The excitement was written all over me, guess why? I was meeting a long lost friend from my college days. Thanks to social networking and its maze of connections, we were meeting after years. We always shared a few common interests and one of them was viewing the world around us through a lens. My love for the camera came much later than his and nowadays whenever I get, a couple of hours of a break on the weekends, I head out to the city to capture moments.This time I walked with my friend to take a quick look at the Calcutta zoo situated at Alipore.
The zoo is very old and it did an exemplary job of meeting the animal and bird lovers’ appetite since 1875. The zoo is particularly a popular destination for all ages in the winter. The coolness of the weather makes it very easy for everyone to walk acres of land, cross bridges to enjoy the birds and animals for hours together.As we panned across the zoo landscape, we tried catching the animals and birds busy in their own world.
Shall we take a quick visual journey of the morning? Here they come …
Wings outstretched, a painted stork takes off from the lake over the island in search of food, and so do we as the inviting aroma of a nearby kebab corner beckons usWith immaculate precision, the painted stork levels herself for a smooth landing on the edge of the island I was just enough lucky to catch this marmoset monkey perched on the iron beams in the cage for fleeting seconds before it disappeared into surrounding darknessA barking deer cozily sits below the trees as the shadow accentuates its short hornsA Nilgai or Blue bull checks the enclosure as an egret comes to land to pick bugs off its backA Sambar resting in the shadows after a good mealA Saras Crane scours the undergrowth for few morsels of foodTiptoeing on the grass with utmost care, a Saras Crane balances its wings seconds before it swoops on the foodA Gharial crocodile mainly eats fishes enjoys the afternoon winter sunAbout to leap into the water, a lone Gharial zeros on a catchA marsh crocodile basks under a tree to surprise an unsuspecting victimA one-horned rhino tilts on its right as it gorges the grassy ground belowA Macaw holds a morsel of food as it prepares for its breakfastMacaw with a mouth full of nutA White Tiger stretches to catch the afternoon sunA Royal Bengal Tiger relentlessly moves in its cage as visitors stare at the mighty catA bird skims over the lake to align with the branches aboveCormorant lands on the lake surface as it prepares for a diveA Black Swan grooms herself and flutters away the lake waterA water mist bursts as a Black Swan shakes its neckWith speed and grace, the Black Swan lunges forwardThis naughty baby elephant calf hurled a trunk full of dust and came straight to the lake edge to greet the crowdAnother elephant calf investigates the ground for some munchiesThe naughty elephant calf whips up dust on to its body to ward off fliesA White Ibis explores the green lake for snails and frogsCouple of Open Billed Storks continuously scanned the water surface for small fishes atop the branchesA Rosy Pelican jumps in to catch the fish that dared to reach the water surface
Shades of an explorer 