The valleys of Nepal; Living Within by Inaê Guion

From the frigid thin-air mountains to the sultry moist valleys of Nepal, human life is deeply bonded to nature. It is where they find resources for their survival and opportunities to generate income.

From the frigid thin-air mountains to the sultry moist valleys of Nepal, human life is deeply bonded to nature. It is where they find resources for their survival and opportunities to generate income.

Down the Rapti River, in the Lower Tarai Valley, the wooden dugout canoe made from the trunk of a single tree gently weave its way into the northern border of the Chitwan National Park in search of wildlife. Established in the country in 1973, the formerly called Royal Chitwan National Park, is Nepal’s first national park and home of several endangered species such as the One Horned Rhinoceros, Royal Bengal Tiger, Pangolin, Gangetic Dolphin and the Gharial Crocodile.

This valley is nothing like the famous mountains of Nepal. In the foothills of the Himalayas, these hot and humid forests, savannahs and marshy grasslands are also home for the Tharu people. In this UNESCO World Heritage Site, only the river separates the village settlements from the protected areas and its wildlife. The villagers stay close to the river for water supply, bathing and laundry, in addition to the resources found across the river, as raw materials to build their homes and food for their animals, which are often transported by elephants.

As we paddled down the river soon we noticed a discreet silhouette lurking above the surface, with its long and thin razor-sharp jaw and bulky snout, the Gharial Crocodile (Gavialis gangeticus) remains still against the current, hoping to capture its prey with minimal effort and energy expenditure. The Nepalese guide who leads us calls them the “Fish-eating Crocodile”, as opposed to the “People-eating Crocodile” or Mugger Crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) with its robust body and broad snout resting on the left bank of the river. The information about their eating habits was followed by laughter on his part and retracting arms into the safety of the canoe on ours.

Critically endangered, the also called Gavial, founds in this river one of its last refuges and due to conservation and management programs carried out in the region, the species has presented some reasonable recovery.

A little further down the river, under the soft light of dawn on the oozy riverbank we see in awe the Greater One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) just a few feet away. The sun touching its body among the vegetation, the rough skin that seems to wear armor and reminds us of the prehistoric beings that inhabit our imagination, the delicate hair that surrounds its ears.

With smooth and calm movements, this powerful and yet vulnerable animal fed before our eyes that admired in amazement.

With the population on the edge of extinction due to poaching at the end of the 1960s, the Chitwan National Park was established in order to protect the species and prevent its disappearance. Efforts since then dedicated by the government of Nepal and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) have had a positive effect and today the park is known for its successful anti-poaching patrols that led to the increase of the species population.

Mesmerized by this encounter, we continued paddling gently down the river and spotting other species, such as the incredible Lesser-adjutant Stork (Leptoptilos javanicus) with its long and bare yellow neck that stood out in the sunlight as it walked along the banks in search of food, like fish, frogs or large invertebrates.

After a few hours we stopped on one of the banks ready to enter the forest. But before we started the trail, our guide spoke in Nepalese with a boy of about 12 years old who had accompanied us during the journey. After carefully listening the boy headed alone to the forest, disappearing amidst the tall vegetation. When questioned, the guide informed us that it was too risky to find a rhinoceros or a tiger in this vegetation and so the boy would check if it was safe – if he didn’t return in a few minutes, we would know something was wrong and return to the canoe. Asked again, this time about what would happen to the boy if he didn’t return, the guide just smiled.

Fortunately the boy returned announcing that there was no animal on that path, and then disappeared into the vegetation again. We then started our trail following our guide and quickly entered the forest. The change in temperature and humidity was immediate and abrupt, and soon our clothes were soaked with sweat. The guide walked quickly and every glimpse of wildlife he chased them away, stopping only briefly to observe the landscape and following the path again at fast paces and emitting sounds to alert the fauna like Spotted Deers (Axis axis) and even birds, like the beautiful Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris). As biologists and researchers, we were there to observe and learn about the wildlife and we were soon annoyed by his behavior, after all, he was there to lead us to that goal. He knows the forest inside out and without breaking stride he said that there was where rhinos and tigers feed, and we wouldn’t want to run into one of them unless we were on the back of an elephant.

