EXPLORATION TEAM: SUBHASHISH PANJA, DWAIPAYAN GHOSH AND ARNAB BASU
CALL OF CORBETT: EXPLORATION TEAM: SUBHASHISH PANJA, DWAIPAYAN GHOSH AND ARNAB BASU
Story: Arnab Basu Photography: Dwaipayan Ghosh & Arnab Basu
Call of Corbett Exploration Series – 10
© All the Information and Photographs published in this report are the properties of Exploring Nature and cannot be used for commercial or research purposes without prior permission of the explorers. Page | 1
“Tiger is a large-hearted gentleman with boundless courage and that when he is exterminated—as exterminated he will be unless public opinion rallies to his support—India will be the poorer, having lost the finest of her fauna.” ― Jim Corbett, Man-eaters of Kumaon
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Content Page No. Chapter : 1 Diary of Tiger Trio
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Annexure – I List of Identified Species
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Annexure – II Explorers’ Profile
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Chapter – 1: Diary of Tiger Trio 13th and 14th April, 2018: Call of Corbett
Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India and was established in 1936 as Hailey National Park to protect the endangered Bengal tiger. It is located in Nainital district of Uttarakhand and was named after Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment. The park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative. The park has sub-Himalayan belt geographical and ecological characteristics. An ecotourism destination, it contains 488 different species of plants and a diverse variety of fauna. The increase in tourist activities, among other problems, continues to present a serious challenge to the park's ecological balance. Corbett has been a haunt for tourists and wildlife lovers for a long time. Tourism activity is only allowed in selected areas of Corbett Tiger Reserve so that people get an opportunity to see its splendid landscape and the diverse wildlife. In recent years the number of people coming here has increased dramatically. Presently, every season more than 70,000 visitors come to the park. Corbett National Park comprises 520.8 km2 (201.1 sq mi) area of hills, riverine belts, marshy depressions, grasslands and a large lake. The elevation ranges from 1,300 to 4,000 ft (400 to 1,220 m). Winter nights are cold but the days are bright and sunny. It rains from July to September. Dense moist deciduous forest mainly consists of sal, haldu, peepal, rohini and mango trees. Forest covers almost 73% of the park, 10% of the area consists of grasslands. It houses around 110 tree species, 50 species of mammals, 580 bird species and 25 reptile species. A total of 488 different species of plants have been recorded in the park. Tree density inside the reserve is higher in the areas of Sal forests and lowest in the Anogeissus-Acacia catechu forests. Page | 4
Total tree basal cover is greater in Sal dominated areas of woody vegetation. Healthy regeneration in sapling and seedling layers is occurring in the Mallotus philippensis, Jamun and Diospyros tomentosa communities, but in the Sal forests the regeneration of sapling and seedling is poor. Some areas of the park were formerly part of the princely state of Tehri Garhwal. The forests were cleared to make the area less vulnerable to Rohilla invaders. The Raja of Tehri formally ceded a part of his princely state to the East India Company in return for their assistance in ousting the Gurkhas from his domain. The Boksas—a tribe from the Terai—settled on the land and began growing crops, but in the early 1860s they were evicted with the advent of British rule. Efforts to save the forests of the region began in the 19th century under Major Ramsay, the British Officer who was in-charge of the area during those times. The first step in the protection of the area began in 1868 when the British forest department established control over the land and prohibited cultivation and the operation of cattle stations. In 1879 these forests were constituted into a reserve forest where restricted felling was permitted. After considering the immense significance of Cornett Park in Tiger conservation initiative of India, we, the explorers of Exploring Nature, thought our journey of biodiversity exploration and information dissemination effort to increase awareness on nature, would remain incomplete, if we do not pay tribute to the oldest national park of the country. Hence, we (Subhashish, Dwaipayan and I), boarded at Ranikhet Express from old Delhi railway station in the evening of 13th April, 2018. The train which started at 10:30 PM of 13th, reached Ramnagar at 5:30 AM of 14th April. Our guide cum driver, Nabi, who would be part of our exploration for next seven days was waiting for us at station with his safari gypsy. However, when we met this sixty plus year’s old gentleman for the first time at Ramnagar station, we had no idea, what was waiting for us in the forest of Uttarakhand, in his company. After reaching Ramnagar, we proceeded towards Dhikala, on the way we filled our bean bags with rice. We generally carry our bean bags empty and fill them with the material of our choice such as beans, rice, buckwheat shells or plastic or styrofoam beads. An obvious advantage of this is for travel. It keeps the size and weight to a minimum until we need it, the heavier the fill, the more stable it can be. However, we try to avoid using plastic or Styrofoam as they are nonbiodegradable and not environment friendly. Therefore, we bought rice from a local shop. We reached at Dhangari gate of the park at 7:30 AM, and after finishing all entry formalities, verification of permits etc. we arrived at the forest rest house of Gairal zone, where accommodation for two nights were arranged in the dormitory. Corbett National Park is divided into the five ecotourism zones for the proper management of the tourism activities in the tiger reserve area. These zones are Dhikala zone, Bijarani zone, Jhirna Zone, Dhela zone and Durga Devi zone. Dhikala zone keeps the celebrity status among all the tourist zones of the Corbett National Park. Being the most celebrated ecotourism zone of the Corbett National Park, the Dhikala zone is well endowed with the spectacular
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wildlife which can be a pure bliss for any wildlife lovers. Dhikala forest rest house and Gairal forest rest house are two such FRH, situated within zone, where visitors can stay for the night and enjoy the wilderness. The Gairal Rest House is the best forest house after the Dhikala rest house in the Dhikala zone. This place is a precious gem situated cozily in the lap of nature away from the crowd and chaos of the city. It is located around the 13 km from Dhangarhi, the entry gate of Dhikala zone and around 40 km from the Ramnagar city. The FRH compound is safeguarded by the solar electric wire to ward away wild animals to enter the premises. As the Gairal FRH is located deep in the forest so an amazing tranquility envelopes the whole surroundings, making it an enchanting place to calm our mind from all the chaotic thoughts and invigorate it while staying here. Situated on the Ramganga river bank, the FRH offers an astounding view of the river bank along with a chance to sight many animals and witness their activities near the river bed. More often than not, the king of the forest, the tiger gets sighted near the river bank who visits either for drinking water or in search of its prey. The herds of elephants can also be seen around the river drinking water or bathing and