Benefits of group travel team building

By Bruce Rickert 

The success of your business depends on more than just the skills and abilities of each individual team member — your employees need to learn how to function as a cohesive whole. That doesn’t happen by accident. It takes team building.

The best way to build stronger connections between team members is to get them out of the everyday office environment. When employees meet together outside of the day-to-day routines and predictable patterns of the workplace setting, they form stronger bonds and develop a better understanding of each other’s strengths and abilities.

That’s where group incentive travel comes in, providing you with an invaluable tool to help improve the performance of your business.

To better understand and appreciate the value of off-site excursions for your workforce, here are the top 10 benefits of team-building corporate meetings and group travel excursions:

1. Teaches time management. Group travel offers you a great opportunity to impart collective time-management tricks, tips and techniques.
2. Encourages leadership. Given the opportunity, you may be surprised to find out which members of your team step up to the plate in a group travel incentive setting.
3. Builds morale. Creating opportunities for your team to let off some steam together recharges your team’s morale and boosts productivity.
4. Improves relationships. The team that learns how to play together, stays together!
5. Provides motivation. Group travel incentives and team-building activities can provide a much-needed break from routine.
6. Increases efficiency. Team-building events are an excellent opportunity for your employees to take a step back and identify ways to improve or enhance your business processes.
7. Generates new ideas. You might be surprised at the innovations and improvements that result from all that collaborative brainpower unleashed in a more relaxed environment.
8. Builds trust. Getting to know the people you work with is essential to building a strong sense of trust and understanding.
9. Improves performance. Your workforce is a complex machine with lots of independently moving parts. Regular calibration is needed to improve and maintain that machine’s performance.
10. Encourages teamwork. Group travel team-building activities strengthen your organization by teaching staff members to work together toward common company goals.

Source:http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2012/11/12/benefits-group-travel-team-building/

Wild India | Sambar attacking wild dogs

I have been visiting many national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and other protected areas of Wild India and have documented many rare natural history moments involving predators. However, the scene that unfolded before my eyes of prey attacking its predators is one of the finest moments that Wild India can dish out for its humble students.

Except for a brief sighting of elephants who immediately ran away when our jeep started climbing the hill, it was an uneventful afternoon in Bandipur Tiger Reserve with no sighting of the other mega fauna like tiger, leopards and gaur. There were sightings – of a few cheetals browsing, a hoopoe using its long beak to dig up juicy morsels from the ground, and that of a crested serpent eagle perched on a branch virtually motionless, except for slight head turns to scan its surroundings -  which will dishearten the normal tourist. Except for a few questions that I answered of a school kid, whom I had allowed to come in my jeep due to the request of the hotel manager, I was silent trying to hear the sounds of the jungle.

We planned to check kavare katte – a large water body – and then exit the forest. From a distance we could see a few sambar’s in the water. When we moved in closer, the enormity of the situation quickly unfolded. It was one of the finest natural history moments that one can dream of experiencing in Wild India.

A pack of dholes (Cuon alpinus) or wild dogs* as they are often referred to by people, were on the hunt and to escape them the Sambars (Cervus unicolor) had entered the water. I could sight one fawn in the group

Wild India | Dholes or Wild dogs attacking sambar in water. These two sambar are in the frontline stamping their feet in water.

The Sambar being tall were standing in more than knee deep water. The wild dogs or doles (Cuon alpinus) were around 12-15 in number and were part of the 28 pack group. Wisely the wild dogs were not entering the water, as in doing so they need to swim where as the sambar just need to stand and can conserve their energy.

The wild dogs (Cuon alpinus) were running from one end to the other to seemingly disorient and divide the herd of sambars. This group of sambars were an all hind group with one fawn. There were two Sambar’s standing side by side with about a feet and half distance between them in shallow waters and others of the group were a few meters behind in deeper water. These two Sambars were stamping their feet in water in unison and the water was splashing about three feet above their heads. They appeared like frontline soldiers in this battle.

Wild India | A Sambar deer Cervus unicolor comes out of the water hole and tries to chase away the dholes in Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The dholes have chased the Sambar and the Sambar have taken refuge in the water hole. Dholes being smaller than Sambar, need to swim in water and will tire faster. One Sambar from the herd decides to counter attack the dholes.

