In Serch of Punjab Urial – Kalabagh Private Game Reserve

In January, we went on a search of the Punjab Urial, an endemic species of Pakistan, at the Kalabagh Private Game Reserve in the Java Mountains of the Punjab Plain.

The Kalabagh Private Game Reserve is a wildlife sanctuary for hunting, but in order to increase the number of animals for trophy hunting quota, the population needs to be allowed to grow. The rangers patrol with guns around the area to stop poachers, so the sanctuary is brimming with wild animals.

The Urial is an artiodactyl mammal of the family Bovidae. It is wild species of sheep, so they have large, arching horns and long beards on their necks. They live in the mountainous areas from South Asia to Central Asia. The Urial inhabiting the Punjab region of Pakistan were given the same protections as the Ladakh Urial in India, but in a 2016 publication in “Bovids of the World,” they listed it as the Punjab Urial, making it a separate species of Urial.

We got down from the vehicle, and slowly approached the Urial on foot to get closer. We paid close attention to the wind direction as we approached.

When we got too close to them, they quickly put some distance between you and themselves. We were able to see more than 30 of them, including some males with large horns, while we were watching them for about 2 hours.

And…the long awaited lunch time. At the Hunting Lodge, the setting and the service was very pleasant.

They served loads of locally produced ingredients for lunch. And it was orange season!!!

The interior of the Hunting Lodge. It was heavily decorated with many “Trophies” everywhere. The price at the Punjab Urial hunting auction is expensive at US$15,000 to US$16,000 per animal. About 15 are hunted from the Punjab plains each year.

Around the lodge, there were some young Urial kids that had lost their fear of people. They kept their distance from us visitors, but they could go up close to the people who worked at the lodge.

Our guide Abul with a Punjab Urial kid.

I will introduce to you the the wildlife of the Kalabagh Private Game Reserve.

This is the Salt Range Chinkara. It used to be a subspecies of the India Chinkara, but it became independent as a species according to the picture book published in 2016. It is distributed from the salt mountains of Pakistan to near Delhi, the capital of India.

An Indian Hare

The Greater Coucal, found in the plains and rural areas of India and Pakistan.

A young Eurasian Griffon. The wings will turn white once they mature.

A Grey Francolin, found in the plains of India and Pakistan.

They are very cute birds, that are skittish and run away quickly into the bushes to hide.

Wild Boar

This is a beautiful male Black Francolin.

After 2 hours of wildlife watching in the morning, taking a break for lunch, and then making 2 more hours of observations, we headed back to Islamabad. Probably, we would have seen even more, had we been there in the morning and dusk hours.

Finally, the majestic figure of the Game Reserve Ranger who guided our group. I was surprised at first to learn that they are protecting these wildlife so they can be hunted, but by all means, please protect them properly!

 

Photo & Text : Mariko SAWADA

Observation : Jan 2023, Kalabagh Private Game Reserve, Punjab

*Contact us, Indus Caravan for more information or to make arrangements for observing wildlife of Pakistan.

*Youtube    Facebook   Instagram  < Please check our update activity !

Category : ◆ Punjab > - Urial > ◇ Birds of Pakistan > ◇ Wildlife of Pakistan
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

So Picturesque! Tour of Balochistan Vlog

In the winter of 2022-23, we were able to guide more people on tours to Balochistan, than ever before! Since 2018, the region has been facing many challenges while developing its tourism areas. The places where foreigners can enter are limited, but the moment you turn off of the main road, you will see an amazingly spectacular view.

This Vlog tour summarizes the drone footage from Kamitani Teppei, the tour leader of a tour in Jan 2023. It truly captures the amazing scenery of Pakistan.

 

Videography by Teppei Kamitani

Visit :Jan 2023, Makran Coast, Balochistan

*Contact us, Indus Caravan for more information or to make arrangements for visiting Balochistan.

*Please follow us on YoutubeInstagram & Facebook

Category : = Video clip Balochistan > ◆ Video Breathtaking Views of Pakistan > - Mud Volcano > - Hingol National Park > - Kund Malir > ◆ Balochistan > - Makran Coast
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Who Visited The Ibex Carcass?

In the winter, in the mountains of the Upper Hunza, a carcass of a Himalayan ibex was found in the snow. A snow leopard had hunted it and it had been there for several days. This is a summary of the wild animals of the Karakoram that were captured by camera traps for 5 days there.