playing in the water. This place is also a paradise for bird lovers as one can get amazing birding opportunity nearby the forest home. After reaching the FRH, we were welcome by frequent warning call of barking deer from the deep inside of forest, confirming movement of big cat or at least carnivores nearby. After keeping our rucksacks in the reception, and grabbing a quick breakfast we started our first safari of the series. We entered main forest through Gairal zone and continued till FRH of Dhikala zone. Morning safari ended at 10:30 AM. After that there were 4 hours of rest and lunch break. Afternoon safari started at 2:30 PM, now in reverse direction, i.e., from Dhikala to Gairal, which continued till 6:30 PM. The most exciting part of the afternoon safari was getting chased by elephants, and our first exposure to Nabi’s philosophy of jungle survival, “This is forest, and anything could happen at any time!” Till end of this series, he would put us in such “threat to survival” situation and repeat this statement in number of occasions. At around 3:30 PM, near Rongigarh area of the forest, we saw two adult female elephants with a calf. They were coming from the Ramnagar river side. Once our gypsy got close to them. The matriarch looked at us and raised her trunk – that was the first level of warning by an elephant – people who are trained in jungle survival and understand animal’s warning sign – can understand this behaviour of elephant. We cautioned Nabi, but he uttered his survival philosophy and kept moving on towards them. She shook her head and flapped her ears – second level of warning. The next level would be nothing but chasing, and that’s what exactly happened when we ceased to stop. The matriarch started chasing towards us, and now we had no option but retreating. Parade of elephants with cub, are always dangerous as they are extremely concerned about their calves’ safety and don’t like any other animals or human to come close. Page | 6
Once we started moving back, the herds started moving in opposite direction into bushes. As we were stopped and observing the movement from a distance, we saw an adult tusker (male elephant) appeared from the river side and started following the herds. Again we started following them, after sometime, the other female in the group noticed us. Now it’s her turn to warn us. She raised trunk and started flapping ears. This time we didn’t let it reach at next level, unanimously we decided to leave the place keeping the herds undisturbed. That was a typical behaviour pattern of elephants. All the female members are equally concerned about the safety of youngest member of the family. While coming back to our FRH in Gairal, we spotted a marsh crocodile basking on the river bed of Ramganga.
Species spotted on Day One: Mammals: Rhesus Macaque, Terhai Langoor, Spotted deer, Sambar deer, Grey Mangoose, Elephants, Muntjack (barking deer), and Wild Boar. Birds: Large billed crow, Common kingfisher, White breasted kingfisher, brown headed barbet, Streak throated woodpecker, Grey wagtail, Magpie robin, White browed wagtail, River lapwing, Jungle babbler, Common Myna, Indian pea fowl, Green bee-eater, Red jungle fowl, Himalayan Griffon, Egyptian vulture, Brahminy Kite, Serpent Eagle, Plum headed parakeet, Indian roller, Red whiskered bulbul, Black drongo, Paradise Fly catcher (white, female and juvenile). Reptiles: Marsh Crocodile
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15th April, 2018: Conflict over dominance
We started our second day’s safari at 6:00 AM from Gairal FRH and at around 7:30 AM near Dhikala grass land, we observed another fascinating behaviour pattern of Asiatic elephant in wild. Imagine the great grandmother of a traditional Indian family always picking which restaurants the sisters, aunts, and mother will go to while the teenage brother leaves the family and joins a group of other men‌In context of elephant family, the adult male elephants leave their herd and form a separate bachelor herd. We encountered a similar bachelor herd in the morning of 15th April at Dhikala grassland. Like many animals, elephants form a hierarchy within their social structure, thereby reducing conflict over resources (such as food, water, and space). In elephants, a matriarch (the oldest and wisest female) leads her bond group of related females to find food and water and to avoid predators. If the herd becomes too large for the available food or water supply, some of the females might split off from the herd and form their own groups, each headed by an older relative. In this way, we know that elephants live in fission-fusion societies. However, scientists are still investigating the complexities of elephant social structure. Dominance in males is a little different than that in females, or cows. Males, or bulls, form bachelor herds when they reach sexual maturity. For example, while the dominant cow is the herd leader, the dominant bull is usually the individual that mates with the most females and beats out other males in contests of strength. Interestingly, dominant bulls who are in musth tend to remain in musth (and maintain a higher production of testosterone) longer than younger, less dominant bulls. In the Dhikala grassland, we observed conflict between three tuskers over dominance for quite a good duration. We saw the biggest among them Page | 8
were not allowing the smallest one to be part of the herds. Initially we thought the smallest one is not related to other two, so they are resisting him in joining the group. The smallest one was trying to climb over a ridge, near a dry river body at the grassland. But the biggest one was resisting him in doing so. He was shaking his head vigorously to express his unpleasantness. After a while they challenged each other and with a huge trumpet they locked their trunks and started pushing each other. The smallest one gave up after some time, but didn’t leave the group. All three of them started moving together, and started disappearing in distant grassland. After few minutes, again we heard trumpet, and all three of them reappeared. Now the medium sized tusker, started pushing the smallest one. Again two of them got engaged and started pushing each other. The biggest one joined them after a while, and both of them started pushing the smallest one. It continued for some time, eventually the smallest one submitted. Then they started moving together and got disappeared in bushes. We suspected it was a conflict between them to establish dominance over the bachelor herds. The sun of early summer in the forest of Uttara Khand started become brighter as day progressed, we left that grass land and after moving few kilometres, we saw couple of gypsies were waiting near a water body. People on the gypsies were whispering ‘tiger’. This word in a forest has different significance for the tourists, photographers, and forest guide and gypsy drivers – and becomes more nerve-racking, when you know this is forest of Corbett Park. Bengal tigers, although plentiful, are not easily spotted due to the abundance of foliage - camouflage - in the reserve. Thick jungle, the Ramganga river and plentiful prey make this reserve an ideal habitat for tigers who are opportunistic feeders and prey upon a range of animals. The tigers in the park have been known to kill much larger animals such as buffalo and even elephant for food. The tigers prey upon the larger animals in rare cases of food shortage. There have been incidents of tigers attacking domestic animals in times of shortage of prey. After few minutes of waiting we spotted a female tiger, the tawny coat nicely