Elephants are part of everyday life in Chitwan, fulfilling an important chain of life for the Tharu people. Highly respected and considered sacred animals, elephants help protect forest and wildlife, obtain and transport natural resources, provide income, and even protect against attacks by wild species such as rhinos and tigers. They are used by park rangers to patrol the area for poachers, forming the anti-poaching patrol program considered responsible not only for the drop in poaching of rhinos and tigers, but also for the increase in their populations in the park’s protected areas. The elephant tourism industry has been the main source of income to finance the survival of the park, the conservation efforts for endangered species and the breeding of the elephants themselves.

For years the most famous tourism activity in Chitwan was the safari on an elephant back, with about 5 to 8 people on a single elephant. These animals are usually “broken” into submission, separated as offspring from their mothers. During rides it was common for his mahouts – the person who works with, rides, and tends an elephant – to use machetes to guide the animal or punish it when it stops to feed during a ride with tourists. In recent years there has been a growing demand for more humane experiences as increases awareness of the harsh training methods and cruel elephant treatment in camps, zoos and captivity centers. In response, tourism operators in the region have been looking for creative solutions to balance their goals of not causing suffering to animals and still using tourism to further conservation. The mahouts are now prohibited from using hooks, axes or sticks to control the animals and animal training no longer involves punishment. On some places, tourists instead of ride atop the elephants, now walk alongside of them while the mahout ride alone leading the way.

In conservation, breeding centers are expected to effectively benefit endangered populations and to be a place where individuals experience safety and quality of life. The Elephant Breeding Center Khorsor experience, however, was the opposite of what we expected to find. There the animals are breed for tourism, for the anti-poaching patrols, and for the locals to use them for logging and work. Most animals are kept in chains all day long. According to information at the breeding center this happens when an animal shows signs of aggression, or in the case of elephant bulls which are naturally aggressive and can be dangerous if they were allowed to roam. As a sacred animal, they believe that when an elephant shows aggression it can be a sign of discontentment from the gods, who speak through it. Out of respect for the sacred animal and for the gods, they then offer a sacrificial animal, usually a goat, which is decollated in front of the chained elephant and left there for a day or more, until the animal calms down showing that the gods they are satisfied with the sacrifice. But it wasn’t just bulls that were in chains, or a few agressive individuals. It was most of them, including females and their small offspring. Outside the center, near the fences, it was possible to see elephants prowling. These are the animals that have become too old or unfit for work and are released back into nature, but as they spent their entire lives in captivity, they return daily and stay for hours. It seems that the breeding center is not only one of the handful of remaining places in Chitwan that have not adhered to the new animal care practices, but it does not in any way fulfill its role in protecting an endangered species.

There has been a lot of talk about banning or boycotting places that carry out these activities and exploit elephants for profit. And we could see during this Covid-19 pandemic the effect that a possible boycott of these tourism practices could have. It costs a staggering amount of money each year to sustain and feed elephants in captivity, including money spent on medicine, vitamins and salaries for the staff such as veterinarians and mahouts. With the drop in tourism during the pandemic, the financial pressures of caring for elephants in zoos, camps, sanctuaries and even private keepers were harsh. With time animals exhibited leg muscles atrophy and poor nutrition, some severely starving. Although many have been released into the wild, this scenario does not represent the security it should. Many lifelong captive animals often fail to adapt and survive in the wild and suffer from malnutrition, not to mention other hazards they will encounter such as agricultural and plantation concessions encroaching natural areas, human-wildlife conflicts and poaching.

To proclaim a bann to all elephant tourism without a viable path toward using elephants, may lead to harmful consequences for the animals themselves, as well as for the local communities that earns its livelihood from these activities. This conservation/ethical debate about elephants is deeply complex and this mindset can be short-sighted and fails to give practical alternatives to endangered species conservation within the reality of developing and least developed nations.

