Nagarhole, date with wild elephants

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Visiting Nagarhole was always in my mind, so when I got the invitation from my friend Arun, who’s staying in Mysore, I made a quick plan. Anil and Rajkrishnan joined. We took an inter-city bus from Bangalore to Mysore. Nagarhole National Park, now known as Rajiv Gandhi National Park is some 95 km away from Mysore. This park is one of the most important areas of 2000 square kilometer protected forest called Nilgiri Biosphere along the Western Ghats. This mountain chain, which runs approximately 1600 km along the west coast of India, intercepts the Monsoon clouds from the Indian Ocean causing heavy rains, and thus serves as the primary watershed for whole of the peninsular India.

We reached Mysore in Saturday morning. Arun came up to pick us from the bus station. We had a heavy late breakfast and went to the forest department office for permission. As expected we were informed that rooms are unavailable. During season the booking queue may go even well beyond a full month. Disappointed and losing some precious time, we started off to Nagarhole. Our idea was to reach the park before 5 pm to try one of the safaris.

Even though the main road to the park was missed in a busy intersection, we were able to find another narrow alternate road. After negotiating through a crowded market and a few stretch of bad roads, we picked up speed. We soon left the crowded villages behind and cruised along a straight deserted road watching the landscape for spotting birds.

We reached the park gate at 5, expecting to join in for the last safari. Our moment of happiness did not last long when we realised the pick up point for the safari nedds another 30 minutes drive inside the park. The forest guards at the gate came up and declared the park is closed for visitors. We were supposed to be at the gate before 3pm. Dejected, we started thinking of the night stay and catching up with the early morning safari next day. Several ideas surfaced with a common conclusion of "no going back". By this time seeing our troubled faces one of the forest guards called us to the check post. After making sure, no one is listening; he suggested he could arrange a home stay at the other end of the park. But the park is closed, how can we get through? Rs. 90 per person, as entry fee without receipt was the quick answer we received. Gate opened and we moved slowly through one of the best managed parks in India. It was lush green everywhere. The tall Teak wood plantations seemed endless. The undergrowth was cleared for about 5 meters on both sides along the road. This is done purposefully to create an area of less dense vegetation for easily spotting the wildlife. The other advantage would be to create a buffer zone to check the wild fire.

We were already warned about spotting of an elephant herd by the same road we were driving. And the advice was not to step out of our car. So we moved carefully to see the elephants through the thick woods. After negotiating a turn Anil pointed his hand to the right side and whispered elephants. A female crossed the road leisurely as we stopped the car some 100 m away.

After a few minutes of waiting we decided to move. Then we saw movements among the bushes, a female and a calf emerged and started crossing the road. We looked at them in awe. The calf rushed across towards the waiting female on the other side. I took few snaps with trembling hand.

We started again assuming no more elephants to cross. While reaching around 10 m away from the place where the elephants crossed, a big female came forward, a spine chilling stare was followed by an aggressive crossing across the road. Realising that we were uncomfortably close to the elephants, we left the place in a hurry. We slowed down only after covering a few kilometers. A Red-wattled lapwing was feeding in a small patch of open land. This particular bird was uncharacteristically quite and looked as if we did not even exist there. Everywhere else this noisy bird species has spoiled many of my photographic opportunities.

Along the road we saw a giant Malabar squirrel resting on a high branch, herds of spotted deer and a wild boar. We then reached a human settlement. There was a huge cage made of big trees. Two forest guards and other three men were there. We decided to have a look. While approaching it became clear that it is in fact an elephant training centre. The huge tusker and the big cage that envelops him dwarf the trainer. Trainer was shouting commands, and forced the elephant to obey by using a hooked stick he was holding. It is said that the tusker killed five people before he has been captured and brought here.

After spending some time we decided to leave. The owner of the “home stay” was expecting us at the other side of the park called Kutta. It was getting darker. We became nervous after started hearing bamboo rattles. We saw another elephant in an area which resembled a swamp. The decision to stop did not fetch much support among us.

By the time we exited the park, it was completely dark. Call from Kalpana, the lady who owns the room was received on Rajkrishnan's phone with much excitement. After another half an hour drive we saw two young women standing by the road. Since we have given the car’s license plate number, they immediately recognized us. They took us to their home tucked inside a small coffee plantation. The room was ready to be occupied. She charged Rs.600 per person including food, which was served in a small hut made of bamboo and thatched with straw.