camouflaged in matching sub Himalayan foliage, appeared in dense bushes and slowly moving into further deep in the forest. This was our first tiger sighting in Corbett Park after our previous encounter with the gorgeous animal in the forest of Tadoba – Andhari in Maharashtra. At 10:00 AM, we concluded our morning safari and arrived at Dhikala FRH for breakfast and rest for next 4 hours. After that we started our afternoon safari at 2:30 PM, again from Dhikala to Gairal. When we were driving through Thandi Sarak, we spotted one female elephant with calf. When we were deciding to follow them, we heard sounds of breaking of branches from our left side. It was not good idea to have elephant at both front and behind of gypsy. In the case of chasing, we would not have any escape route. Therefore, we reversed our gypsy and waited at a distance from where we can keep eyes on the sources of the sound. Soon after two elephants were appeared at uphill, they were climbing down while braking branches. We let them go and then turned towards Kalichar. Nabi told us, Thandisarak is known for elephant movement. Because of tree coverage the place always remains cool, and elephants prefer this part of forest for movement. That is another reason, why less number of tourist gypsies use this path in forest. We were thinking, in spite of knowing that fact, why he had brought us there. Page | 9
When we asked this question to him, he replied, “This is forest, and anything could happen at any time!” After 4-5 km of driving, we spotted a parade of elephants were walking slowly, in a single file, towards water body of Kalichar. At least 20 elephants were there including – male, female and calves. One male was at the front, calves were in the middle, surrounded by female or cow elephants, and the matriarch at the end. This is a typical formation of a parade of elephants in movement. Disney wasn’t lying in The Jungle Book – elephants actually do walk in single file when they are on the move, for instance while in search of food and water. The calves will sometimes hold on to their mother’s tails with their trunks to keep up, while other female elephants surround them to protect them from danger. Elephant families have a matriarchal head, meaning that an older, experienced lady elephant leads the herd. A family usually consist of a mother, her sisters, daughters their babies (calves). Occasionally, non-related elephants join to form families. Female family units range from three to twenty five elephants. Sometimes herds of female elephants combine with groups of bull elephants to form larger clans. Herd aggregations of 500 to 1000 elephants have been recorded around watering holes and other sources of food and water. Herd aggregation has also been documented in areas where poaching is rampant. The parade was going for drinking and bathing. Within few minutes another parade was appeared from the river side, coming back after finishing their bathing and drinking. The leading male of the retreating parade stopped, the whole parade followed him. He raised his trunk towards the approaching parade. In a moment the approaching parade changed their course and took a different route to reach water body. None of the parade wanted to bump into each other for unnecessary commotion and conflict. Amazing display of discipline and mutual respect in wild. There was also a possibility that two herds were interrelated. Although they tend to be close, an elephant family can split. This decision is influenced by ecological factors, such as the availability of food and water in the area, and social factors, such as how well the elephants get on, the size of the group or the death of a matriarch. As such, different herds living over vast terrain can be interrelated. These ‘bond groups’ keep in touch with each other through rumbling calls and usually stay within a mile of each other. We believe, in the vast grassland of Dhikala, there should be existence of few interrelated herds there. We followed the parade which was approaching water body and observed their bathing activities from a distance. We witnessed how female members of the group were taking care of calves. Pushing them to water and submerging them, so that they can get their whole body washed and cooled. Pulling them out of water, when the herds were leaving. Babysitting is an important aspect of elephant behaviour. Female elephants (cows) help look after each other’s calves. Babysitting other female’s calves is important for elephant development; young females learn Page | 10
how to look after the young, and the calves are shown how it’s done. The survival rate of a calf greatly increases when more females are present and willing take care of it. Bathing together is another typical behavioural pattern of elephant, which shows strong family ties. They love to have river bath, the trunks are used like a hose to spray water across the body. To help protect the skin from parasites and biting insects, elephants wallow in mud or spray dust on their wet skin. Once the mud and dust dry, elephants scratch their body with rock or trees to remove parasites. Elephant family have great fun in the river. While leaving the place, we saw another parade were walking towards the water body. While leaving the forest for the day, we found one huge tusker was taking bath alone in water, near the place where we saw marsh crocodile on first day. He saw us too, raised his trunk and soon after left the water, climbed uphill and started walking towards nearby grass land. Clearly we interfered in his privacy. We waited there for some time and watched his movement. He was a full grown adult and his male reproductive organ suggested that he was in musth and ready for mating. Most likely, he was going to join a female herds, as we saw a group of cow elephants and another tusker too, in distant forest. The previous one joined them. When we were about to exit, at around 6:00 PM, there was sudden intermittent warning call of burking deer and pea fowl. The elephants were also found little restless and started trumpeting. Presence of tiger was suspected. But it was time to leave forest. Later in the evening, at around 7:30 PM, when we were at our dormitory in Gairal zone, frequent warning call of burking deer was heard from close by forest and that continued for at least 10 minutes. That was our last night in Gairal FRH. Later in the morning Dwaipayan said, he woke up at 3:30 AM, and heard desperate warning calls from forest. That time we didn’t know what surprises were waiting for us in our next day’s morning safari.
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New Species spotted on Day Two: Birds: Tawny fish owl, Blue headed barbet, Brahminy starling, Bush chat, Grey headed fish eagle, Red vented bulbul, Rock pigeon, Collard dove, Spotted dove, Indian grey hornbill, Red wattled lapwing, Crested king fisher, Rose ringed parakeet, Paddy field pipit, Crested lark, Grey headed wood pecker Mammals: Indian Fox, Bengal Tiger (female)
16th April, 2018: The day of surprises
16th April, morning we packed our rucksacks and loaded in gypsy, as we had to leave Gairal FRH and the night accommodation was booked in Dhikala FRH. Around, 6:00 AM, we started our day’s safari. The normal or commonly used route to enter forest from the FRH, was turning right from the solar powered electric fence. But Nabi wanted to try something different and turned left. This is another speciality of Nabi, he doesn’t want to follow the conventional route of ecotourism, marked for tourists. That sometime increases the risk along with the thrill factor associated with exploration.