Suddenly the Sambar on the left – first two a couple of steps towards the wild dogs stamping its feet in the process to intimidate the dholes (Cuon alpinus). The Sambar’s tail was cocked up, as one expects to see it when the sambar is alarmed or when two stags duel with each other. The ruff of hair around its neck were standing straight up as if carefully combed to remain erect like the feathers on the roman emperor’s helmet. Its body partially wet due to the water splashing on it was still up, perhaps as a sign of danger. Its ears were straight and wide and angled ahead. Its neck was lowered a bit and stretched ahead with its ears in line with its body. The Sambar then increased its speed and moved into a trot and reached near a wild dog (Cuon alpinus) and started watching it. The wild dog (Cuon alpinus) like an opportunist, moved a couple of steps ahead as if it will launch itself on the sambar’s head and catch hold of either ear, eye or nose. The Sambar was now standing very straight and showed its full height and its neck was angled lower and ahead towards the wild dog. The wild dog sensed that the Sambar will charge and immediately jumped to its left and ran away. The sambar stopped in its tracks and then turned its head towards its left as by this time two more wild dogs had appeared in the scene hoping to attack the Sambar. The Sambar then lunged forward at the dhole on its left. The head of the Sambar was angled down and its hind legs were in the air as if it wanted to crush the dhole by pinning it to the ground. The dhole started running for dear life where as the other wild dog (Cuon alpinus) was watching the scene carefully, suggesting they are expert players in this game.

Wild India | Attacking the attackers

The wild dogs were careful in avoiding the assault as a frontal head butt can cause serious fracture as well as a kick by the hind legs can rip the wild dog apart. The Sambar on its part only charged for a short distance and then moved back into the water. This went on for sometime. Interestingly this Sambar had a sore patch on its neck.

A Sambar (Cervus unicolor) counter-attacking dholes (Cuon alpinus) in Bandipur Tiger Reserve

All this while, the mother Sambar was standing infront of the fawn to shield it. The mother was in knee deep water and the fawn’s complete legs were within the water. At this moment the mother and fawn had got separated a bit from the group while the Sambar which was charging at the wild dogs was on their left.

Sambar (Cervus unicolor) mother and fawn vs wild dog (Cuon alpinus) in Bandipur Tiger Reserve, India

During this moment sensing an opportunity a wild dog (Cuon alpinus) moved in towards the mother and fawn. Immediately, the mother started striking the water with its foreleg in the characteristic fashion when they are alarmed. The sambar ws stamping its foot so hard, perhaps due to its nervousness that the water splashing high up.  The wild dog stopped in its tracks and looked at its left towards the other dholes. The mother Sambar which had taken two steps ahead, took a break from foot stamping and turned its head to its right towards its fawn, to lick and reassure the baby. It was a very poignant moment.

Sambar mother reassuring the fawn when the attacking dhole is momentarily distracted

One of the two sentinel Sambars now appeared on the scene and started engaging the wild dogs who were six strong at that spot and could easily attack the Sambar from the flanks. The mother was now standing side wise to completely hide the fawn from the wild dogs.

Sambar mother hiding its fawn while another Sambar counter-attacking the dholes in Bandipur Tiger Reserve

Suddenly the mother as well as the other Sambar together launched an attack at the wild dogs and then turned back and came into the water again. To me they looked like two big horses being chased back. While running into the water they moved a couple of steps beyond the fawn completely exposing it. Fortunately, before the wild dogs could attack, the fawn jumped and ran to meet its mother.

Sambars counter-attacking the dholes as the fawn looks on

After this one attack the mother didn’t participate in attacks any more. The number of wild dogs at that spot were now eight and the other Sambar was now launching vicious attacks on the wild dogs. It even tried to strike at the wild dogs with its front right foreleg. I had never seen the use of foreleg before by a herbivore in defending or attacking. However, A. A. Dunbar Barander has seen this behavior before with his tame dogs. He writes “A herd of five hinds once rounded on a pack of large useful dogs of mine, and knocking the dogs over right and left drove them right up to my feet, taking all further desire to molest sambar hinds out of their composition for their time being.”

Sambar counter-attacking the dholes using its foreleg in Bandipur Tiger Reserve

Two more Sambars of the herd came from the other part of the lake to save them as the wild dog pack were now convering on this point and their number had increased to ten. The sun had already set and it was increasingly becoming dark and my camera shutter speed was becoming extremely low despite using high ISOs and a 400mm f2.8 lens. The wild dogs appeared dispirited and some of them started lying down to take rest. Since the Indian wild dogs or dholes don’t normally hunt in the night, they abandoned the hunt. The Sambar’s also understood that the wild dogs have abandoned the attack and then started leaving the water from the other side. However, the mother and fawn remained in the shallow waters. It was time for us to leave the forest.

