Land of the Tiger Nicobar megapode is an endemic bird that incubates its eggs in a mound of sand and rotting vegetation. Cunning monitor lizards are filmed stealing the eggs and laying their own in the mound, which is still attended to by the oblivious birds. Animals filmed in the reefs around the islands include damselfish, clownfish and cuttlefish. Olive ridley turtles mate at sea and come ashore at Gahirmatha beach in their thousands, where Thapar watches the millions of hatchlings return to the water. India's Thar Desert spans the western states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. More people live here than in any other
Thar Desert and Madrajangala provinces. The Desert National Park in Jaisalmer district has a collection of animal fossils and plants 180 million years old. The Thar is one of the most heavily populated desert areas in the world with the main occupations of its inhabitants agriculture and animal husbandry. Agriculture is not a dependable proposition in this area because after the rainy season, at least one third of crops fail. Animal husbandry, trees and grasses, intercropped with vegetables or fruit trees, is the most viable model for arid, drought-prone regions. The region faces frequent droughts. Overgrazing due to high animal populations, wind