When it comes to living within nature, there is always a fine line between our behaviors and relationships. Many of these practices still exist because of longstanding traditions and religious beliefs and we cannot expect to be obliterated overnight, but as our understanding and knowledge progresses, it is our responsibility to try and change these beliefs and their outcomes.

About Inaê Guion

Inaê Guion is a biologist, researcher and visual storyteller whose work focuses on the intersection between nature, humans and conservation.With over a decade experience as a research scientist, field explorer and photographer, she addresses topics on wild animals conservation, human-wildlife coexistence, traditional cultures, natural resources exploitation and climate change.

Born and based in Brazil, she graduated in Biological Sciences and achieved a master in Sciences and a doctoral in Applied Ecology. For three times Cetacean Society International granted Inaê for her work on aquatic mammals, including her PhD research. Specialized in mammals ecology and conservation, she also work as an environmental consultant for wildlife monitoring programs in tropical waters and forests. Driven by a deep consciousness of environmental and social justice and will to learn and explore the natural world, she infuses her curiosity and passion for the great outdoors into her work as a researcher, combining science and visual storytelling through photography and film, hoping to bring understanding about our rapidly changing world and to instigate thought and dialogue about the future of the planet. [Official Website]

More Stories

Minimalistic Food Portraiture by Foodism360

Minimalistic Food Portraiture by Foodism360

I like to zoom in on the extraordinary of the ordinary. The ordinary are often overlooked, forgotten, neglected, undervalued or simply thrown away, yet to me the ordinary are all special and unique.
Inside the Camera Bag of Cyrille Druart

Inside the Camera Bag of Cyrille Druart

Cyrille Druart was born in 1980 in Paris. His interest in Art leads to experimenting various fields from an early age.
From Stills to Moving Image – Apartment Two, Second Floor

From Stills to Moving Image – Apartment Two, Second Floor

The parallel between the still image and cinema has been something that I have been thinking about for quite some time, particularly as a lot of my current freelance work involves working with both stills and moving image in the same commercial sphere.
https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/bannerpr.jpg

We invite you to participate in the first edition of the Portrait Photography Awards. Our call is open to any artistic interpretation of portrait photography.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/BAnImage.jpg

ImageRights provides intelligent image search and copyright enforcement services to photo agencies and professional photographers worldwide.

https://www.dodho.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/mono2022.jpg

The best 100 images along with the winning images published in the yearly book “Monochromatic – Best Photographers of 2022”

Call For Entries #24 | After 23 editions and more than 100 published photographers, our print edition has proven to be a simply effective promotional channel.

El Gimnasio Hermanos Manchego by Theo Gould

El Gimnasio Hermanos Manchego by Theo Gould

Nelson “La Maldad” Manchego has created a warm and educational atmosphere within a hollow shell of a space. San Andrés Island, one of the lesser known Caribbean Islands
Coastlines; Calm Horizons by G.B. Smith

Coastlines; Calm Horizons by G.B. Smith

G.B. Smith’s photography journey began over 40 years ago as a teenager learning the fundamentals of the craft in the darkroom and with large plate cameras. This enthusiasm evolved into a first career as an industrial photographer in England.
Looking for own style of expression; The inspiration of Lenka Jesonka

Looking for own style of expression; The inspiration of Lenka Jesonka

I liked to live in my own world of fantasy and imagination, nevertheless looking for own style of expression was a long way. At high school I made some literary works – short stories and later also poems and reflections.
North Carolina; To Be, Rather Than to Seem by Jefferson Caine Lankford

North Carolina; To Be, Rather Than to Seem by Jefferson Caine Lankford

The American South has an essence that sparingly reveals itself, thus requiring unprecedented determination and patience to photograph all its splendor.
The Ordeal, 70 Years on: Last Witnesses of Stalin’s Mass Exile by Dmitri Beliakov

The Ordeal, 70 Years on: Last Witnesses of Stalin’s Mass Exile by Dmitri Beliakov

Josef Stalin deported the Ingush people to Siberia and Central Asia from their homes in Russia's North Caucasus in 1944. The Soviet dictator inflicted such harrowing displacements upon a number ethnic minorities deemed suspicious during the Second World War.
Translations by Véronique L’hoste

