Tag: India

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Architecture & Design Travel

This mythical bird statue in India is the world’s largest

jatayu the worlds largest bird sculpture

Jatayu Nature Park in Kerala, India, holds the largest bird sculpture on Earth, occupying about 15,000 sq feet and standing at the height of about 1200 feet above sea level. It is five times the size of the Pyramid of Giza.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons/The Ganesh Shivaswamy Foundation, Bengaluru

Opened in 2018 as a tourist destination, the 70-foot tall giant concrete figure pays tribute to the famed divine bird, Jatayu, from the Hindu epic Ramayan.

It was built over a decade by filmmaker and sculptor Rajiv Anchal, who wanted to make the mythology come alive.

According to the legend, this is the jungle hilltop where Jatayu once fell and injured his left wing at the location in an attempt to save Sita from the clutches of evil kidnapper Ravana.

The stone-cut eagle now serves as a tribute to nature’s splendor and a symbol for the protection of womankind. Visitors must use a passenger ropeway to reach the top.

View more of the sculpture in the videos and images below.

Jatayu
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/athulnair
Jatayu
Construction of Jatayu (2013) Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Kumar.kisalaya
Categories
Animals Nature

Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth

cosmic caterpillar

See the universe in the marvelous googly-eyed cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth (Eudocima phalonia), and you’ll never be the same.

Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth

While dazzling as the cosmos, the caterpillar is a serious pest in its moth stage, destroying ripe and riping fruit harvests across Hawaii, Australia, to West Bengal, India.

Here are some more pics of the cosmic caterpillar in its advanced larva stage and its appearance as an adult moth. It does an incredible leaf mimic.

Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth
Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth
Cosmic caterpillar of the Pacific fruit piercing moth
Categories
Animals Nature

The spectacular rainbow colored Nicobar pigeon

Nicobar pigeon

The Nicobar pigeon (Caloenas nicobarica) stands out from the crowd as the extinct Dodo’s closest living relative.

Found in the coastal regions of Andaman and Nicobar Islands southeast of the Indian continent to the Solomon Islands and Palau, the Nicobar pigeon fashions the most beautiful metallic green colored plumage.

With low repetitive calls, the Nicobar pigeon is also quieter than your standard urban pigeon. It is also one of the largest pigeon species, stretching 16 inches in length.

Unfortunately, the bird appears near extinction due to the demand for its gizzard stone used in jewelry. Gizzard stones help the bird break down hard foods like seeds and nuts. 

Nicobar pigeon
Nicobar pigeon
Nicobar pigeon
Categories
Animals Nature Photography

Attenborough’s fan-throated lizard

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Attenborough’s fan-throated lizard (Sitana attenboroughii) is a species of fan-throated lizards endemic to India, primarily found in the state of Tamil Nadu.

The males flaunt their colorful dewlaps — loose skin on their necks — to woo potential mates during mating season. They also flash the fan-structured throat to challenge a potential rival in a territory. Females, meanwhile, have smaller white colored dewlaps.

This superb lizard lives mostly on the ground in open ground patches and takes its name after natural historian, David Attenborough.