Who came on Carcass of Ibex?

Wildlife that was spotted: Snow Leopard, Yellow-billed Chough, Red-billed Chough (not shown in the video), Red Fox, Raven and Bearded Vulture

The ibex was said to have been hunted a few days before (maybe a week earlier), and there was still a little meat left on the ibex’s carcass. It seemed that it had fallen into the river while being hunted, and then pulled out of the water, so the carcass was frozen solid (the temperature is minus 20 degrees). In the video, there is a snow leopard that checks around the ibex but not eating it. It is possible that this might be a different snow leopard than the one which caught it.

Luckily, the camera trap was set up at just the right angle to be able to capture the entire body of the snow leopard, including its long tail. The time is 6:08 pm and it showed up shortly after dark.

There were some red foxes that came in the night and also during the day. According to the difference in their fur, it seemed like two different foxes had come to eat some of the leftovers.

We were also very excited to see a bearded vulture which was caught on camera as well! It was seen alongside with a common raven, and immediately flew away.

Even though it is just a single ibex, it becomes an important food source for a lot of different animals. Nature is really amazing.

 

Image & text: Mariko SAWADA
Observation: Jan 2023, Gojar, Gilgit-Baltistan

*Contact us, Indus Caravan for more information or to make arrangements for observing wildlife of Pakistan.

*Youtube    Facebook   Instagram  << Please check our update activity !

Category : - Snow Leopard > = Video Clip Gilgit-Baltistan > ◆ Video Breathtaking Views of Pakistan > ◆ Gilgit-Baltistan > - Gojar > ◇ Birds of Pakistan > ◇ Wildlife of Pakistan
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Creatures Depicted on the Indus Seal, Mohenjodaro

I’m sure there are many people who like this design of the Indus Seal. In fact, this is one of the sources of inspiration we used to make the Indus Caravan logo.

Often, a representative motif is this Zebu. It is often called the “Indus cow” and it is drawn with reverence as a god.

There are traces of ink on the seal, evidence that the seal was used as a stamp like a Japanese Hanko would be used. Seals have been found excavated in Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula, with the motifs and lettering of Indus Seals. This proves that trade between Mesopotamia, the cities of the Gulf Coast, and the Indus Civilization which is of great interest to archeologists around the world.

Well, I love animals. So, I collected “creatures depicted on Indus Seals” that I found from the exhibits of the Mohenjodaro Museum.

There are animals depicted that do not really exist. The unicorn seems to have been a popular motif. Perhaps that is an incense burner in front of the unicorn?

The seals often have 2 to 5 characters, which are still mysterious characters that have still not been deciphered yet.

This creature has multiple heads, of either a unicorn, cow, gazelle or ibex. It is exciting, isn’t it?

This creature with the armored body is a rhinoceros. Even though there are no rhinos in Pakistan today (extinct), it seems they used to live there long ago.
Today, in the entire Indian subcontinent, Rhinoceros (Indian Rhinoceros) live only in Kaziranga National Park, in northeast India and Chitwan National Park, in Nepal’s Tarai Lowlands. It has gone extinct in the neighboring countries of Bhutan and Bangladesh as well.

Indian Rhinoceros seal.

This seal depicts an engraving of an Elephant. The Asian elephant has become extinct in Pakistan, but it is said that they used to be distributed all the way to Western Asia.

This image is probably a tiger. The Bengal Tiger also is no longer found in modern Pakistan, but once lived along the Indus Valley.

This too, must be a tiger image. 

Besides the seals, I also found an ibex drawn on the pottery. It seems to depict a Sindh Ibex adorned with beautiful horns.
At the Mohenjodaro Muesum, I was fascinated by their exhibit on the Indus Seals.

Photos & text: Mariko SAWADA

*For inquiries and consultation, please go to Indus Caravan

*Please follow us on YoutubeInstagram & Facebook

Category : - Indus Civilization > - Mohenjodaro > - Monument / Heritage of Sindh > ◆ Sindh > ◇ Heritage of Pakistan > ◇ Museum of Pakistan
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Mohenjodaro (2)

These are the Mohenjodaro ruins after flood damage in the summer of 2022. At its peak, it is estimated that up to 40,000 people lived here between 2500 BC and 1800 BC, but for some reason it declined. There are various theories as to why, such as that the flow of the Indus River changed, or an invasion by a different region, but the flood of 2022 left the city damaged again.