Translations by Véronique L’hoste

A place. Insignificant, work of the hand of man. Where are we? In a nondescript urban space: a commercial, industrial area, offices? It doesn’t matter. It is a world without a soul, where it’s neither good to live nor work.
Heartbeat : Aritmia by Fabrizio Quagliuso

Heartbeat : Aritmia by Fabrizio Quagliuso

There is such a thing as an irregular rhythm syndrome, where the heartbeat is inconsistent; it races, slows down or flutters. There are times when the heart skips a beat, others when it frantically chases the following one to the point of breathlessness, swarming, oscillating.
Pearl by Ogulcan Arslan

Pearl by Ogulcan Arslan

They were, following their domestication, creatures providing mankind’s travels and communication on the first hand.Nowadays, while everyone can communicate with smartphones or applications even from hundred of thousands kilometers away
Katrin Viil ; Fashion Photography

Katrin Viil ; Fashion Photography

Fashion Photography ; This is my second project for Dodho magazine. Last one was presented in June 2015. Some changes have happened meanwhile. I started photo shcool and got new camera and lenses. That means better pictures I hope Althrough i still believe that photo doesn´t have to be technically perfect it just has to be good.
Conceptual fine art photographer; 365 self portraits of David Talley

Conceptual fine art photographer; 365 self portraits of David Talley

My work as an artist aims to create entirely new worlds with impossible concepts. I want to show the emotion that every person on the planet experiences,
Landscapes by Mam´At

Landscapes by Mam´At

I am a self-learned photographer from a very small village in Cantal, France. I began photography four years ago when I was 44. I left my job and came to the mountain of the « massif Central ».
First Call Out by Jen Davis

First Call Out by Jen Davis

Since the publication of my first monograph “Eleven Years,” I found that most of what I wanted to say in this self-portrait series had been said, and I was interested in taking a break from the intensity of looking at my own body.
Paper House by Jessica Somers

Paper House by Jessica Somers

Expectations, these are things put on us from birth. Who we are expected to be. How we treat others. What we do with our lives. Some expectations are gender specific. Some expectations find their way into our subconscious no matter how much we have been shielded from them.
Looking for – Viola Andrushchuk

Looking for – Viola Andrushchuk

Militarization, propaganda of war, increase of military costs... This is the reality of recent Russia. But this way is acceptable not for all Russian citizens. This project has united participants of different social initiatives together, for whom anti-war appeal is a basis for their work. 
Lime Workers by Xavier Ferrer Chust

Lime Workers by Xavier Ferrer Chust

The production of lime in kilns is an old technology with more than 2000 years old, it is believed that it was developed by the Romans around 300 BC.
Forest People – The African Pygmies of Uganda by Aga Szydlik

Forest People – The African Pygmies of Uganda by Aga Szydlik

The African Pygmies or Batwa people are indigenous forest-dwelling pygmy people who for centuries lived in the Bwindi and Mgahinga forests.

Featured Stories

The photography of Lenghi Teng

The photography of Lenghi Teng

Lenghi Teng is a Dutch photographer based in Rotterdam. She was born in 1976 in Vietnam and grew up in a Chinese family. At the age of three she moved to the Netherlands. 
Aaron Sehmar ; In-between moments

Aaron Sehmar ; In-between moments

Aaron Sehmar - Fine art photography allows me to be able to come up with ideas for images that are a lot more conceptual, where the end result is more of a catalyst for a larger discussion about various topics, such as the purpose of photography, hyperreality, artifice and displacement.
Secret garden by Fenqiang Liu

Secret garden by Fenqiang Liu

Secret garden was selected and published in our print edition 21. Spring, many nesting pairs of Great Egrets gather at Kraft Azalea Garden in Central Florida, the United States to begin their nesting rituals. I was inspired to share with the world the beauty of the Great Egrets.
Heartfelt Welcome by Argus Paul Estabrook

Heartfelt Welcome by Argus Paul Estabrook

On November 7, 2017, South Korean President Moon Jae-in extended a “heartfelt welcome” towards US President Donald Trump as he arrived in South Korea for a two-day summit to reaffirm the Korea-US alliance.
Timeless Havana by Florence Gallez

Timeless Havana by Florence Gallez

I photographed the Cuba images as a student during world-renowned photojournalist Peter Turnley’s 2013 Havana, Cuba workshop, which then became part of my first photography book Flow and Reflections.
Street Photography; Man in the city by Edgaras Vaicikevicius

Street Photography; Man in the city by Edgaras Vaicikevicius

Man in the city

,What is a city? The city is a rush, speed, noise. The city is a place where many people live. The city connect these people. But we become individually in the city. 


