Nameri National Park

Here is another guest post by Arun Bhat , as he shares his experiences at Nameri National Park , located in  North East India.

The one thing that I will always remember about Nameri is the story that the manager at Nameri Eco Camp told me. ‘We had two birders from Europe who were keenly looking for some bird on a tree with binoculars glued to their eyes. I heard some sudden sound nearby. Just behind us, a python had caught hold of a goat and was wrapping itself around the poor animal. I was excited and called for the visitors’ attention. The python had already started consuming the goat. These people who were searching deeply for some birds on the branches looked back once, said ‘oh! interesting!’ and immediately returned to their search on the tree!’

I do not know if he made up the story. Perhaps he did, but the story gives an idea of avian richness that Nameri possesses. People come from all over the world to Nameri, looking for many rare species of birds. While White Winged Wood Duck and Ibisbill are two most famous residents of the park, there are about three hundred more types that entertain the naturalists. When I think about searching for these birds, I remember a friend’s effort to see the rare White Winged Wood Ducks that number less than a thousand worldwide today. They walked several kilometres deep into the forest that was occasionally marshy and painful to walk through. The ducks were in a remote marshy lake covered with thick vegetation all around it. These people had to be extremely careful not to make noise and not to scare the birds, and had to stand still in a leech infested territory to see the ducks.

I spent just one day in Nameri on the way from Tawang to Kaziranga, so no wonder I never saw these rare ducks. But Ibisbills, the other coveted species, allowed me their sighting. They were relatively easy to spot and were wandering happily along the bed of Jia Bhoroli River at a place where we set out on a raft.

Talking about rafting, the ride over Bhoroli’s waters was an easy one without any rapids. It was more a pleasure ride than an adventurous tumble. The river’s water was so pristine and the forest around it was so beautiful and untouched, it still comes in my dreams and wakes me up with longings to be there.

Besides rafting, the other memory of Nameri that haunts me often is the sighting of great hornbills. Once we were walking over a grassy open patch when a small flock of hornbills flew across to a nearby tree. While I looked at them for a while and decided to move on, another small bunch followed, and a little later an individual. In a few more seconds came another and another and many more, all of them entertaining us with their superbly graceful flight and the swooshing sound from their wings. We paused for next five minutes, counting hornbills that emerged from the forest and flew across slowly. They numbered about three dozens and all of them assembled in a tree somewhere faraway. Just before I was about to pack up and leave Nameri that morning, these hornbills had organized a send-off that I will never forget.

Posted by Arun Bhat for Affordable Calling Cards which offers international phone cards such as calling cards to India. 

Lakshmi Sharath and her three bears

This is no fairy tale, but the setting definitely is like one . I was staying at the Sloth Bear Resort in Hampi-Kamalapur run by Jungle Lodges and Resorts last weekend. And I spent three hours in Daroji,Wildlife Sanctuary watching the bears fight each other while a  mother protects her cub . Here are three bears out of the eight that we saw at very close quarters

Sloth bears in Daroji

Every boulder in Hampi tells a story - the tale of the mighty Vijaynagar dynasty . Thronged by tourists who come here to see the crumbles of this once powerful empire, Hampi has this ageless spirit about it.  The river Tungabadra flows through this capital town separating Anegundi and Hampi and  has been a silent witness to the many battles fought and won in this rocky terrain. The ruins are littered with tourist boards screaming out the directions while the maps highlight the monuments and the erstwhile gates of this dynasty .But there is one gate that has been forgotten to be marked.

At about 20 kms from Hampi, is a hamlet called Daroji that was once believed to be the gateway to this empire. The locals here believe that Daroji was actually called Darwaze which meant gate and we were on our way to this nondescript hamlet. Our agenda , however was not to see more monuments, but to look out for sloth bears who have made the rocky caverns their homes.

The scenery changes dramatically as we drive down towards Daroji . The browns turn green and the mountains open out to lush fields. Small canals of the Tungabhadra river give us company as they irrigate the fields . We pass glimpses of rustic life with shepherds and their herds, farmers getting ready for harvest and nomads wandering along with their belongings . We pause by and chat with a woman and her two daughters who are on their way to join  her husband..  Their daughters smile shyly as they rescue a baby bird and play with it before moving on.

Hampi’s tryst with history goes beyond the 14^th century Vijaynagar empire as it dates back to the days of Ramayana.  Anegundi across the Tungabhadra river was believed to be the mythical Kishkinda, the monkey kingdom of Sugriva who was Rama’s ally in the war against Ravana. It is said  that Rama’s army crossed Hampi enroute to Srilanka. And if myths were to be believed,  there was one bear in the army called Jambhavan. Today, Daroji Wild life sanctuary that includes the Bukkasagara range of mountains near Hampi and Anegundi is home to 130 bears . You can also find leopards, foxes, jackals, hyenas ,pangolin along with several mammals and a variety of birds and reptiles.  