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After 200-300 meters on that route, we saw something was sitting on the road, its back was towards us and it facing to the direction of our course. Therefore, it didn’t see us, initially it looked like a rabbit, as two ear like shape were visible on its head. But colour and size was not clear, as it was just first dawn of the day. Whatever it was, we stopped. In few moments we realized it was a tiger sitting on forest road, probably waiting for the prey. As we exclaimed, it noticed us, and stood up suddenly and ran into deep forest adjacent to that road. We could see a full grown adult female tiger. We took her in surprise as well, so she was bit scared. We decided to stay there for some time. After waiting for good 5-6 minutes, we started hearing strong warning call of barking deer, jungle fowls joined that call soon after. All these confirmed, the tiger was still nearby and on move. Eventually the tiger appeared from our left side part of the forest, where she entered a while ago. The female tiger came out in the clear area, looked at us and started observing us. We were observing her too, through our camera lenses, and our right index fingers were busy in clicking shutters. She was just 100 meters away from us. She lowered her upper body a bit, slightly leaned towards us, for a moment we thought she was going to chase. But then she changed her mind probably, crossed the road and went to other side of the forest. There were still vigorous warning calls from both side of the forest. There were quite a few spotted deer roaming around. We could sense, the tiger was hungry and preparing for kill. If we could stay there for some time, probably we could witness and capture that breathtaking moment in our cameras. But, at the same time we thought, that would be creating disturbances in her morning forest work and interfering in the natural phenomenon of her survival process. Nabi also appreciated that thoughts and we left that place leaving the prey and predator in the lap of nature, for their natural faith. After this, we went to Jharana Jhari, and after a kilometre of journey, we found our road was blocked. We found one Rohini (Mallotus philippensis) tree was uprooted and blocked the path. Couple of other gypsies were also waiting there. Apparently, the tree was uprooted by an elephant, sign of elephant de buckling and also fresh elephant poop were all-over there. Nabi got down form the car, so did us. It is not allowed for tourists to get down in forest, unless it is a designated stoppage area. But that was an emergency situation. Nabi, asked other drivers to help in clearing the branches. Few other tourists also came forward to help. Now, we were on our feet on forest, three gypsies, parked at one side of the path and then the huge uprooted Rohini tree with all branches. We were somewhere between the gypsies and the tree. The other side of the path was open, which was connect to Dhangarhi gate of the park. Now, if the elephant in question, which apparently uprooted the tree, appeared again from that side, we didn’t have any escape route. Another guide of the park, Kaleem, pointed out this situation and also instantly came up with the solution. Which was nothing but Page | 13
climbing the steep uphill, from which the tree fell. What an excellent survival idea, we tried to visualize, a wild elephant behind us, and we were trying to climb an uphill slope, covered with thorny bushes, with camera and lenses in hand! Nabi again created another adventure opportunity for us. Anyway, we tried clearing loose leaves and branches and cut the thick one. But it was not easy task, as we didn’t have adequate tools for that job. We took out chain saw and Swiss knife from our survival kit. But cutting thick girth of a Rohini tree trunk with such tools, was a childish idea. Most of us were agreed, it was not possible to cut the whole tree to clear the path, with available tools. It would be rather wise to wait for the forest department lumberjack, who were anyway had been informed by then. But, Nabi was in disagreement as he had a teaspoon size of faith on department. He kept motivated and encouraged everybody to continue the tree cutting job, before department people had arrived. We had famous fashion and fine art photographer Mr. Akash (or Akashendu) Das, available with us, as part of the tourist group, who is also a nature and wildlife photographer by hobby and works for National Geography as freelancer. Apparently, Nabi and Mr. Das had been in similar situation before on a state highway. Although not in forest, but the situation was more alarming, as they were on road and a tornado was approaching. Nabi claimed, he and Mr. Das cut a tree, much thicker than the tree in question in Corbett Park, and they just used Mr. Das’s swiss knife to finish the job. Mr. Das indeed was carrying a swiss knife with him, which he took out during conversation with an attempt to cut the Rohini tree. But, the knife didn’t appear impressive enough, in fact it was hardly better than the one we were carrying in our survival kit. Mr. Das, himself sounded less confident, and not as sure as Nabi was, as far as the size of girth of the tree on state highway was concerned, which they cut in previous occasion. However, looking at his enthusiasm and confidence, no body objected Nabi. After all, he was the senior most and most experienced forester present there. Hence, tree cutting job continued for some time, yielded in braking of chain saw, but not before we successfully removed one thick branch of the tree. After the chain saw was broken, we ceased our activity and started waiting for the lumberjack and officials of forest department. But Mr. Akash Das, continued his effort with his swiss knife, and kept saying the swiss knife he used in previous case was better than the current one. As if his whole objective was, not to cut the tree, but to prove that previous swiss knife was the better one. This whole drama was going on for more than two hours, and ended when department people arrived, and cut the tree and removed it by a tractor. After that, there was not much left in our morning safari and we headed towards Dhikala FRH, where our night accommodation was arranged in a log hut dormitory. Page | 14
Dhikala forest Lodge is located in the core area of Corbett national park, it is enclosed by the effective solar fence to keep wild animals away. Dhikala FRH in the Dhikala zone has the maximum amount of facilities for the guests which includes canteen, jeep and elephant safaris, trained guides etc. the FRH is one big stretch of flat land on the edge of a ridge facing the RÄ mgangÄ reservoir and therefore a great place to view wildlife from a safe place. Amongst the choice of rooms Hutment is on the extreme end of the FRH land and very secluded with an extremely good view, cabins in the centre and the new FRH on the entry side which has a parking lot in front. All of them have attached bathrooms and fairly well kept with the limited resources the staff has access to. Dormitory is right behind everything with a common bathroom facility built under a thatched roof about 20 meters away from the Dorm. The two Dorms are side by side in one log hut and are very small. There is just about enough space in the middle for two people to stand and surrounded by four 3-tier railway sleeper like bunk beds. Our afternoon safari of the day started at 3:30 PM, towards Kamal Patti and then we turned towards Chuha Pani. Elephant population is very high in this part of the park, and also infamous for elephant attack. At around 4:00 PM, on Sambar road, a herd of elephants with female and calves were spotted. They were found crossing a water body. Our day was ended with another incident of elephant chase at Thandi sarak. A herd of four elephant was crossing road, there was another gypsy ahead of us, and all of a sudden that one speeded up and crossed the herd, which caused annoyance for the leading female of the herd. As a result, she chased our gypsy and we had to reverse and run away from the place.
