We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting to launch Felis Creations’ own online nature and wildlife channel for a while, but there was always a good excuse to not launch it… no time, not enough content, yadayadayada… But now with 2010 having rolled in, we figured there’s no point in simply waiting. So here it is – FelisTV.

A good bit of content has been added here already – everything from educational videos produced for the Gorgas Science Foundation’s outreach program to clips of Indian wildlife and excerpts from the latest documentary programs we’ve been busy working on. Every month we are going to attempt to upload a new video related to nature – some may be a bit boring…. but educational and some fun but pointless. We appreciate your patronage, comments and feedback and look forward to actively uploading videos that will help inspire people to conserve the beautiful and wondrous natural world around us, thereby living up to the company’s motto – We Create to Conserve!

In the latest video, we’ve put together a showreel of sorts combining footage from the latest films and travel. Showreel edited by Chinmay Rane.

It’s the weekend coming up and I’m sure everyone has one thing on their mind – to Get Away… Away from the hustle and bustle of traffic and the maze of bureaucracy and hypocrisy… and go far enough away to not have to deal with any of it… well, at least for the weekend.

Enter – The All New Mahindra Scorpio Getaway, the perfect vehicle to get you out there… away from it ALL (actually it’s not really new – it was released on Indian roads about a year ago) but anyhow…  I knew after having worked in the field for many years, this was the vehicle that would have to be a substitute for my dream vehicle – The Toyota Hi-Lux 4WD.

This is Mahindra’s answer to the Toyota Hi-lux. It’s got all the bells and whistles, but more importantly it’s inside engine capability and it’s outside appearance and performance fall only a tad short of the Hi-lux. In attention to small detail and user usability the Hi-lux of course maintains higher ground and I wish Mahindra would pay more attention to the little things, rather than focus on thoughtless improvements like the irritating audio system, which reminds you every time you switch off and on the vehicle, “please wear your seat belt for a safe drive” Took me forever to figure out how to shut that off, because in the field you are always starting and stopping, and it’s not the nicest thing to be hearing when you are in the midst of an otherwise quiet jungle.

All that apart, the combination of a comfortable SUV with a Pick-up bed has been a requirement in India for quite some time. To me as a wildlife Filmmaker who carries way more gear than required at most times, the Getaway is fantastic. All the important Camera Gear fits nicely in the back-seat of the Cabin, and all the rest of the equipment, tripod, luggage, etc. gets loaded into the bed at the back. I do wish I could get a roof-rack installed, then, I’d be able to lug around even more equipment, and keep the bed space free to transport people. I’ve probably fit in over 15 people in the back – and in remote places where public transport is hard to come by, giving people a lift from one place to the other, is a great way to build friendship.

Watch the video to see all the cool places the Getaway has taken me to!

Tech Specs:

Engine: SZ CRDe, 4 Stroke, Turbo-charged DI Engine

Fuel Tank: 80 Ltrs ( which is fantastic for long-haul journeys – gives about 10-11 kmpl)

Suspension: Front – Double Wish-bone with Torsion Bar Rear – Semi-elliptical Leaf Spring with double acting hydraulic shock absorber and stab bar.

Tyres: P 245 / 75 R16, RADIAL Tubeless

All said and done, the vehicle offers good power and comfort to drive on the highway, and is equally at home on mud roads along a jungle safari track. The open bed in the back is great to load tons of gear, people, or construction material and with the leaf spring suspension in the back, can actually handle a big load. The vehicle comes in 4 different colours – Mist Silver, Rocky Biege, Turf Green, and Fiery Black – for the jungles, I would most certainly go with the Rocky Beige. For more information, please do visit the Mahindra website. Couple of other reviews online that I looked at before going for it.

Whoever named the Getaway must’ve been a Lenny Kravitz fan and probably drew some inspiration from the song – Fly away

I wish that I could fly,
into the sky, so very high.
Just like a drangonfly.
I’d fly above the trees,
over the seas, in all degrees.
To anywhere I please.
Oh,

I want to get away.
I wanna fly away. (yeah, yeah, yeah)
I want to get away.

I would work up a full report, on the vehicle, but for now, this will have to suffice… More about it later.

The video was edited by Chinmay Rane, who is the newest member on board the Felis team. Well done Chinmay!

Marketing hasn’t been our strongest forte, but we do finally have the coffee-table book about India’s Western Ghats available for purchase from Amazon. If you know anyone who may be interested in purchasing a copy please do forward this link on to them and if you do buy a book from the store, please do fill up the customer reviews to help give the book a ranking of sorts.

Cover image of book

Gorgas Science Foundation has set up a storefront on Amazon and the books/DVD are available for purchase directly from GSF or from Amazon. Soon more items will become available on this store-front, so please do bookmark for future reference.