The roads give way to shrub jungles and massive boulders .A pair of painted spur fowls rush past us, while the grey francolins call out for attention. The shrubs and the rocks are a perfect habitat for these bears who feed on berries and wild fruits that grow in plenty here. There are termite mounds and there is no dearth for honey.

We are at a foothill of a small mound waiting for the bears . It is a dead end and a small detour takes you to the watch tower. The forest department arranges for sweetlicks for the bears in the noon and we patiently wait for them to emerge out of their caves. While tourists watch the spectacle from the watch tower, we had a special permission from the department and were hardly 20 feet from the bears.

And slowly  the world of Baalu of Jungle Book comes alive in front of us. We watch a pair of bears peep from their cave and climb up the rocks. A couple of cubs follow.  For a long time it is just us and the bears. The residents of this jungle are busy enjoying their sweet licks as they lick one rock after another. They seem blissfully unaware of us clicking photographs. The silence is only  interrupted by the large grey babblers who gather around these sloth bears. A sudden growl and the bears scramble  behind the rocks. A large  bear walks up the mound from behind our car and starts licking the rock hardly a few feet away from us. He gives us a look and then continues his activity, while the other bears disappear.

A sudden downpour and the bully who has the entire mound for himself  returns to his cave , and in a matter of seconds, the four bears appear again , shaking the rain drops from their furry coat. They continue to lick the rocks, standing on their feet, and resting on the rocks and then disappear in the rain having had their hearts content.

For  a moment, I was lost in their world watching them play hide and seek with each other. It seems like there was a territorial war out there. As I was watching, my guide explains that these bears are today threatened due to illegal mining and man animal conflict . As we speak, we can hear the distant echo of the dynamite from the hills almost a sign of man’s greed out there.We did not realize that we had spent close to four hours watching the bears in their own habitat. And as long as we let them be, it was a happy coexistence. However, the bears seem to know that we were encroaching in their world.

Getting there

Daroji wildlife sanctuary is about 15 kms from Hampi and you would need about half a day out there. Hampi is an overnight journey from Bangalore and is about 364 kms from the capital city. Accomodation is available in Hampi and Anegundi. Carry binoculars if you are going to the watch tower. You could get forest department permission and they would arrange your trip to Daroji with a forest guide and your accommodation in the nature camp at Kamalapur will be taken care as well. 

On sloth bears 

The sloth bears normally called Karadi in many South Indian languages and Baalu in Hindi is straight out of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book. Found largely in Indian continent besides Srilanka and Bangladesh , they were originally called bear sloths because of their slow gait. They were also considered to be a species of sloths rather than bears as they also were called Five fingered sloth or ursine sloth at one time. It is said that the first sloth bear was shipped from India to Europe in 18^th century and the naturalists there changed the name to sloth bears. These nocturnal mammals are arboreal as they are  known to climb trees and are omnivorous and consume insects, largely termites. Their habitat is largely dry shrubs with rocky caves and jungles, where fruits , berries and honey are available in plenty.

The mating season here in Daroji is largely around May –July and the cubs are born after a gestation period of 6-7 months. These cubs often born blind and their eyes open in about three weeks. It is interesting to see the bears mating as they are usually loud and attempt mock fights and hug each other. The best time to go to Daroji would be around January to see the cubs along with the parents running around amidst the rocks.

This story was published in the inflight magazine of the Paramount Airlines-Windows and Aisles  and later on a version of it in Spectrum, Deccan Herald

Some wild musings

I was looking for inspiration to pen an article on my recent wildlife trips , when I decided to convert my friend my muse. She said a very simple thing - " You owe it to your subjects to write about them..now focus and write. " My immediate response was " Im writing about the denizens of the forest and Im not sure they appreciate mankind coming there to do a peekaboo and stare at them. " Write for the forests at least, " she answered and my thoughts took a different turn.

Instead of writing in my word document that reads 47 words now , I started posting my thoughts here.Do we as tourists, travellers, wildlifers, photographers really care for the forests and its denizens- be it man or animal ? I am part of a wildlife group and every day , my mail box is inundated by mails from the so called experts who preach about their take on wildlife.If lack of awareness is one of the key issues, this holier than thou attitude of the wildlife enthusiasts sometimes gets on my nerves too.

A friend recently remarked on how some photographers unethically disturb nests of birds to take a good photograph. Many times, we get special entries into forests to take pictures. Ive been guilty of it too when I went to Daroji to see sloth bears at close quarters. The animals no wonder ignored us.While writing this post,my intention is not to curtail tourism or photography,because this is the only way we get close to nature. Im just trying to say that we should rather be a bit sensitive to the forests too and understand that animals are tired of being chased. We can sight them in silence, take photographs without flash ,not wear bright clothes and leave as quickly as possible , giving them their space and privacy.For we have encroached into their territory .As my friend said,"The forests need us to survive. Its symbiotic."True, we need the forests to survive as well.