New Species Spotted on Day Three: Birds: Common rose finch (male and female), Pied bush chat, Sriated prinia, Palm swift. Page | 15
17th April, 2018: The drama in the park
17th April, we started our safari from the log hut of Dhikla zone at 6:00 AM, towards Jharna Jhari, and then to Fulaichar. On the way we spotted two elephants on both side of the road. As we wanted to cross that stretch quickly, we speeded up and then took a turn. While taking turn, at the curve of the road we were almost head on with another female elephant. The safety protocol of the forest is, whenever you are close to elephant, never stop the gypsy, run fast and cross the animal quickly. So did we, charged the elephant back and escaped. The elephant got scared made a trumpet and ran into bushes. We saw she rushed to a herd of adult female elephant. The adults looked at us, we were expecting a chase, but nothing such happened and we escaped. At 7:50 AM, we reached at Ringora, spotted a huge lone tusker. Moment he saw us, started walking towards us. We were observing him, holding our breath, he increased his speed, looked like going to charge us. We moved from that place, the tusker was turned back and started walking in opposite direction. He was still not comfortable, repeatedly raising his trunk. Probably smelling something, that was not safe or secure for him, probably smelling presence of a predator. He trumpet couple of times, another tusker was spotted coming from other side. After some time, both disappeared deep inside forest. Around 10:30 we came back to our log hut to finish breakfast. We packed our bags and other belongings and left Dhikala zone. For next three nights we would stay in Bijrani zone. To leave the Dhikala zone we had to reach Dhangari gate first and then from there to Amdanda gate, which was close to Ramnagar railway station. Our accommodation was arranged in the Forest Rest House of Bijrani gate. It took more than an hour to reach there. Among the six safari zones, Bijrani zone is considered as the best zone after the Dhikala zone to spot the tiger. The picturesque landscape of this zone, which consists of large grass fields known Page | 16
as Chaurs and dense Sal forest, plenty of waterholes and river streams is no less enchanting than the Dhikala zone. The chances of tiger spotting in this zone are almost similar to the Dhikala zone and the tiger sighting is reported often by the safari tourists. Along with the big cats like Bengal tigers and leopards, several types other animals like wild elephants, black bears as well as different types of deer and antelopes namely Chital, Sambar, Hog Deer are found in this zone. Also a perfect place for the birding, there are around 600 species of resident and migratory birds are seen here. Aamdanda gate is the entrance to the Bijrani zone, which is located at the distance of around 1 km from the Ramnagar city. There is a buffer zone of 5 km after entering the gate, which you have to cross to get into the core zone. There are two forest rest houses located in this zone and are available for tourists to stay here after making a booking for the night stay. One is the Bijrani forest rest house and the other is Malani forest rest house. The day safari is not allowed to stay here for the night, but the day safari can enjoy the elephant ride from here. The elephant safari is only available in the Bijrani and Dhikala zones and is subject to availability as there are limited numbers of elephants used for the safari ride. Our safari in Bijari zone started at 3:00 PM. Nabi got an intelligence that one tigress was spotted at a particular point of forest. We rushed towards forest, and started waiting at that point, where she was seen in morning. We waited there for an hour. After some time one gypsy came back and informed us that an old tigress was spotted lying on the ground near Chital more. When we reached there, at least 5 gypsies were already there, and more and more were coming. Within a minute, an absolute chaotic situation got created, around 30 gypsies were there, and tourists in all gypsies were in competition on who will reach to a convenient spot, from where they can see the animal properly. The impatient tourists, were desperate to see the tigers and take photos of her, as if they got a lifetime opportunity, and made the situation in complete sixes and sevens. They were ready to do anything from pushing each other, jumping from one gypsy to another, walking or running on forest ground to reach close to the tigers, even if that risked their lives. Probably they forgot, they were in wild forest and dealing with wild animals, not in zoological garden, where animals were in captivity. The superiority feeling and ego of being human were in display shamelessly. The thoughts of non-human being cannot cause any harm to human being, were started becoming prominent, and if there had been a counter attack by the animal, whose peace was getting destroyed and patience was in trial, then that would have been the fault of the animal herself, in the law of human court. As a consequence punishment would have given to her by the so called superior species of this plant. Anyway, nothing happened from her side. She was completely indifferent and enjoying her afternoon nap on light sunlight. Apparently, she was old and injured, and couldn’t hunt for some days, which made her week and slow. However, there was a potential that such situation might turn her into a man eater. Page | 17
Tiger attacks are an extreme form of human–wildlife conflict which occur for various reasons and have claimed more human lives than attacks by any of the other big cats. The most comprehensive study of deaths due to tiger attacks estimates that at least 373,000 people died due to tiger attacks between 1800 and 2009, the majority of these attacks occurring in South and Southeast Asia. Over the last five centuries, an estimated 1 million people have been eaten by tigers. In Southeast Asia, attacks gradually declined after peaking in the nineteenth century, but attacks in South Asia have remained high, particularly in the Sundarbans. Near Corbett Park and surrounding areas of the park in state of Uttara Khand, every year there were lot of news of tiger attack get reported. On 17th March, 2017, two persons were killed and a boy was injured by a tiger in the Ramnagar area of the Corbett tiger landscape in the morning. The forest department personnel reached the site of the incident after some efforts were successful in immobilising and caging the male tiger aged about five years. According to information received, Muradabad (Uttar Pradesh) native Ramdas and his family work as labourers in the Dabka river in the Terai area of Kumaon in Uttarakhand. On Thursday morning during a break in the quarrying activity on the riverbed, at about 8 AM Ramdas and his wife Bhagwati Devi went to the woods of Dabka in Belpadao range of Terai west forest division to collect firewood. His son Sachin and other persons had also gone along with them into the jungle. It is reported that when all the persons were coming out of the woods with collected firewood, a tiger attacked the group