Syed Rizwan Mehboob

There is a jungle in Northern R'Pindi hills,on the banks of Jhelum River where colourful 🦚 peacocks roost atop towering Pines & announce advent of dawn(alike Corbett's Jungle Lore) Getting there is tough as you must walk tough miles over boulders along the raging, foamy river

Meet my friend from oldest living Indus Valley community in Pakistan -Gidrya of Cholistan (Scion of Hakra civilization 3300 BCE) First met him as DC BahawalNagar & friend ever since;they catch jackal & porcupines for special events with millennia old gadgets Last of Mohicans

This forest compartment is special 💕 for me I planted it in 1994 - my last assignment as Forest Officer before joining Civil Service Later as Secretary Forest Punjab (2010),restocked it as Shisham trees had died due to Die Back Disease I visit it each Monsoon; Isn't it 😍?

They jump like Springbok & cruise like Impala A group of Cholistan desert Chinkara display 3 peculiar characteristics of species - When alarmed, they jump upward to see the danger - cruise zigzag & then stop & look back (last habit is a weakness exploited by cruel hunters)

Relish the graceful, imperious flight by one of the world's heaviest (and rarest) land birds - GIB - in the vastness of Pakistan's Cholistan desert Like elegant cover drives by Brian Lara or Sangakara, GIB seems to have all the time in world to complete it's fluid glide

I saw my first cloud burst-driven flash flood devastation as Forest Officer Murree(1992) Spent 2 years massively planting both nullahs with trees/shrubs - since then,despite many flash floods, no major damage Trees/shrubs best to delay flash floods by few minutes & save lives

Not all hunts in the Cholistan desert are a success - a Desert Fox and a Jungle Cat abort their carefully planned stalks of Chinkara & Partridges, like کھسیا نی بلی کھمبا نوچے It's tough - real tough out there in the wild

Rare video from Cholistan desert showing mating foreplay among critically endangered Great Indian Bustards - also rare sound male GIB makes before mating (5 & 24 second) Dance, calls,unison & parting of lovers❤️ (Apologies for my shaking hands,as I was hid in a thorny bush🙏)

A new record in rare wildlife sightings from Pakistan I clicked 6 critically endangered Great Indian Bustards(GIB) in the Cholistan desert today ❤️ Amazing conservation effort by Punjab Wildlife Dept - I am in tears 🙏 having seen 10% of global GIB population today @WWFPak

Beautiful, serene desert ecosystem deep inside Cholistan with a herd of playful Chinkara Gazelle. Mark the alpha male - always, restive, alert and ready to take flight

40 yrs ago today, after Margalla roaming, I (then a college student) had to take refuge from heavy rain in a F/6 banglow,not realizing,it was Sadequain Art Gallery Met Sadequain sb & read him his own رباعی ان نرگسی آنکھوں کی چمک تو د یکھو Ustaad liked it & did me this sketch

Ever heard about "Ice Stupas"? It's a truly fascinating lore that I have learnt from my WWF colleagues in Baltistan - you freeze snow/water 🌨️ in winter for use in early summer (dry)months Loving my journey from paper pushing Babu (DMG/PAS) to Glacier ice ❄️ Stupa man @WWFPak

Chinji Scrub Forest,Chakwal is a treasure trove of fossils & pre historic relics from Miocene era As DC Chakwal(2008) & as Forester (1994),I fell in love with century old Chinji hut;managed to preserve it's visitor book with entries of Ivy league/Oxford paleontologists frm 60s

My favourite view of 12700 ft Makra peak from Paya meadow - many times, I ascended this peak to reach the other side in Machiara NP (home of black 🐻🐨) So lie on ground - breath deep & slowly open your eyes - all you see is azure blue sky & albatross white snow -No wordly woes

I learned the meaning of a satisfying, fulfilling,contented life from Chacha - a nursery man from near Islamabad Spent a lifetime,doing magic 🪄 with earth,water & baby plants - he tickles the earth which smiles in colourful 🌺🌹 Life close to nature is both tough & loveable

A dream office with most scenic view - makeshift,northern most post office in Machiara village of Neelam valley, AJK Whenever I visit Machiara for bear photography, a visit here for gupshup with my friend/Postmaster Rana over Kashmiri Qehva & Lobia is pure gold

One of the days which make life worth living/loving for me Began early morning by bathing the Jambo; made elephant feed ; fed him & one parting hug 🐘 Nothing more therapeutic like volunteering for wildlife - spend some time in a nearby zoo or WL sanctuary & you would love it

Exact 13 years ago this day, when I was DC Lahore, I submitted my resignation from civil service(13 yrs before retiring age) to follow my dream of working in jungles with wildlife Not a single time since then, have I regretted this decision No joy like listening to 💜 calling

Cherry 🍒 picking dispute with Bhaloo🐻 While eating crimson red berries in a Kaghan Jungle, I was alarmed by a noisy Barbet ,announcing proximity of wild animal It was good that I left the berry shrub as on retracing steps,found fresh pug marks of black bear(🐨 also 💕 🍒)

A near miss! While collecting poop sample of Brown Bear at Deosai,a mammoth bear appeared from nowhere Luckily, wind blew towards me so he could not smell me as I laid on freezing ground- was perilously close before parting Had wind changed direction,you wd've missed this post