A day with the Prince!

I had never counted the number of times I have gone to the forest, but every time when I pack my bags, I can feel a rush of adrenalin bettering the previous occurrence. Sighting wild animals in Tamil Nadu is a herculean task. I have read articles from people who have experience matching my age who argue sighting is not by chance but by sheer understanding of terrain, animal behavior and tons of patience, but I would beg to differ. I would rather say luck 90% and the rest with all those above put together. Expecting the unexpected would be the best way to describe wildlife sighting. Few years ago I had in fact trekked from Thengumarahada to Siriyur via Thulakampatty without even seeing a Chital.

Hungry Elephant

Lets have a drink... Photo Courtesy - Hariprasad Lakshmanan

Behind Bars :) - Photo Courtesy - Hariprasad Lakshmanan

Last December, we had plans to visit the Singara Range in North Ooty forest division. I think we were blessed that time, the moment we left behind the villages, we came upon 4 elephants (2 female and 2 babies) and with favorable wind we ended up filling our memory cards with some beautiful shots. Little did we realize that we would be a part for the greatest display of wildlife congress to unfold in the next 30 minutes.  A Male Gaur, A bull elephant and a pair of female sambar all in a single frame made us go gaga for a long time. Luckily we had spare memory cards and we ended filling that too.

Congress!!! 

As we all know night stay inside the forest is not that comfortable. After an uneasy night stay, we started our 20km hike. After a hour or two we were on top of a mountain. The wind was cool and we decided to take a short break. It was a breathtaking view of the Seegur plateau. All of a sudden we heard a mating call from quite a distance. We had no idea if it was a Tiger or the leopard. Our guide leapt on his feet and made a dash towards the sound. I was pretty sure we wouldn’t see anything like the million similar instance I had been before. But curiosity did make us move with the guide and finally we spotted a feline figure lying on top of a rock on edge of a cliff overlooking the plains below. We weren’t sure if it was a tiger or a leopard as it was quite far. We had been fooled by such figure earlier as it normally turns out to some discolored rock or fallen log.

Spotted!

I took my new weapon, the SX40 to confirm if we had hit Jackpot. Yes, finally a leopard! It was a huge male matching the size of a full grown female tiger. We spent close to an hour or two capturing various moods of the “Prince”. One small movement of my friend and the leopard spotted us and disappeared into the thicket. We made up our mind to follow the “Prince”. Half hour of trek through the worst thickets I have ever gone through led us to the place where we spotted the leopard earlier. We found him lying few meters from the spot enjoying the warm breeze rising from the plains below. The breeze was so strong that it did silence our noisy approach and suppress our scent from the otherwise vigilant cat.

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Sitting just 15 feet away from the Cat with nothing between us made me overlook the hardships I have faced just to get a glimpse of these magnificent creatures. I have spent countless hours driving, trekking and planning a hike inside the forest and also buried our egos just to get permission for a stay inside the jungle. All the suffering came to an end right away that was the power of the forest dweller. We were in awe for the next 20 minutes. I wanted to stay put for eternity, but we wanted to return the favor by not disturbing him. We retraced our steps back to the point from where we first saw it. It had by then gone into deep slumber.

We started our way back to our camping place with memories and lot of photos (obviously) for a lifetime. I know a repeat is next to impossible, but hope is what which makes the wheel spin.

I only peck...but u cut trees...

Dream of a bird watcher - Great Hornbill

Campers paradise!

Sunand

Trail of the tiger

Anaikatty Forest Rest House (top)

Gentle cool breeze, towering mountains, winding roads, diverse landscape greet you on the way to a sleepy village called Anaikatty. This is not as famous as the one which is near Coimbatore. “You can spot a tiger on the way if you are lucky” says the forest watcher guarding the check post at Vazhaithottam enroute Anaikatty. The decent tarmac till the village attracts people throughout the year. Built in 1910, the forest rest house greets us warmly with pristine air and near zero pollution. The rest house is built on a small hillock overlooking the tiny village in the valley below. The village is a Kurumba hamlet with less than 100 families who rely far too much on agriculture to make ends meet. The moment you enter the rest house, a skull of a Gaur on the wall gets the attention. “Killed by a tiger in Anaikatty - Sep '38” on the varnished wooden frame gives an idea of what is in store. The forest guard who accompanied us to the forest rest house asks us to visit the Siriyur Mariamman temple in the evening which is nearly an hour’s drive from the forest rest house. These two villages lie on the seegur range of the north nilgiri forest division and serve as the buffer zone for the surrounding wildlife sancutaries. This is also the place where the legendary Kenneth Anderson slayed the “Man-eater of Seegur”.

A small talk with the resident guard at the rest house and he is more than happy to tell tales of the flora and fauna. The removal of cattle camps from the forests by the Tamil Nadu Forest Department,improved protection, largely offered by the inadequately and irregularly paid tribal anti-poaching watchers and excellent breeding in the adjacent wildlife areas of the Mudumalai Wildlife Santuary and the Bandipur Tiger Reserve, have resulted in a sheer increase in the population which has triggered dispersal of tigers seeking new territories.

The dispersing tigers easily found a home here to settle down, as the Seegur range with its abundance of forage species and plenty of palatable and nutritious grass, always had a substantial population of the chital, the sambar and the gaur.

Bison at Aadikombai

Babies with mothers

You could see Gaur, elephants, Sambar deers, sloth bears, mouse deer, monitor lizards,dholes, Striped hyenas, black bucks, hundreds of chitals and if you are lucky the elusive tiger on the way to siriyur. The spine chilling drive and the excitement of what’s round the corner makes the drive worth every penny. The accomodation is basic with a cot in both the suites and food is prepared by the temporary cook from the village with the ration which needs to be bought from vazhaithottam. The nearest grocery shop is near the check post in vazhaithottam which is a good half hours drive from the rest house. Relaxing on the wooden arm chair is a must in the morning as it gives a splendid view of the blue Nilgiris along with silence breaking cry of a peacock.

A sub-adult tusker crossing the road

camouflaged!!!

Visiting this range is a must for every responsible wildlife enthusiast to enjoy nature at its best without disturbing the peace and tranquility of this legendary place.

How it all "Started"

My rendezvous with forests was totally unplanned. It all happened when my friends suggested a new place to ‘chill’, instead of the regular “OOTY”. We were a little disappointed when we reached our destination Masinagudi. Short thorny trees and bushes and not so cooler climate made us think that we should have stuck with our usual stuff, but we realized how it changed our lives (at least my life) for the better.

Our stay was in a government trekking shed tucked inside the forest. I never had a feel that I was inside a forest, as my perception of a jungle was towering trees, lush green plants with a lot of animals inside the forest. I was in for a biggest surprise, when a bull elephant chased our vehicle. I was always fascinated by the inmates of the jungle and this incident ignited the passion which was lying dormant inside me for a long time.

Since then, my trips to the forests in and around Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR) increased multifold. The pleasure of sharing the experience with my pals prompted me to take photos of the unseen landscapes and the forest dwellers. The sheer diversity in flora and fauna in this biosphere is mind boggling, be it the fauna, flora and avifauna.

In spite of improved awareness among people, increased patrolling by forest guards and anti poaching staffs and improved conservation techniques, safeguarding our forests from the poachers still goes for a toss. Forest cover in India is declining at an alarming rate. Conflicts between humans and animals still remain with the latter losing in the long run. On the bright side, as a result of removing settlements from the core areas and also due to increased patrolling, NBR is seeing an increase in the population of the endangered species which brings hope that our forests will survive the human onslaught.