallowing our egg machines. Bigger ones will take larger animals – I was once called to capture one that … Continue reading →

The Common Ratsnake Non-venomous Average length: 5-7 feet. Growing to lengths of over eight feet, Ratsnakes can make for truly impressive specimens. Most people are unaware though that ratsnakes are ‘scary cats’ themselves. When first captured, ratsnakes will mock strike … Continue reading →

The Wolf Snake The common wolf snake is one of the few snakes that actually seems to profit by a man-made environment. Houses with tiled roofs are their favorite hideouts. They are expert climbers and slide in between wooden beams … Continue reading →

The Spectacled Cobra Venomous Average length: 4-5 feet. India’s most famous snake is also one of the commonest species that is found in Goa. I have caught at least 300 cobras in the twelve years I’ve been working as a … Continue reading →

The Common Krait Of the ‘Big Four’ dangerous snakes found in India, the Common Krait is the most venomous. Its venom – a powerful neurotoxin – is supposed to be fifteen times more virulent than that of the Common Cobra, … Continue reading →

The Saw-scaled Viper In my last column we got introduced to the first of the ‘Big Four’ venomous snakes: the Russell’s Viper. This time let’s get to know its close but much more diminutive relative, the Saw-scaled viper. Saw-scaled vipers … Continue reading →

Russell’s Vipers Of the 275 odd species of snakes found in India only four are viewed as a real threat to humans. These four species of snakes – grouped under the title of the ‘Big Four’ –  bite and kill … Continue reading →

The Earthman In my last column we learnt about Sandman (or Whitaker’s boa). With Sandman still fresh in your mind, let me take the opportunity to introduce to you his close relative – Earthman, the Earth boa! Unlike Sandman who … Continue reading →

The Sandman Some months ago, at around ten o’clock in the night, an old woman called me up to say there was a snake in her house. ‘Could you give me your address?’ I asked her, quite aware of the … Continue reading →

The Common Kukri snake I have a fun job. I rescue snakes for a living! Most of the snakes I rescue are from people’s houses around my home-town. A cobra on a roof, a rat snake in a cupboard, or … Continue reading →

The Vine Snake With a body like a creeper, a tail as slim and delicate as a tendril, and a parrot green color finish, the Vine snake secures a place as one of the prettiest of Indian snakes. My first … Continue reading →

Hatching of the Bronzeback tree snakes On the 13th of May my neighbors phoned me – quite like the pizza delivery boy –  shouting through the receiver that I needed to come rightaway and catch a snake from their house. The … Continue reading →

Snake Rescue Volunteers Name – Residence – Area of operation – NGO – Contact numbers (some may have changed) Saligao: Griselda Nobay, Donvaddo – GCR – 9823802842 / 2278567 Tarika & Suhail, Donvaddo – GCR – 2409999 / 2278276 Bardez: … Continue reading →