In the night, I was thinking whether the wild dogs will break their habit of not hunting in the dark and come back and attack the fawn? Next day morning, I returned to the same area and saw the wild dogs were frolicking with each other at a place which was hardly a few minutes from the waterbody. And when I reached the waterbody, I found the mother and fawn still standing in water. The sun was shining on them and then infront of me they slowly moved out of the water and into the forest.

This raised many questions in my mind. Did the Sambar’s communicate with each other before leaving? Did the other sambar’s urge the mother to leave with them but it was so frightened and benumbed by the attack that it didn’t move out of water? Unlike elephants who use their trunks to touch each other during moments of stress, the other sambar’s didn’t do any such thing. Perhaps their verbal communication was not audible to my ears which has become accustomed to high decibles in the urban jungles? Perhaps the sambar’s felt that since the danger was over it was right for them to move out of water and retire for the night.

Dunbar Brander in his book “Wild Animals in Central India” relates a scene where a Sambar was attacked in the pool by tame dogs and its faculties were benumbed. Dunbar Brander writes “In a small peafowl beat at Kolkas in the Melghat, two fox terriers ran a full-grown doe sambar into a deep pool, swam out, and mounting its back, which was flush with the water, crawled along and attacked its head. The deer was defenceless. In order to save it, two Korkus and myself waded out and dispersed the dogs. The sambar allowed us to handle it, and with infinite care we coaxed it ashore, where it continued to stand between us, and one of the Korkus actually started to rub it down. It was in no way hurt. It is only fair to add that it had a fawn on the hillside close by. I do not ascribe its behavior however to maternal solicitude, but to the fact that its faculties were benumbed by the terror inspired by the dogs, and that it preferred our, or any company, to theirs. We had considerable difficulty in getting it to move away to the forest. It is also necessary to state however that sambar do not always behave in this way…”

Clearly, the mother sambar was terribly frightened and didn’t want to move out of water, even though other members of the herd moved away from the water.

In the jungle for every species self preservation comes first. When there is danger, the herd comes to help and once the spectre of death is removed, they immediately pick up their lives and go back to their routines. Even if that meant leaving a shell shocked mother with its child in the water.

* Local Names of Wild Dogs (Cuon alpinus):

Oriya: Balia kukura

Bengali: Bono kukur

Hindi: Jangli Kutta, ban kutta, ram kutta

Marathi: Kolsa

Kannada: kadu nayi

Malaylam & Tamil: Chennayi

Source:http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/wild-india-sambar-attacking-wild-dogs/

Wild Elephant Attack in Bandipur National Park, India

I have been charged at by wild elephants in bandipur many times out of which many times it was a mock charge and in a few cases it was a determined charge. I am now going to relate on hair raising instance. All the images are full frame to give an idea about how close the wild elephant was.

Wild India | Elephant rubbing itself on a tree before charging in Bandipur

We were roaming around in Bandipur National Park, when we sighted a wild elephant and we stopped our vehicle. I was in the front seat besides the driver. The wild elephant was trying to rub itself on a tree. I picked up my 300mm f4 L IS USM lens to get a close up of the elephant.

Wild India | Elephant attack in Bandipur Tiger Reserve

Suddenly, without any warning sign the wild elephant charged at the vehicle and just stopped a few feet infront of us raising a cloud of dust. The angry scream made by the elephant sent shivers down the spine of a few tourists who were at the back of our vehicle. There was a foreigner and she told me that “if I were alone then I would have had a heart attack.”

Wild India | An angry wild elephant charges in Bandipur tiger reserve, India

When I clicked this shot, I was slightly out of the seat to get a clear view and was clicking calmly. The tourists had closed their eyes. Rightly so. If they would have seen such closeups, then I am sure one of them would have fainted.

Wild India | An angry Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus) charges

Wild Elephant Displacement activity:
This wild asiatic elephant after charging at us several times, moved back and resorted to throwing mud on itself. This behaviour also happens when they are stressed. After a mock charge, the wild elephant turns back and either breaks a branch, or throws leaves and mud on itself or feeds at a rapid pace.