Lorca a Forgotten Girl in Art History by Peyman Naderi

Lorca a Forgotten Girl in Art History by Peyman Naderi

It is the story of a girl who lived through a period of history but was never seen, and though she was a very artist, she always hid herself from others until one day her identity was revealed.
Mike Ruiz, The photographer to the stars

Mike Ruiz, The photographer to the stars

Ruiz, who is of French Canadian and Filipino-Spanish ancestry,was born in Montreal in 1964, but raised in Repentigny, Quebec, Canada.
Belief – A Photo Story by Sauvik Acharyya

Belief – A Photo Story by Sauvik Acharyya

A series of pictures taken in North India, explores the myriad ways people worship and the media they use to search for the intangible higher truth or power.Through various rituals, festivals, fire, flowers and even alcohol, India spirituality moves ahead parallel to the nation's modern moorings.
Kushti, Indian wrestling by Alain Schroeder

Kushti, Indian wrestling by Alain Schroeder

Kushti is the traditional form of Indian wrestling established centuries ago in Persia. In vogue during the 16th century Mughal era, this art is practiced in a type of gymnasium called an Akhara.
Glacial Silt Patterns by Hal Gage

Glacial Silt Patterns by Hal Gage

Over eons, glaciers travel from mountain tops in their slow, unrelenting march to the seas. Grinding rock to powder and carving valleys in their wake, they create the landscapes we see today
Yolanda Garcia ; The chaos within simplicity

Yolanda Garcia ; The chaos within simplicity

Yolanda Garcia is a photographer who lives in Madrid. She has in a world of dreams, pain, laughter, and likes to externalize. She started in photography from she was a child, fiddling with cameras from their parents.
A Mad World by Momoko Fritz

A Mad World by Momoko Fritz

About a year and a half ago I created a dinner series called, At Home with Momoko, where I would host 8-10 women once a month.
Swimmers; Spirit above waves by Jan Caga

Swimmers; Spirit above waves by Jan Caga

Spirit above Waves The project shows disabled swimmers in a pool. Almost all people enjoy competing, because it belongs to our human nature, to our animalistic status.
Mariëtte Aernoudts ; Fine art photography

Mariëtte Aernoudts ; Fine art photography

My name is Mariëtte Aernoudts and since 9 years I am a self thought photographer / imagemaker. Most of my portraits are from children or young people and always in colour.
I Never told Anyone by Bénédicte Vanderreydt

I Never told Anyone by Bénédicte Vanderreydt

These seven images represent the women in Bénédicte Vanderreydt’s family that have been oppressed and objectified by a male dominated society, at a time when personal honour was of great significance to men.

Trending Stories

Old Public Housing In Their Pastel Hue by James Teo

Old Public Housing In Their Pastel Hue by James Teo

Architectural photography got James interested in photography in the first place. Buildings and their intricacies - the lines, shapes and patterns.
Frank Ross is out by Adrian Saker

Frank Ross is out by Adrian Saker

When everything falls silent and the world feels distant and its noise fails to drown out the quiet voice coming from within, anxiety creates a space for dialogue with our own mortality and with the knowledge that everything that is, will ultimately one day be gone.
Bali Highlights By Manlio Cosimo De Pasquale

Bali Highlights By Manlio Cosimo De Pasquale

It is not a story, not a reportage with a precise plot, but a collection of shots chosen not on aesthetic bases but based on a more intimate experience related to the moments represented.
Coney Island Beyond the boardwalk by Steve Hoffman