near the Dabka river. The big cat lifted Bhagwati Devi and carried her into the woods as the shocked persons accompanying her started to shout and raise the alarm. Instead of scaring the tiger away, the noise had the reverse effect as the tiger returned to the spot and attacked the group of persons injuring Sachin. Statistics released in 2017 by India’s environment ministry reveal that 1,144 people were killed between April 2014 and May 2017. That figure breaks down to 426 human deaths in 2014-15, and 446 the following year. The ministry released only a partial count for 2016-17, with 259 people killed by elephants up to February of this year, and 27 killed by tigers through May. India’s population of 1.3bn is still growing, and as it does it is increasingly encroaching into the country’s traditional wild spaces and animal sanctuaries, where people compete with wildlife for food and other resources. The growth of human settlements is often seen as economic development. But for some who are living on the edge of wildlife borders, this development can come at a high cost. We have taken away spaces from wild lives, and now we are visiting national parks, what does not provide enough space to them, to show our so called love for nature and wild lives. At least we should know how nature and wild lives expect us to behave when we are at their space. Unfortunately, it seemed the tourists in Bijari zone, on that afternoon, were ignorant about behavioural requirements in wild forest and didn’t know how to respect wild animals and nature. Therefore, they started behaving violent, as if their million dollars are in stake and needed to be recovered by seeing the tiger. In all these doldrums, one tourist jumped on our gypsy and damaged the bonnet of it. Nabi got furious and then decided to leave the forest immediately, but not before verbally thrashing that mature adult man in front of a full house tourists and forest guides. Hundreds tourists, drivers and forest guides on that afternoon showed, we human being are only concerned about our own amusement, and have least respect and empathy for nature and wild lives. New Species spotted on Day Four: Birds: White crested laughing thrush, Blue whistling thrush, Blue tailed bee-eater, Crested Hawk eagle (male, female and juvenile), Intermediate egret, Brown fish owl. Page | 18
18th April, 2018: The Company of Nabi
The last afternoon’s experience had shaken us no doubt, Nabi was visibly upset, but he told us, it was not just because of tourists’ behaviour. He was also feeling bad for abusing that gentleman (who jumped onto our gypsy) in front of his family members and other tourists and guides in the forest. He decided, it would be better to see some of the relatively unexplored part of the forest, rather than going to general route, where all tourist gypsies go. Probably that was another way to avoid unruly tourists in forest. We noticed some pug marks of tiger and started following that and reached up to Ringori. Afternoon safari started at 3:00 PM, we went to waterhole number 6 and 8, then Fire Line and then up to Malani FRH. Whole path was covered by dry sal tree leaves, suggesting hardly any gypsy movement happens there. On one side there was sharp and thorny uphill and on other side, steep sloped ditch. Almost impossible to reverse gypsy. In case any encounter with elephant, the only means of escape would be leaving the vehicle and climbing through uphill. That was apparently the most dangerous route of the forest. Single road, only one gypsy can somehow pass through. Elephant movement, especially lone tuskers who left herds, was quite common on that route. The sign of elephant debuckling was observed many times en route. While continuing driving through that place, when we were counting every moments to end the route. After reaching a particular point, Nabi told another chilling story related to that place. He told us how two forest department staffs were killed by a male tiger. They couldn’t escape as their path was blocked by a tusker. We asked Nabi, if we were in such situation, what we would do. He said, as usual: “This is forest, anything can happen!” At around 5:10 PM, when we were near water hole number 4, we heard strong warning call of barking deer. But nothing more than that. While coming out of the forest we witnessed two amazing natural phenomena – killing attempt of a Bengal Monitor and hunting of Indian Earth Boa by a Crested Serpent Eagle. The Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard found widely distributed over the Indian Subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. This large lizard is mainly terrestrial, and its length can range from about 61 to 175 cm from the tip of the snout to the end of the tail. Young monitors may be more arboreal, but adults mainly hunt on the ground, preying mainly on arthropods, but also taking small terrestrial vertebrates, ground birds, eggs and fish. Although large monitors have few predators apart from humans who hunt them for meat, younger individuals are hunted by many predators. Bengal monitors are usually solitary and usually found on the ground, although the young are often seen on trees. Bengal monitors Page | 19
tend to remain active the whole day with different activities such as feeding. Large adults may ascend vertical tree trunks, where they sometimes stalk and capture roosting bats. Their normal prey consists of beetles, grubs, orthopterans, scorpions, snails, ants and other invertebrates. Vertebrate prey are comparatively rare, and includes frogs, fish, lizards, snakes and rodents. Bengal monitors are also scavengers. They sometimes feed on dead animals. In areas where livestock are common, they often visit dung, where they forage for beetles and other insects. During morning safari, when we were entering forest, we saw one Crested Serpent Eagle, swooped into ground and then started walking slowly. We suspected probably spotted a snake. Nabi, also reiterated our suspicion by pointing out the bushes where the eagle landed, and saying that such bushes are known for habitats of snakes.
it
Crested Serpent-Eagle hunts from a high perch at clearings’ edges. It watches for prey, motionless during long moments at tree top, with flat crest. When a prey is located, it drops almost vertically, and it catches arboreal snakes, reptiles, small birds and mammals. It takes its preys on the ground, and also takes dead snakes when it finds one. End of the morning safari, when we were coming out we saw another eagle dropped vertically in similar fashion into a bush and then again took off rapidly, and when it took off, we saw one Indian Sand Boa was hanging from its strong grip of claws. It landed on a tree and sat there for some time, and when it saw us again flew away to another distant tree and sat there for some time. We could still see the bird of prey for few more time. Crested Serpent-Eagle is able to twist and turn easily, while chasing prey at high speed among trees. It is often seen soaring over treetops in the morning, enjoying warm thermals for rising in the air. It is a very good flier. When it soars, broad wings are held in shallow V.