Photography by Yuka Fujimot, Oct 2022Restoration work was underway in the areas damaged by the flood.

A donkey cart carrying bricks for repair. By 2000 BC, cities in the Indus civilization had already started using standardized baked bricks. Baked bricks were introduced earlier in the cities of the Indus civilization, compared to the Mesopotamian and Yellow River civilizations. Even today, you can see the work of making baked bricks in the farming villages around Mohenjodaro. They still use the same brick construction as used in the Indus Civilization era, to this day.

Thick brick walls that form the streets between houses (DK Area).

In the DK area, which is said to have been an urban area, there is a building that is thought to have been an “aristocrats’ house.” It is thought that this chimney-like “well” was able to draw water from the second floor of the house.

This is the sewage system of the SD area, also called the Citadel District.

It seems they even had stones to cover the sewage system.

This is a scene of the SD area that represents Mohenjodaro. What is thought to have been a “bathing pool” and the drainage system from it. It is a very gorgeous site that inspires the imagination with a Gandharan Pagoda at the peak of this city.

It is said that Bitumen (asphalt) was used to help waterproof the walls of pools in this bathing area. It is on display at the Mohenjodaro Museum.

By the way, my recent passion is seeing the sunset at Mohenjodaro.

The city ruins in the light of the setting sun. Due to the flood damage this year, the waterlogged fields could be seen shining beyond the grounds.

 

Photos & text: Mariko Sawada

Visit: Nov 2022, Mohenjodaro, Sindh

*For inquiries and consultation, please go to Indus Caravan

*Please follow us on YoutubeInstagram & Facebook

Category : - Mohenjodaro > - Monument / Heritage of Sindh > ◆ Sindh
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Indus Highway, trip to Interior Sindh

First of all, I would like to express my heartfelt sympathy to those who have been affected by the flood disaster caused by the torrential rain from June to August 2022. Restoration work is progressing in some areas, and travel arrangements to Sindh and Balochistan regions were made, though we could see different sights than before, such as flooded fields.

The National Highway 55 (N-55), commonly known as Indus Highway, which goes north from Hyderabad, is a lifeline of West Sindh running through the west bank of the Indus River. During the fall harvest season, many trucks travel the road loaded with grain and chaff.

This year, due to the summer disaster, both sides of the road were still flooded, and there were many places waiting for the water to recede, unable to harvest the fields.

In some places, the fields were so water-logged they looked like lakes. I was sad to see so many people who had lost their homes and living in camps.

While some fields were water-logged, there were others that were being harvested. November is the season for harvesting rice.

I was really grateful to see this beautiful sight, which in any other time, would have been totally normal.

They were working on transferring the roadside piled up rice husks onto the trucks. Using wooden sticks to support it, they used sticks to create giant balloon-like cargo structures on the tops of the trucks.

A camel carrying firewood came our way. It is brought from the villages to the collection areas along the Indus Highway.

This firewood is an important fuel in the villages.

A handmade bell was decorated with cowry shells. A very traditional decoration, this is a camel very cherished by the owner. 

I was having lunch at a restaurant along the Indus Highway when I was invited to a wedding in the hall next door. “Wedding Gifts” decorated with bank notes were hung around the groom’s neck one after another.

Travelling on the Indus Highway with a different scenery than usual, we will soon enter the east road and reach Mohenjodaro. There were many submerged fields on the way to Mohenjodaro. I pray that the water will recede soon.

Photo & text: Mariko SAWADA
Visit: Nov 2022, Indus Highway, Sindh
*Please contact us for your own personalized itinerary.

*Please follow us on Youtube, Instagram & Facebook !

Category : - National & Indus Highway > ◆ Sindh
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

CONCORDIA 360 DEGREE

We stayed at Concordia on a truly cloudless, crystal clear morning in mid-June. The video was rattled by manual paaning, but I made a 360-degree mountain view video from Concordia.

CONCORDIA 360 DEGREE

 

Image by Mariko SAWADA

A big thank you to the the whole Baltoro Glacier trekking team for working with us!

 

Related article

Youtube : Our baltoro Trek in 1 Min !