Wild India | Elephant breaking a branch after a charge. A typical display of displacement behaviour

In this case exactly the same thing happened. The wild elephant turned back and broke a few branches and started throwing mud.

In a characteristic displacement activity, this wild elephant throws mud after a charge

In Bandipur, the wild elephants have generally become aggressive as they are often disturbed by people. The other day I saw the herd of wild elephants about to cross the bandipur-mudumalai road. However, they were prevented from crossing by honking trucks, busses, cars and jeeps. The elephants changed direction but were again blocked by people. The elephants then turned back and went away. These things keep on happening, so the wild elephants are becoming aggressive. I am also sure, outside the reserve, they would be scared away by people using firecrackers if not shotgun pellets.

Each wild elephant is different in its behaviour due to the experiences it has undergone and the learning’s it has imbibed from its mother and immediate family. It is very similar to the our concept of the child ego state in humans where by whatever a child has seen during his/her growing up stage gets imprinted in the child ego state and it acts on the basis of it. A small example of this is the way people clear their throat, other mannerism, they way the cook, make their bed etc. These are clearly imprinted in their child ego state and they take it for granted those actions as the valid and the only way of doing things. An example of this could clearly be seen in Africa where a group of adolescent elephants were seen to kill rhinos. It was later found out that adult elephants in their group were “culled” a so called scientific word for killing to maintain population at a particular level. Clearly those wild african elephants were devastated and took to showing unrestrained anger and killing rhinos.

Similarly an elephant which would have seen during its growing up stage or come to know that another elephant has got hit by a vehicle on the road, it associates all vehicles with danger and shows either fear or animosity towards vehicles. Elephants that have migrated from conflict areas in Wild India where tea planters or farmers shower them with pellets from illegal weapons, throw various crude country bombs etc show their animosity towards humans. I have seen the wild elephants in Satyamangalam to be very angry at humans and charge without provocation. In one instance in Satyamangalam, I was driving my Tata Safari 4×4 and members of our group were photographing elephants. One elephant from the group charged however, it couldn’t complete its charge as there was a man made ditch. We were just three feet away from its extended trunk. I had my 400mm f2.8 L IS USM lens attached to my camera and the minimum focusing distance of this lens is 10 feet. There was no way I could focus, even if I had wanted to take a click of probably its skin texture. 

A few things can be done to improve the state of affairs in Wild India.

In the first instance in BR Hills where the elephant coming down from the hills was forced to charge at the vehicle as it was close. Most of the times, in the ghat roads, to stop vehicles from falling over, walls about one feet height are created. This completely stops the wild elephants from climbing up or getting down. As such elephants carefully choose their path to ascent and descent steep slopes in wild india so as to balance their huge bulk and avoid toppling over. These side walls in the winding ghat roads makes their life difficult. So at times when the elephant is coming towards us, it is also trying to find a way out where it can get down from the road. If you come across elephants with calves while moving in wild india, then it is better to back off, as the calves find it very difficult to negotiate the height of the side walls. This will lead to the wild elephant making a charge.

Avoid regular thoroughfare roads plying through the forest. If alternate alignments can be created, then the wild elephants can cross the roads without getting hit by vehicles. Also the disturbance will be less in the elephant habitats in India. Apart from elephants, other wildlife will also benefit if alternate alignments of roads are created.

I was told by a jungle lodges driver that there are some popular photographers, who try to irritate wild elephants to elicit a mock charge so that they can get a good photo. Just to give an example of how powerful these elephants are, Ian Douglas Hamilton has written in his book that once a wild elephant in Manyara National Park in Africa attacked and plunged its tusks through his landrover. The sheet metal gave way like a big needle piercing a paper bag. Fortunately, he had a guard who fired in the air to somehow ward off the wild elephant. In India, our female elephants don’t have tusks like male elephants, however, their power is phenomenal. Let us not invite the wrath of Lord Ganesha! If you are not knowledgeable about elephant behaviour and have planned for a vacation in one of the many sanctuaries in wild india, then you ought to be careful and have a knowledgeable guide along with you all the time.

Source:http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/wild-india-elephant-attacks/

BR Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, Karnataka

B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is situated at a height of 5,091 feet in the Kemmannagundi district of Karnataka. B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is a unique blend of resort and wildlife sanctuary. The B R Hills Wildlife sanctuary is spread over an area of 540 square kms of undulating hills and valleys covered in deciduous forests and Sholas. The B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary forms an important link between the Eastern and Western Ghats. The river Cauvery flows in the south east and at Kollegal takes an abrupt turn towards the North and again returns to its initial course. The Biligiri Rangaswamy and Male Mahadeshwar
ranges also bridges the gap between the Western and Eastern Ghats.