New Species spotted on Day Five: Birds: Lesser flame back woodpecker Reptiles: Bengal Monitor, Indian Sand Boa Page | 20
19th and 20th April, 2018: The Oldest Tigress of Bijrani
19th April, we started our safari at 6:00 AM, we went to Ringora again, via Jal Pahari. There was a rumour that a young female tiger is roaming in forest and was also sighted by few tourist vehicles. It was speculated that the young female was after the territorial dominance over another oldest tigress of Bijrani zone. Nabi told us, there could be a possibility of sighting the young tigress in Ringora. At around 7:30 AM, strong call of burking deer was heard, we waited there for some time and then moved towards chital road, which was the territory of oldest tigress. At 8:00 AM, near Nalah of chital road, the old tigress was found walking on road and gradually going inside of forest. Females are likely to stay within fairly close proximity to their mother, despite not necessarily having a relationship with her in the future, while males are likely to go further away. Therefore, there was also a speculation that the young female was actually daughter of the oldest one, whom we saw at chital road. A female tiger reaches sexual maturity at between three and four years old, and will likely have her first litter then. Males are about a year older than their female counterparts when they reach sexual maturity; that is, between four and five years old. Females usually wait about 2.5 years between Page | 21
pregnancies. However, if she loses a litter, she can produce another one within five months. The oldest tigress was found very weak and slow in movement. Her skin was loosen and darken. Naturally, tigers live longer when they are in captivity, since they are not under threat from poachers, starvation or fires. They receive protection and medical assistance as and when necessary. Therefore, tigers in captivity have been known to live for about 26 years. Those in the wild must fight a hard fight to survive. For this reason, their life is shorter, at an average of 10 years. At around 9:15 AM, near water hole number 6, at machan chowk, we heard few calls of spotted deer. In afternoon, safari started at 3:00 PM, we went towards badi fire line. At 3:30 PM, again we hard few warning calls of macaque. One great Indian horn bill was also seen. Then we moved towards Ringora again. At 5:40 PM, warning call of jungle fowl was heard. We also saw one black stork and one soft shell turtle. That was the end of safari on the day which was marked by death anniversary of Jim Edward Corbett. 20th April, morning was over casted and there was little drizzling as well. At 6:00 AM we went to Jalpahari and then to Ringora as our last attempt to spot the young tigress. We saw pug marks and also heard light warning calls of sambar. We left forest at 10:00 AM and then after an hour or two we checked out from Bijrani FRH and headed towards Ramnagar to end our exploration.
New Species spotted on Day Six and Seven: Birds: Honey Buzzard, Red Avadavat (female and juvenile), Changeable Hawk eagle, Black shouldered kite, Pied Bush chat, Siberian stone chat, Great Indian Hornbill, Black Stork, Eurasian Thick Knee with nestlings. Reptiles: Soft Shell Turtle, Earth Boa Page | 22
Annexure – I: List of Identified Species Sl. Name of Species No. Mammals Rhesus Macaque 1
Scientific Name Macaca mulatta
IUCN Status
Photograph
Least Concern
Terhai Langur 2
3 4
Spotted Deer Grey Mongoose
Semnopithecus entellus
Least Concern
Axis axis
Least Concern
Herpestes edwardsii
Least Concern
Asian Elephants
5
Elephas maximus
Endangered A2c ver 3.1
Northern Red Muntjack (barking Deer) 6
Muntiacus vaginalis
Least Concern
Sus scrofa
Least Concern
Rusa unicolor
Vulnerable A2cd+3cd+4cd ver 3.1
Panthera tigris
Endangered A2abcd; C1 ver 3.1
Wild Boar 7
Sambar 8
Bengal Tiger
9
10
Indian Fox
Vulpes bengalensis
Least Concern
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Golden Jackal 11 Birds Large billed crow 1 Common kingfisher 2 White breasted 3 Kingfisher Brown headed barbet 4 Streak throated woodpecker 5
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Grey wagtail Oriental Magpie robin White browed wagtail River lapwing
Jungle babbler Common Myna Indian peafowl Green bee-eater Red junglefowl Himalayan Griffon
15
Canis aureus
Least Concern
Corvus macrorhynchos Alcedo atthis
Least Concern Least Concern
Halcyon smyrnensis
Least Concern
Psilopogon zeylanicus
Least Concern
Picus xanthopygaeus
Least Concern
Motacilla cinerea Copsychus saularis Motacilla maderaspatensis
Least Concern Least Concern
Vanellus duvaucelii Turdoides striata Acridotheres tristis Pavo cristatus Merops orientalis Gallus gallus
Least Concern Near Threatened ver 3.1 Least Concern Least Concern Least Concern Least Concern Least Concern
Gyps himalayensis
Near Threatened ver 3.1
Neophron percnopterus
Endangered A2bcde+3bcde ver 3.1
Haliastur indus
Least Concern ver 3.1
Spilornis cheela
Least Concern ver 3.1
Egyptian Vulture 16
17
Brahminy kite Serpent eagle
18
19
Plum headed parakeet
Psittacula cyanocephala
20
Indian roller
Coracias benghalensis
Least Concern ver 3.1 Least Concern Page | 24
21 22 23 24 25 26
Red whiskered bulbul Black Drongo Paradise flycatcher (white), female and juvenile Tawny fish owl Blue headed barbet
Pycnonotus jocosus Dicrurus macrocercus
ver 3.1 Least Concern Least Concern
Terpsiphone paradisi
Least Concern
Brahminy starling Pied Bush chat
Sturnia pagodarum
27
28 29 30 31 32
35 36 37 38 39 40
Eubucco glaucogularis
Saxicola caprata
Grey headed fish eagle
Red vented bulbul Rock pigeon Eurasian Collard dove Spotted dove Indian grey hornbill
33
34
Ketupa flavipes
Icthyophaga ichthyaetus Pycnonotus cafer Rock pigeon Streptopelia decaocto Spilopelia chinensis
Ocyceros birostris
Red wattle lapwing River lapwing Crested kingfisher Paddyfield pipit Crested lark Grey headed woodpecker Rose ringed parakeet Common rose finch
Least Concern Near Threatened ver 3.1 Least Concern
Least Concern
Near Threatened ver 3.1 Least Concern Least Concern Least Concern Least Concern
Least Concern
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1
Vanellus duvaucelii Megaceryle lugubris Anthus rufulus Galerida cristata Dendropicos spodocephalus Psittacula krameri
Least Concern Least Concern Least Concern
Prinia crinigera
Least Concern
Cypsiurus balasiensis
Least Concern
Garrulax leucolophus
Least Concern
Least Concern Least Concern
41
Striated prinia 42
43 44
Asian Palm swift White crested laughing thrush
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Blue tailed bee-eater 45
Merops philippinus
Least Concern
Nisaetus cirrhatus
Least Concern
Ardea intermedia
Least Concern
Ketupa zeylonensis
Least Concern
Burhinus oedicnemus