K2 & Baltoro Glacier Trekking 2022 (Part 1) Skardu to Paiju

K2 & Baltoro Glacier Trekking 2022 (Part 2) Paiju to Khoburtse

K2 & Baltoro Glacier Trekking 2022 (Part 3) Khoburtse to Urdukas

K2 & Baltoro Trekking 2022 (Part 4) Urdukas to GoreⅡ

K2 & Baltoro Trekking 2022 (Part 5) GoreⅡ to Concordia

Staying in Concordia, surrounded by the high Peaks of the Karakorum: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum Mountain Range

★★★★★

*Contact us, Indus Caravan for more information or to make arrangements for your Baltoro Glacier trek.

Category : = Video Clip Gilgit-Baltistan > - Baltoro Glacier & Concordia > ◆ Video Breathtaking Views of Pakistan > - Baltoro Glacier & Concordia > ◆ Gilgit-Baltistan > ◇ Mountain of Pakistan > - Karakorum Range
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Our Baltoro Trek in 1 min

Here’s a staff-centric video clip of our first post-pandemic Bartolo Glacier trek in June 2022! Well done to all the guides, kitchen staff, sardars, and porters who made the round trip to Concordia multiple times this season!

Our Baltoro Trek in 1 min

Image by  Mariko SAWADA

A big thank you to the the whole Baltoro Glacier trekking team for working with us!

 

Related article

Youtube : CONCORDIA 360 DEGREE

K2 & Baltoro Glacier Trekking 2022 (Part 1) Skardu to Paiju

K2 & Baltoro Glacier Trekking 2022 (Part 2) Paiju to Khoburtse

K2 & Baltoro Glacier Trekking 2022 (Part 3) Khoburtse to Urdukas

K2 & Baltoro Trekking 2022 (Part 4) Urdukas to GoreⅡ

K2 & Baltoro Trekking 2022 (Part 5) GoreⅡ to Concordia

Staying in Concordia, surrounded by the high Peaks of the Karakorum: K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum Mountain Range

★★★★★

*Contact us, Indus Caravan for more information or to make arrangements for your Baltoro Glacier trek.

Category : - Baltoro Glacier & Concordia > = Video Clip Gilgit-Baltistan > - Baltoro Glacier & Concordia > ◆ Video Breathtaking Views of Pakistan > ◆ Gilgit-Baltistan > ◇ Mountain of Pakistan
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Summer on the Deosai Plateau and Wildlife We Encountered While Camping

This is a summary of our visit of the Deosai Plateau during the summer; the wildlife and scenery we experienced while camping and exploring the area.

The summer of 2022 was unusually dry on the Plateau. The Deosai summer, which is normally full of water with the carpet of alpine flowers in full bloom, this time was super dry and the plants were all the like their autumn colors. There was a lack of snowfall in the winter, earlier in the year, so it caused the high plains to be dry early on. In another blog, I will write about the impact of this big change on the Himalayan Brown Bears.

Past articles about the Deosai

The Deosai Plateau on a sunny day is remarkable, with crystal clear rivers, wetlands and mountains inviting you to stay.

The Long-tailed Marmot(or Golden Marmot). These are the same species as the marmots we see near the Khunjerab Pass, but will have a more muted coloration. (The Khunjerab Pass marmots really live up to their names as the “Golden” marmot!)

A male Citrine Wagtail. So striking in the breeding season! Breeding in the thickets along the river, we saw them carrying beaks full of insects to their chicks in the mornings and evenings.

The male Horned Lark who was busy feeding their chicks as well. I was there in mid-July, which seemed to be the season for fledging. It was nerve-wracking to see the baby birds that could not fly so well, as they were so close to the roadway.

Robin Accentor

The Robin Accentor. I didn’t really see it near the campsite, but we saw it while observing the livestock grazing in the Shatung area. In Pakistan, this bird can only usually be seen in a limited area from the Deosai Plateau to the northern area.

We walked every day in search of the Himalayan Brown Bear. Due to the exceptionally dry weather this summer, the brown bears were not in the areas where they are usually seen. There were days when we couldn’t find them, even though we looked all day, into the evening.

After days of walking, there was a big bear cub. It may have had a mother bear nearby, or maybe it was recently independent.

There was another huge Himalayan Brown Bear engrossed in eating grass. Thanks to the wind direction, I was able to get even closer to observe it.

When I returned to the campsite, we had large trout waiting for us (note: it was caught by the staff with a proper permit from the national park). The Deosai Plateau contains both native and exotic trout released for fishing by the British during the colonial period. I don’t know which one this is, but it seems the native trout is a very rare species called an “Indus Snow Trout.”