We were so hungry that the food is finished in no time. Even though tired we decided to go for a stroll. Out of the gate and a few meters down the road we saw one of the most amazing view in the entire trip. It was pitch dark and the entire trees and bushes were swarmed with fire flies flashing their lights in all colours and intensities.

After spending almost an hour we came back to our room. The original plan was to go for safari in Nagarhole next morning. But then the head of the house, Jaga came in and joined our discussion. He suggested Waynad wild life sanctuary is nearer and the chances of spotting the wildlife is more as compared to Nagarhole during summer. I reluctantly agreed to the new plan of trying safari in Wayanad wild life sanctuary.

Next morning after a quick break fast, we started straight to Wayanad wildlife sanctuary. It was a wonderfully beautiful morning. We were driving down the slops. On the right side valley a Racket-tailed Drongo dived from its perch and caught its prey mid air. To our delight it came back a bit closer to us so that I could give a try.

As soon as we got down from the car, the much wanted Drongo disappeared through the mist. A beautiful tree stood out on the other bank of the a small pond reflecting on calm frigid water.



We reached Wayanad wildlife sanctuary late. It was mandatory that the tourists should take a guide along with them. After paying the guide's fee and the entry fees we moved to our car. But on a second thought we decided to park the car outside and to take one of the jeeps available for rent at the park entrance. This proved to be a good move as the road soon turned to be a mud track. We were all talking about spotting a tiger, largest of all cats at the top of the food chain. Even though every one was dreaming of seeing a tiger, we did not miss any chance to enjoy seeing other wildlife.
A sambar deer, the largest deer species in India, and its calf crossed the road while we waited patiently.



We then saw a Racket-tailed Drongo, and a Grey jungle fowl



Further down, a large Malabar Giant squirrel was feeding on an known fruit.



We expected to see Elephant and Gaur and every one dreamed of seeing a tiger. Nothing happened as we wished. The safari is over in no time with out spotting any of the large mammals. Visibly disappointed we came out of the park and had a short visit to Kuruva island. We had a short trek in this beautiful uninhibited island surrounded by the river Kabini. A place we book marked for future bird watching trip.






We had a nice lunch and then quickly concluded yet another wonderful trip. Returned directly to Mysore and then took the train to Bangalore.

Daroji, Sanctuary for Sloth Bears

Daroji? I have never heard of it. That was the first comment made by my friend Balakrishnan when I read the article from The Hindu aloud. At first we were not much impressed by Sloth Bears as any other amateur wildlife enthusiasts. I continued reading the article. The presence of birds and the fact that not many are aware of Daroji infused a good amount of interest in us. We decided to go as I read Daroji is just a stone's throw away from the famous World Heritage site Hampi. Arranged tickets in Hampi Express, starting from Bangalore. Our destination was Hospet, the nearest railway station to Daroji and Hampi. We started on 5th April 2008 night from Bangalore.
Waking up next morning I noticed the changed landscape. A lot of mining activities, which was always been a threat to the habitat of the bears in this mineral rich area. The number of bears has reduced alarmingly till the sanctuary is formed.

It took almost 10 Hrs to reach Hospet railway station. Just outside the station there was a board showing the direction to the sanctuary.

P1080301, originally uploaded by retheeshkr.

After decided to look for a hotel near by, we started walking towards the bus station. At this moment two men came across holding two tamed bears in their harness. We were seeing yet another threat they face; poaching. These tamed bears locally known as “Dancing bears” were abducted from the wild when they were young, often killing the mother bear. We got shocked and saddened seeing the Government's neglect on wildlife conservation.

We walked about half a kilometer crossing a main canal coming from Thungabhadra dam to reach our hotel. Had a heavy breakfast, took lunch as parcel and we went directly to the bus station. Very soon it became obvious that waiting for a bus to Daroji may not be a good idea. We hired an auto rickshaw for Rs 600/day. Our plan was to reach the sanctuary in the afternoon, when the bears become active.