Least Concern
Pernis ptilorhynchus
Least Concern
Amandava amandava
Least Concern
Ceryle rudis
Least Concern
Crested hawk eagle (juvenile) 46
47
Intermediate egret Brown fish owl
48
49
50
Lesser flame back woodpecker Eurasian thick-knee with nestlings
Oriental Honey Buzzard 51
52
Red Avadavat (female and juvenile Pied Kingfisher
53
Great Indian hornbill
54
Buceros bicornis
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[
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Black stork 55
Ciconia nigra
Least Concern
Reptiles 1 Earth Boa
2
Bengal Monitor
Varanus bengalensis
Least Concern
3
Soft shelled turtle
Nilssonia hurum
Vulnerable A1cd+2d ver 2.3
4
Marsh crocodile
Crocodylus palustris
Vulnerable A2cd ver 3.1
Amphibian 1 None Insects None 1
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Annexure – II: Explorers’ Profile
Dwaipayan Ghosh, Founder Member of Exploring Nature Born in Kolkata on 27th September, 1978 and currently based out of Guwahati, Assam. An Electrical Engineer by profession and holds B. Tech in Electrical Engineering from 2004 batch of University of Kalyani. Has been working for Construction, Renovation & Modernisation of EHV Electrical Sub-Stations; Erection, Testing and Commissioning of Power Transformers and Equipment (Like Transformer, Circuit Breaker, Current Transformer, Potential Transformer, Isolator, Control & Relay Panels etc.) for last twelve years. Worked for Sapurjee Palonjee; ALSTOM T&D India Limited (Systems Business); Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. (Electrical Contract Division); and Utility Powertech Ltd. (A Joint Venture Of Reliance Energy Ltd. & NTPC) etc. Currently working as Manager – Execution in Genus Power Infrastructure Limited (ECC Division). Holds Certificates in Nature and Wildlife from Wildlife Campus, South Africa (Affiliated to Field Guides Association of South Africa) on Wildlife Management; Anti-Poaching; Animals Tracks & Signs; Trails Guiding; Birding by Habitat; Snakes & Reptiles of Lowveld and Digital Wildlife Photography. Participated in about 24 biodiversity expeditions, which include Corbett National Park, Uttara Khand; Palkot Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Jharkhand;Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserves, Maharshtra; Jawai Dam and its surroundings, Rajasthan;Tiger Reserves of Satpura, Pench and Kanha (Madhya Pradesh); Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary (Karnataka); Nagarhole National Park (Karnataka); Bandipur National Park (Karnataka); Eravikulam National Park (Kerala) and Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala); Kaziranga National Park (Assam); Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (Assam); Clouded Leopard National Park/Sipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary (Tripura); Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary (Tripura); Bandhabgarh National Park (Madhya Pradesh); Sundarban Tiger Reserve (West Bengal); Gorumara National Park (West Bengal); Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary (West Bengal); Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (West Bengal); Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary (Andhra Pradesh); Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park (Telangana) – for Butterfly Photography; Gir National Park (Gujarat); Wild Ass Sanctuary (Gujrat); and Urban and Sub-Urban Bird Photography in West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh etc.
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Arnab Basu, Member of Exploring Nature Born in Kolkata on 17th June, 1978 and currently based out of Bengaluru.
A Sustainability Consultant by profession and holds B.Sc with major in Botany and Zoology from 2000 batch of University of Calcutta; MBA in Environment Management from 2004 batch of Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata; Diploma in Chemical Engineering and Industrial Safety. Has about 15 years of experience in overall management and supervision of Sustainability, Safety Transformation, Industrial and Construction Environment, Occupational Health & Safety and Quality Systems; compliance assessment, assurance, verification and evaluation of EHS legal requirements and Corporate EHS management system; implementation, evaluation and assurance of Corporate Sustainability Reporting and GHG accounting; training and consultancy for Quality, Health, Safety, Social Accountability and Environmental Management Systems. Worked with National and multinational EHS consultancy farm like EQMS, Deloitte etc, currently working as Principal Consultant in ERM. Participated in about 16 biodiversity expeditions, which include Corbett National Park, Uttara Khand; Palkot Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Jharkhand; Speyside and Cairngorm National Park, Scotland, UK; Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharshtra; Gunug Leuser National Park, North Sumatra, Indonesia;Tiger Reserves of Satpura, Pench and Kanha (Madhya Pradesh); Kruger National Park in South Africa, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary (Karnataka); Nagarhole National Park (Karnataka); Bandipur National Park (Karnataka); Eravikulam National Park (Kerala) and Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala); Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (Assam); Gir National Park (Gujrat); Wild Ass Sanctuary (Gujrat); and Biodiversity study of Ghatshila and Jhargram (West Bengal), Araku Valley and Vizag Port (Andhra Pradesh), Forest of Bankura and Midnapore (West Bengal) etc. Conducted assessment of urban and sub urban biodiversity at Kolkata, Salt Lake Wetland, South Bengal (West Bengal). Conducted Study on Joint Forest Management and Wild Life in South West Bengal under the supervision of Department of Forest, Govt. of West Bengal and under the joint guidance of Environment Management department of IISWBM and National Afforestation and Eco-development Board, Govt. of India.
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Subhashish Panja, Member of Exploring Nature
Born in Kolkata on 1st December, 1977 and currently based out of Mumbai. An engineer by profession holding Diploma in Mechanical Engineering Currently working as Procurement Specialist in energy sector with an US MNC in Mumbai Has been working in energy sector for about 15 years now in various capacities including Gas Turbine Maintenance, Power Plant Operations, Supply Chain and Contract Management. An enthusiast in wildlife expeditions. Participated in tours to Corbett National Park, Uttara Khand; Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharshtra; Sundarban, Bauxa Forests etc.
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