Ranthambhore National Park

                      Nestling in the Aravali hills, in the midst of the arid plains and denuded tracts of Rajasthan in North India, lies Ranthambhore. Ranthambhore National Park is hailed as one of India's finest wildlife sanctuaries. A hunting reserve for the Maharajas of Jaipur, the park was once open to only the select few.

But gone are the days of it being the destination of royal hunting parties, Ranthambhore is now strictly a home to India's wildlife. Nearly 400 sq kms, the Park is set between the Aravalli and Vindhya range, its forests once a part of the magnificent jungles of central India. Today, Ranthambhore is famous for its tigers and is often referred to as the best place to see these majestic predators of the wild.

Ranthambhore's unique climatic and vegetation features have given rise to forests that are dry and open with little and shunted ground cover. This makes wildlife viewing relatively easier on the safari. And three major lakes Rajbaugh, Milak talao and Padam talao serve as watering holes for the herbivorous and carnivorous creatures that inhabit this National Park.

Geographical Details:

Longitude: from 76-23-00 E to 76-39-00-E

Latitude: From 25-54-00 N to 26-12-00 N

Average rainfall: 800mm

Temperature: Min 4, Max 47 (deg.cel.)

Area Details:

Total area: 392.5 sq.km

Core area: 274.50 sq.km

Buffer area: 118.00 sq.km

Seasons and Climate:

Cold: October to march (good animal sightings, best time for bird watching)

Warm: April to June (excellent animal sighting)

Wet: July to September (national park is closed)

Ranthambhore National Park is the only place where all God's creatures struck about the stage in all their majesty. There are around 320 species of birds, both resident and migratory, over 40 species of mammals and over 35 species of reptiles. The major Mammals that are found in Ranthambhore National Park are Tiger, Leopard, Jungle Cat, Caracal, Spotted Deer/Chital, Nilgai, Sambar Deer, Wild Boar and Jackal.

And the major Birds that are found are Graylag Goose, Woodpeckers, Indian Gray Hornbills, Common Kingfishers, Bee Eaters, Cuckoos, Parakeets, Asian Palm Swift, Owl and Nightjars

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The History of Japanese Anime

                                  In 1854, with the opening of Japan to foreign trade, the technologies developed in the West were introduced to and quickly adopted by many in Japan. That ushers in the era of Japanese animation in 1914 with the earliest anime being first screened in 1917 with a two minute clip of a folk tale and comedy about a samurai warrior.

By the 1930s, the anime industry has gained a significant amount of interest in Japan. Unfortunately, the local Japanese animators had to deal with a lot of competition, both from foreign and local animators. As a result, Japanese animators were forced to work cheaply and therefore, they opted for the animation technique called cutout animation, instead of the more expensive cel animation. However, with cutout animation, Japanese animators such as Yasuji Murata were still able to create wonders. Later on, animators such as Masaoka and Mitsuyo Seo improved the Japanese animation industry, among others, by using cel animation and by introducing sound.

In 1933, Masaoka has produced the first talkie anime called "Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka". This was succeeded in 1945 by Seo's direction of "Momotaro's Devine Sea Warriors", which was the first anime film with feature length. The achievement of these Japanese animators was even more commendable because it was difficult to survive commercially. They also had to rely heavily on the support of government, which entails an obligation to include educational and militaristic propaganda. Besides, Japanese animation was greatly influenced by the success of the 1937 feature film by the Walt Disney Company, called "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs". For instance, Osamu Tezuka started to mimic American style cartoons to reduce costs and limit the number of frames in production and with that created the popular graphic novel known as "Shintakarajima" in 1947.

In the 1970s, the Japanese film market shrunk due to the increased competition from television which eventually led to the bankruptcy of Mushi Productions. However, the work of Osamu Tezuka was able to survive this competition. In fact, his work was so impressive that he was often credited as the "god of manga". His distinctive "large eyes" style in animation still remains as one of the fundamental elements of anime today. During this difficult era, a genre known as Mecha has also been introduced whose animation films include "Mazinger Z" (1972-74), "Science Ninja Team Gatchaman" (1972-74), "Space Battleship Yamato" (1974-75) and "Mobile Suit Gundam" (1979-80).

Other notable milestones for the Japanese animation industry include the release of "Akira" in the 1980s that has found huge success in both the Japanese and foreign market, and the boom in production in the 1990s due to the release of "Ghost in the Shell". Furthermore, in 2008, Doraemon has been officially appointed as the first Anime Ambassador by Japanese government in order to promote anime worldwide. All these led to the success of the animation industry of Japan that we know today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5015677