Coney Island Beyond the boardwalk by Steve Hoffman

Coney Island Beyond the boardwalk is the title of this project. I am a documentary photographer who has spent the last dozen years working with and photographing the people that live in the housing projects in Coney Island.
Nights without night…and some days without day by Pierre Paul Dumont

Nights without night…and some days without day by Pierre Paul Dumont

This work is realized with stenopeic camera in 2 formats 120mm and 4x5 film. It ‘s about a personal process of involuntary memory, following the steps of Marcel Proust in La Recherche du temps perdu.
UFO: Un-identified by Annick Donkers

UFO: Un-identified by Annick Donkers

The actual idea for the series started after visiting the International UFO Congress in Phoenix. I was impressed by the multitude of people attracted to this event and the secrecy surrounding the theme.
Five minutes with Anik Rahman

Five minutes with Anik Rahman

The best technique about my work is my eye. I try to make the photos just what I see. I talk with people a lot to know their story.
Travel photography; Backpacking by Sofia Monzerratt

Travel photography; Backpacking by Sofia Monzerratt

A series of photographs taken on a no-budget backpacking trip over the course of three months, capturing the essence of humanity in different parts of the world as well as the rich culture that was experienced.
Inside the camera bag of Anthony AsCer Aparicio

Inside the camera bag of Anthony AsCer Aparicio

At the moment, in my backpack I carry a Nikon D90 body, equipped with a Nikon MB-D90 Battery Grip and two batteries for long work days. I also carry the kit lens, an AF-S DX Nikkor 18-105mm f / 3.5-5.6G ED VR, and an AF-S DX Micro Nikkor 40mm f / 2.8G.
Transylvanian shepherds by Kerekes Istvan

Transylvanian shepherds by Kerekes Istvan

The region of Transylvania is known for the scenery of its Carpathian landscape and its rich history. The Western world commonly associates Transylvania with vampires because of the influence of Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula" and the many films the tale inspired.
Charles Darwin Centre; Things in Jars by Peter Dazeley

Charles Darwin Centre; Things in Jars by Peter Dazeley

The wonderful bottled specimens seen here were all photographed in the charles Darwin Centre, part of the Natural History Museum in London.
Boat Hull by Michele Dragonetti

Boat Hull by Michele Dragonetti

My recent work has been focused primarily on my Boat Hull series, which began in the marinas of Montauk, NY where I was drawn to boats that were out of the water and in need of repair.

Other Stories

stay in touch
Join our mailing list and we'll keep you up to date with all the latest stories, opportunities, calls and more.
We use Sendinblue as our marketing platform. By Clicking below to submit this form, you acknowledge that the information you provided will be transferred to Sendinblue for processing in accordance with their terms of use
We’d love to
Thank you for subscribing!
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted.
- Between 10/30 images of your best images, in case your project contains a greater number of images which are part of the same indivisible body of work will also be accepted. You must send the images in jpg format to 1200px and 72dpi and quality 9. (No borders or watermarks)
- A short biography along with your photograph. (It must be written in the third person)
- Title and full text of the project with a minimum length of 300 words. (Texts with lesser number of words will not be accepted)
This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Contact
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Submission
Dodho Magazine accepts submissions from emerging and professional photographers from around the world.
Their projects can be published among the best photographers and be viewed by the best professionals in the industry and thousands of photography enthusiasts. Dodho magazine reserves the right to accept or reject any submitted project. Due to the large number of presentations received daily and the need to treat them with the greatest respect and the time necessary for a correct interpretation our average response time is around 5/10 business days in the case of being accepted. This is the information you need to start preparing your project for its presentation.
To send it, you must compress the folder in .ZIP format and use our Wetransfer channel specially dedicated to the reception of works. Links or projects in PDF format will not be accepted. All presentations are carefully reviewed based on their content and final quality of the project or portfolio. If your work is selected for publication in the online version, it will be communicated to you via email and subsequently it will be published.
Get in Touch
How can we help? Got an idea or something you'd like share? Please use the adjacent form, or contact contact@dodho.com
Thank You. We will contact you as soon as possible.