No one will ever believe that it's not very easy to see wild dogs in the jungle if you spot them three times during the course of the same safari.At first, we saw five. Then we heard wild fowl crying out to one another - alarmed that the dogs were nearby. We then saw another dog. How domestic it looked, standing there, ears cocked. The only thing missing was the wagging tail.And then, returning by the main road, I saw something white being dragged into the jungle, away from the road. That 'something white' was the belly of a spotted deer.Yes, we watched the dogs tearing the deer to pieces and eating it. We heard them whining to the others, calling out to the entire pack to share the meal. We watched the dogs eat violently, aggressively. I was disturbed, yes, but I could watch. I was able to watch and think, "Well, that's the law of the jungle." I was surprised at how they shared … [Read more...]
Tigress
We did see a tigress on our very first safari at Tadoba this time around.When I went to Ranthambhor, as part of a school excursion, we were divided into ten groups. Nine groups saw a tiger. Mine didn't.Then I went to Kanha. Three safaris there - and I didn't see a tiger.Then, Nagarhole. Three safaris there - and I didn't see a tiger.Then, Tadoba. After the first two safaris, when I didn't see a tiger, I had a conversation with my sister. "I don't know why people are so obsessed with tigers, really. Of course, I want to see one too, but the forest itself is so beautiful!" "And every animal is a joy to see!" "And the unpredictability of the jungle is in itself fascinating!" "And the trees, the light ..."And then we saw the tiger.I've seen a tiger in the wild three times. I had tears in my eyes each time.Tyger, tyger burning bright In the forests of the night What immortal … [Read more...]
Back from the Wild – Again
Green forests. Dense.Tall grass. Just a few metres away, a tiger could be hiding and we wouldn't even know. Anticipation is thrilling.Spider webs glinting in the sunshine. A huge black spider poised on her web eats a grasshopper.The black ibis with its red hood and impressive beak pecks away in the grass.Sambhar - first the doe, then the stag - cross the road in front of us. They pause in the middle of the road to look at us. The way we go look at the animals, maybe they thought they'd step out today and look at humans.A yellow oriole flies above us, below the screeching green parakeets.The chestnut-headed bee-eater, flies and lands, flies and lands. In Marathi, they call it a 'crazy parrot' because of its peculiar habit of flying so briefly and perching again, time and time again. It doesn't seem to know what it wants.A crocodile, still as a log, floats in the water.An … [Read more...]
Chestnut-Headed Bee-Eater
Before going to Tadoba, we talked about the fact that sometimes, we see no animals at all. Two of us had been to wildlife sanctuaries before, and wanted everyone to be prepared for an experience that might prove to be disappointing if you only want to see a tiger. Just being in the forest has a charm of its own if we aren't obsessed with seeing particular animals, we said. We would definitely see some animals - at least deer - and some birds. It is a forest after all.Very diffidently, a friend admitted that she could recognise nothing. I assured her that I could identify all of five birds with any kind of surety - and that list included the crow, sparrow and mynah. She laughed at me and all but said that she did not believe me. I told her that one other bird I could identify was the chestnut-headed bee-eater. She looked at me with some measure of awe. It seemed pretty fancy to her that … [Read more...]
Detective!
From the time I was about seven, I wanted a mystery to solve every vacation. It was not fair that only Enid Blyton people (for me, they were people, not characters) got to solve such convenient mysteries, with the additional advantage of barely getting older each time around.When our guide Vishwas started telling us how much goes into being a guide, I wondered whether he had similar unfulfilled childhood wishes.Every time we sighted any animal, the pride in his voice was heart-warming. He pointed out to us that a single alarm call (that we, the tourists, had ignored) had led us to our wonderful tiger-sighting. He commented with pride on the fact that all the jeeps ahead of us had ignored the sound, but his constant attention had given us a beautiful sighting of the changeable hawk eagle that had just made its kill. He exulted in the fact that his forethought in having led us through … [Read more...]
Surviving in the Jungle
Eight safaris with the same guide ensured that we became friends of sorts, and once he realised that three people out of five in the jeep understood Marathi, he opened up fifteen long years of experience to us. One fascinating safari was devoted to attacks by different animals, and how to save yourself."If a tiger is nearby," Vishwas told us, "just be calm. If he doesn't feel threatened, he won't attack you." For me, this translates as, "If a tiger decides to attack you, you have no hope. Your best bet is that it won't attack.""If a bear attacks you," Vishwas said, "climb the bamboo. Bears are great climbers, so climbing any ordinary tree won't help; you must climb bamboo. They can't follow you." For most city-people, this translates as, "If a bear decides to attack you, you have no hope. There's no way you can climb a bamboo, even if you are adept enough to climb a tree.""If a … [Read more...]
Tadoba
Our guide at Tadoba said, "All these people who come from big cities - Pune, Mumbai and all - they take photos of anything!"He laughed incredulously at me when I was awestruck by a hare bounding into the jungle, chased by a wild dog. "Khargosh?" he laughed. "Hehe..." But truly, for this urban creature, it was fabulous to watch that hare leap away!Our guide saw chital (spotted deer) so often that he counted how many in a herd while we lost our hearts to those eyes.Our guide told us, "People come from all these cities - Pune, Mumbai and all - and all they want to see is tiger, tiger, tiger. I tell them to go to the zoo." Yet, the tiger was breathtaking. People who take photos of tigers have to be accustomed to seeing tigers. Otherwise, it's impossible to remember that such a thing as a camera exists when the tiger is looking at you. I thought I was very smart and set my video camera … [Read more...]
Nagarahole
It was not the first time we were going to a wildlife sanctuary. We had been to Kanha and we loved it. The idea of going into the jungle once more was thrilling. Safaris in jeeps, the quiet anticipation of a tiger's approach and the sudden sight of a wild boar or a peacock hiding in the trees. Our skin tingled.Until we went to the jungle in Nagarahole for the first time.There, we learned that no jeeps were allowed into the jungle - only a minibus with 25 people. Disappointed already, we set off from the hotel in a jeep with a driver who ought to have considered racing as an alternative profession. Or, as my sister said, "If he likes driving so fast, he should drive an ambulance!" On roads where wildlife crosses at any time, vehicles speed at a crazy 50 or even 60 kmph. As if that's not enough, they approach wild animals as if they're approaching structures of stone! Our driver, … [Read more...]