Many thanks for your support!

Sandesh

For those of you in the United States, check out NG channel this Saturday at 7PM and watch King Cobras from the comfort and safety of your television screens! We spent nearly a year documenting the natural history and behavior of King Cobras in the wild at Agumbe. Our base camp – Agumbe Rainforest Research Station. Here, Romulus Whitaker and Gowrishankar along with Matt Goode and a team of volunteers are at the forefront of King Cobra research in an effort to help conserve this incredible species. Watch this documentary to find out more about the on-going research work and learn about King Cobras in the wild!

Brief Synopsis: He is the king of serpents: Unblinking, hypnotic, deadly, and hungry for his own kind. The king cobra, the largest venomous snake in the world, is powerful enough to kill a full-grown elephant… and yet we know almost nothing about it. Fortunately, that’s about to change.

Watch the trailer:

The SECRET LIFE of the KING is an unprecedented journey into the natural history of the wild King Cobra following them into their world revealing what they do, where they go, and who they interact with, when we are not around. And surprisingly, the people of India are very much a part of the story. Early evidence suggests that kings might be more intertwined with humans than previously thought, making this project more important than ever. Its a close and personal look into the secret life of the King and the best chance we have of ensuring the survival of this legendary snake.

I can’t believe that it’s already been two months since I left India. I haven’t made any blog updates and hardly any FB updates either! This doesn’t mean I haven’t been doing anything, it just means that too much is going on that I wouldn’t even know where to start…

The highlight of my visit back to the US so far has been the visit to Boston and DC and screening of The Mountains of the Monsoon at the Baird auditorium in the Smithsonian Museum – The premiere Natural History Museum in the United States. I don’t know if you’ve watched the second part of Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller – I haven’t, but I’m going to go watch it tonight!

Kamal Bawa – Distinguished Professor from the University of Massachusetts and Founder of ATREE – Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, spoke about biodiversity hotspots and in particular about the Western Ghats and the need for conservation across this critical landscape.

Professor Bawa’s talk was then followed by Cristina Mittermeier, Founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers who spoke about the importance of using images to help further conservation. The ILCP is at the front line of spreading conservation through education in particular through the use of imagery.  Watch the video – ILCP

Cristina Mittermeier - Founder of the International League of Conservation Photographers

And after that, the last and least accomplished – myself, did a quick behind the scenes introduction into the making of the documentary which included bits and pieces of everything from bloody leeches to elephants up-close.  This was followed by the screening of the BBC/Animal Planet documentary – The Mountains of the Monsoon. The auditorium had a lovely new projector so even though we played through a DVD, the image looked almost HD, just because the projection was so good. Anyhow, all in all the event turned out quite well and I’d like to thank all who were there, ATREE, ILCP, the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and in particular to Debbie Rothberg who helped pull it all together at such short notice!

British Library, Bangalore

Invites you to the screening of two films by Sandesh Kadur

BBC Natural World: Mountains of the Monsoon 22 June 2009, Monday 6:30 PM

Although less than 10% of the Western Ghats remain untouched, these mountains are one of the most biologically diverse places left on the planet. Their unique beauty and mystery are embodied for Sandesh in a chance sighting he had 10 years ago with a strange, all-grey feline unlike anything he had ever seen before – but known by the local tribal people as the pogeyan.  Whether or not this enigmatic cat-in-the-ghat really is a new species, the pogeyan has become for Sandesh a talisman – offering some hope for the future in nature’s ability to survive the unprecedented pressures which 21st century India is subjecting its last wild places to.  This is the story of Sandesh Kadur’s journey through one of India’s last wildernesses and his quest to document and show why preserving such wild places matters to modern India.

http://felis.in/mom/Site/Welcome.html

National Geographic: Secrets of the King Cobra  23 June 2009, Tuesday 6:30 PM

Secrets of the King Cobra is an unprecedented journey into the natural history of the wild King Cobra, following them into their world-revealing what they do, where they go, and who they interact with-when we are not around. And surprisingly, the people of India are very much a part of the story. Early evidence suggests that kings might be more intertwined with humans than previously thought, making this project more important than ever. It is a close and personal look into the secret life of the King-and the best chance we have of ensuring the survival of this legendary snake.

Film Screenings will be followed by an interaction with

Sandesh Kadur and

Gowrishankar, Conservation Officer, Agumbe Rainforest Research Station *(Tuesday)

At: British Library, 23, Kasturba Road Cross, Bangalore 560 001

Ph: 22489220

*Seating is limited*

Here’s a quick video compressing six weeks and six thousand kilometers of mountainous terrain into two minutes!

If you have a fast internet connection watch it on HD!

Cheers,
Sandesh