It was surprising for us to see endless expanse of sugar cane and plantain fields on both sides of the road in such a dry area. Water from the river Thungabhadra created these lush green fields. But I really wonder whether this approach of growing water guzzling crops like sugar cane or plantain in such a dry place is a sustainable way of doing cultivation.

En route, we stopped near a 500 years old man made lake. We spotted plenty of water birds, Little Grebe, Common coot, Pond heron and few magnificent Pheasant-Tailed Jacana

We passed near the entrance of the much famed Hampi, which we will be visiting next day. It was around 30 km from Hospet to Daroji. We never felt the distance as we stopped every time we saw birds. A huge Banyan tree by the road provided shelter and food to a large variety of birds. Spotted owlet, Coppersmith barbet and Red-vented Bulbul, to name a few.

Going further, we crossed a narrow canal, cut deeply through the rock. This canal, made in the fifties, carries the Thungabhadra water to Andrapradesh. The triangular shaped stone structures on the banks were used as a ramp to pull out the stones from the canal during its construction. We just wished to follow this deep narrow canal to the point where it goes underground for many kilometers before reappearing again.

We left the main road and got into a small rough road. I asked our driver to stop, seeing something by a large pond. I grabbed my binocular and watched. Yes, birds, almost as big as a painted stork but black in color (yet to be identified). I took the cover of a small hillock, overlooking the pond and started crawling up. Balan walked leisurely through the bush only to see a hare dashing across. I crawled further up signaling Balan to keep a low profile. A Red-wattled lapwing saw us and started alerting every living creature in that area. I reached at the top, saw the nervous storks but still staying where they were.

Hiding myself behind the bush, I moved down further, but then spotting the movement, they suddenly flew away. Disappointed, I came back cursing the noisy lapwing which was still circling above me.

By around 2 pm we reached at the entrance of the sanctuary. The watch tower was 4 km inside.

The sanctuary also boasts a lot of bird species. A strange stone colored bird ran across the road. However after going for another one km we got a chance to see it clearly, a Stone curlew.

It took half an hour to reach the base of the watch tower. We climbed up after paying the entry fee. A few other impatient visitors were sitting on the rocks. Around fifteen minutes after we settled on a rock, there was an uproar and then whispers. I jumped up and looked down holding the hand rail. Far, I saw a black shaggy figure slowly coming out of the shadows of a huge rock. I was watching Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) in the wild for the first time. I scanned the area through my binocular. After a few minutes the first one was joined by three others. They started coming down and licking on Jaggery, a kind of sweet thick liquid made of sugarcane, pasted every morning by the forest guards. While this serves only as a supplementary diet for the bears, almost 60% of Sloth bears' daily intake consists of termites and ants. With powerful sharp claws, they rip open termite mounds and then suck their favorite food like a vacuum cleaner.

We watched the bears from the watch tower. After some time the bears were joined with a few peafowls. At this time the guard on duty told us Mr. Swamy, honorary warden of the park has arrived. We met him, along with his friend Kiran Marathe, at the entrance of the watch tower. We presented our desire to go to the core area of the park to have a closer look of the bears. He thought for a moment and then accepted our request. He lead us through the bushes to a spot behind few large rocks where we could watch bears without getting noticed. We waited for sometime before we were joined by two armed guards. We were told that these bears are highly unpredictable and their attacks with their claws could be fatal. One of the bears looked towards us for a moment, then continued feasting. I really felt nervous at that point.

However the presence of the guns made us a bit bolder. In half an hour we could saw no less than 10 bears including 2 last years cub, around 100 m away from us. It was getting 5 in the evening. The two cubs initially busy licking on the rocks with their parents, started fighting each other. For every few minutes of tussle one gets toppled and rolled down the rock. In no time those playful cubs came uncomfortably closer to us.

Swamy gently got up and suggested to move back to the safety of the watch tower. I felt relieved hearing that. We climbed back on the watch tower and looked back to see the bears wrestling at the spot we were sitting just 15 minutes before. We spent another half an hour there watching the bears, all full of energy, running down the hillock till the road and climbing on the trees to grab bananas placed by the guards. Swamy suggested us to call him if we come again and promised us good stay at a forest guest house in Kamalapur. It was time to say bye to our new friends. We came back directly to the hotel without any halt, carrying wonderful memories and a plan to visit the famous Hampi next day.