Wildlife Attractions in the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary 
The B R Hills Wildlife sanctuary is a home to various species of wild animals. The main wildlife attractions in the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary are Gaur, Chital, Sambhar, bear, elephant, panther and tiger. Over 200 species of birds, including the racket-tailed drongo and the crested eagle can also be seen in this sanctuary.
Besides visiting the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, the tourists can visit the Biligiriangaswamy Temple, enjoy the angling, amateur fishing, coracle boat rides, bird watching, river rafting, trekking and outdoor camping.
Jungle Safari in the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary 
You can visit the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary either on foot or have jeep safari or elephant rides.
Best time to visit B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary 
The B R Hills Wildlife sanctuary is open throughout the year. But, the best time to visit B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is from September to May.
Wildlife Attractions in the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary 
The B R Hills Wildlife sanctuary is a home to various species of wild animals. The main wildlife attractions in the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary are Gaur, Chital, Sambhar, bear, elephant, panther and tiger. Over 200 species of birds, including the racket-tailed drongo and the crested eagle can also be seen in this sanctuary.
Besides visiting the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary, the tourists can visit the Biligiriangaswamy Temple, enjoy the angling, amateur fishing, coracle boat rides, bird watching, river rafting, trekking and outdoor camping.
Jungle Safari in the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary 
You can visit the B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary either on foot or have jeep safari or elephant rides.
Best time to visit B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary 
The B R Hills Wildlife sanctuary is open throughout the year. But, the best time to visit B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is from September to May.

How to reach B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary
By Air: 
The nearest airport is located at Bangalore.
By Rail: 
The nearest railway station is located at Bangalore.
By Road: 
The B R Hills Wildlife Sanctuary is easily accessible by road being 254 km from Bangalore, 90 km from Mysore and 245 km from Ooty via Mysore.


Source:http://www.indiawildlifesafari.net/BR_Hills_WildlifeSanctuary.html

3 Signs You Desperately Need A Break From Work

Do you sometimes feel overworked? Maybe you're taking on more than you can handle, or perhaps your boss is expecting too much. Whatever the culprit, it's imperative that you take a break before your stamina and speed plummet.
The problem is, however, most people don't realize how badly they need a break until it's too late.
"When you work double-digit hours and Sundays are no longer a day of rest, feeling overworked can become the new normal," says Inc. columnist Jeff Haden in a recent LinkedIn post. "You'll eventually hit a wall, and when that happens it can take days and even weeks to recover the enthusiasm, creativity, and motivation you've lost."
Haden asked professional mountain biker Jeremiah Bishop for some simple signs that you're nearing burn out. Here are three that tell you it's time to take a break:

An increase in your resting heart rate. Bishop suggests you take your pulse every day before getting out of bed. There are plenty of free apps that will measure your heart rate and keep a log of the results.
He says your heart rate will stay within a range of a few beats per minute most of the time. But when you're overworked and stressed, "your system will send more oxygen to your body and brain by increasing your heart rate."
If your heart rate is up in the morning, get some extra sleep, take a brief break from work, or do whatever else you can to reduce your stress level. (If it's alarmingly high, call a doctor.)

You feel stressed and irritated for no apparent reason. Sometimes you feel irritable and short-tempered, but can't put your finger on a specific reason why. "Chronic stress and fatigue may have triggered a physiological response and sent more cortisol and less dopamine to your brain," Haden writes. Willing yourself to be in a better mood, he says, won't overcome the impact of chemistry. In extreme cases, the only cure is a break.


You inexplicably lose or gain weight. If you get on the scale in the morning and again at night, you'll almost always notice a difference in your weight. But should you lose or gain more than 1% of your body weight from one morning to the next, there's a good chance something is off.
Bishop explains what when you're stressed or overworked, you may fail to notice how much or how little food and water you're consuming. If you experience sudden weight gain or weight loss, this could be the reason. Take a break and visit your doctor if the problem persists.
Read the full LinkedIn post here.

Source:http://www.businessinsider.in/3-Signs-You-Desperately-Need-A-Break-From-Work/articleshow/32742469.cms