Capturing the MAGIC! Candid cameras and elusive species

The mysterious ways of the difficult-to-spot wild species is a subject of great interest and wonder. The hard work of the field researchers and the amazing advancement in camera trapping, has brought a slice of that world into our lives.

- RANJANA PAL 

It is a rare, clear January day in the cold desert of the Western Himalayas. I am positioned at an elevation of 5,000 m. in the Gangotri National Park, Uttarakhand, India, as the sun shines cheerily over valleys and peaks covered in snow. The valley seems to be taking a break from the blizzards, calmly breathing in the warm air. A pika (Ochotona roylei), residing in a rock pile next to me, is active since morning and is diligently digging the snow for remnants of summer grasses. Suddenly, I notice something fluffy and white enter my field of view. Following him, a few more climb the slope, sending the pika scurrying into its shelter. As they come closer, I realize that it's not the usual pack of dogs from the army camps but a woolly wolf (Canis lupus chanco) pack, sniffing every exposed rock, probably following the tracks of the bharal (Pseudois nayaur) that passed by earlier. My shutter sound attracts the attention of one of the members of the pack. Cautiously it approaches. And in the next few seconds, I am surrounded by the whole family, inspecting me from all sides. Soon they lose interest and leave one by one. The rest of the day turns out to be quite uneventful, other than the usual. visitors: Tibetan snowcocks (Tetraogallus tibetanus), choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax), and my neighbour, the pika.

This was just one of the many stories I witnessed at about 150 camera trap sites in the secluded valleys of the Upper Bhagirathi basin, located in the Western Himalayas.