Seeing trout makes me a little thirsty for Beer. We had a toast with Pakistani beer, Murree Beer (Caution: the altitude is 4,000m, so don’t try it). This can is the Murree Brewery’s Millennium Beer, which I personally think is the most delicious beer. It is the British Colonial legacy that I appreciate the most.

The starry sky of the Deosai Plateau. I really recommend taking photos of the dark skies of the Deosai Plateau.

Himalayan Brown Bear

A brown bear came to our campsite…it was attracted to the garbage, looking for food and is seems it comes often. It was clearly visible in the camera traps.Due to the abnormally dry weather this year, it was difficult to see the brown bears and so few flowers were blooming on the plateau. I just pray that the abnormal weather will not upset the ecology of this special place.

 

Images & text: Mariko SAWADA

Observation: JUL 2022, Deosai National Park, Gilgit-Baltistan

Visit our web site “Wildlife of Pakistan

YouTube : Himalayan Brown Bear in Autumn

Category : ◆ Gilgit-Baltistan > - Himalayan Brown Bear > - Deosai National Park > ◇ Birds of Pakistan
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Searching for Himalayan Brown Bears in the Deosai Plateau in the Summertime

In the summer of 2022, finding Himalayan brown bears to observe was quite a struggle. The National Park Staff and I, searched, and wondered why they weren’t in the places we usually see them.

The first reason that came to my mind was the “increasing number of tourists.” but it’s not something that has happened just in this one year. Second, the nomadic people came to the Deosai Plateau brought their livestock into the brown bear area. Definitely, their presence has a certain impact. However, we could not even find the bears in the core zones…so I suppose the main reason for the lack of bears might be the ‘dryness’ due to the exceptionally low amount of snowfall this winter. The grasses, which are the favorite food of the bears, has not grown in the usual areas, so the National Park staff are guessing that the bears have moved to different areas in search of better food sources.

Unfortunately, there is very little research that has been done on the Himalayan brown bears. To be honest, even the published population estimates are not very accurate.

The easiest place to see bears is the “Watching Point” which is just behind the Barapani National Park Station. If you have any luck, you will get to see a mother and cubs feeding on the hill nearby. However due to the distance, make sure to bring good binoculars or have a scope with you.

This time, during our visit, we could walk to 4 different areas in search of the bears. While walking, we could see Nanga Parbat (8,126m), the 9th tallest peak in the world, from various places around the Deosai Plateau.

 

This is a temporary hollow used by the brown bears to sleep. There are two indentions, one big one and one small one. Looks like it was used by a mother and her cub.

We also found lots of feces, large piles (mother bear) and smaller ones (cub). However, according to the national park staff, the newest one was already 3-4 days old and we didn’t find any fresh droppings. So most likely, the mother and cub has moved on to a new place already.

We scanned the core zone. Finally, we happened upon a Himalayan brown bear.

It was a very young bear!

It must have smelled us, so it stood up and started looking around for us.

It has become aware of our presence. As soon as it confirmed our presence, it put as much distance as it could from us.

It ran across the meadow until it disappeared. It is quite a young bear, so perhaps the mother was still nearby, or maybe it had just become newly independent. I pray that this little one can grow up safely.

A different, bear, this one a large one and totally engaged in eating the grass.

It was so absorbed in eating, that it hardly looked up at all. While eating, we moved closer and we gradually closed the distance. The wind direction was right, taking our smell away from the bear, and it was our chance.

We got lots of photographs.

The bear never realized we were there, and just kept eating. Surrounded by the alpine plants, I was able to enjoy the sights of a bear preying on insects in the grass, observing the natural behavior.

I have tried observing the brown bears several times before, but this time compared to in the past, we had a hard time finding them and had to walk long distances. The impact of the extreme weather on the Deosai Plateau and the effect it has on the brown bear was quite terrifying.

The Deosai Plateau, which is usually covered in lush greenery and alpine flowers, but this summer was so dry. The scene of so many tourist cars driving through the Plateau and the clouds of dust behind the vehicles made me fearful that one day, Deosai could turn into a desert.

 

Image & Text : Mariko SAWADA

Observation : JUL 2022, Deosai National park, Gilgit-Baltistan

Visit our web site “Wildlife of Pakistan

YouTube : Himalayan Brown Bear in Autumn

Category : ◆ Gilgit-Baltistan > - Himalayan Brown Bear > - Deosai National Park
Tag : , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,