More wildlife from Kabini

When you are in a forest, one of the oft repeated wish is to see a tiger or a leopard. Well, yours truly is not an exception. But my luck has always been rather bad. However what started as a sour grapes attitude has suddenly changed . Today, I am easily satisfied with some sightings of birds. I enjoy looking at smaller mammals and am often rewarded by some quality sighting of the larger ones. During my trip to Kabini , I was staying at the JLR property and I was lucky to have a very good naturalist with me. Yes, I missed the sighting of a leopard and a sloth bear, but was very happy to see gaurs drinking waters and crossing the road in front of us, a smaller pack of dholes or wild dogs threatening a domestic dog, tuskers posing for us and even a threesome elephants dancing for us. In my earlier posts, I had spoken about a mother and a baby having a bath, besides our encounter with another family. So, now tell me , do we really miss a tiger or a leopard here ?

Kabini and her elephants - 2

When I went to Kabini last month, there were plenty of families around .Well, Im not referring to the human kind , but about elephants. We saw herds everywhere and although we did see a few tuskers around , it was interesting to watch the behaviour of these animals. In one of our jungle safaris, we came upon a family of three who just emerged out of the bushes onto the road. We were the only jeep around and we were rather deep into the jungle.

We switched off the engine and waited. I hesitated to use my camera , but then I took a couple of pictures just as they posed for us . As I closed the lens, the father shielded the mother and the calf from our view and then he led the group as they crossed the road. While keeping an eye on us, he shepherded them into the bushes and that is when I took out the camera again and even while his family was safely into the forests, he gave us one last look before exiting from our view.





In another scene, we were privy to the bathing scene of a mother and baby elephant who were enjoying a mud bath in the tiger's pool. The mother was extremely weak and we could see her bones..probably she had a hard time getting herself and her calf to kabini . We didnt see the leopard or the tiger , but we spent a good 20 mins watching them enjoy the water.I made a slide show on You Tube and you can watch the pair here

Kabini and her elephants -1

I had taken my parents to Kabini to escape the Madras heat and the river was kind to us. A tributary of the Cauvery, the river has its origins in Wayanad . A dam built on it in the 1970s helped form the backwaters which has the Bandipur forests on one end of its bank and the Nagarhole on the other.




In summer, the waters recede, but the river and the forests on either banks play host to herds of elephants who migrate here looking for food.They grace the banks or enjoy a swim or even have a mud bath sometimes.





We were unlucky with the sightings of leopard and tiger, but were rewarded with quality sightings of elephants as we saw herds shepherding their young ones or tuskers locking horns.

Sometimes they are taking a bath or enjoying a swim while a lone tusker that let us watch him for a while.

These are some of the pictures from the banks. Coming up are the elephants from the Nagarhole forests

Back from the jungles

I was lost somewhere in the dense forests of interior Masinagudi during the weekend ; not amidst the row of touristy resorts, but somewhere in the interior where forests and wilderness merge in a place aptly titled Wilds.I will blog about this sometime when I have a little more mind-space , but for now, a quick update to say I am back in rain swept Bangalore

Nature calls..

There are some moments in life when you realize that the most simple things in life are the ones that we ignore the most, take them for granted and assume that they are always there..



They also happen to be the finer things in life which we cannot do without - the birds, the bees, the trees, the flowers, the deer, the ants, the spiders,the grass, the thicket and before I say like Keats "and the fruit tree wild..", let me tell you that my vain attempt at poetic prose is inspired by the 3 days spent in a Naturalist Training Programme organised by Jungle Lodges.



I went bird watching for the first time and it was amazing to wake up to an orchestra every morning. We spotted close to 20 species and some of them stay quite fresh in my mind. The special moments were the sighting of the Tickell's Blue flycatcher and the paradise fly catcher, the purple sunbird,the small minivet,the golden oriole,the Eurasian eagle owl, the red wattled lapwing and the blue bearded bee eater. However, it wasnt just them.


It was about realizing that all nests may not belong to birds, but could be that of a social spider .It was also about looking at the differences between the red vented bulbul and the red whiskered bulbul,the magpie robin and the Indian robin,the spotted dove and the laughing dove, listening to the call of the puff throated babbler, the sighting of the coppersmith , the sillhouttes of the wing patterns of the swift and the swallow in flight,the eye of the oriental white eye,the brown cap of the pygmy woodpecker and the white browed fantail. The colours are still so vivid in my mind and I realized that just watching these birds and their behaviour can be so addictive . I wondered what really took me so long to get to the world of birds.


But its not just the thrill of seeing and discovering birds..its also about discovering the world around you that makes you alive and gives you an identity.Its also about telling you that there could be a world soon when all these will slowly die or disappear as their habitat gets taken over by man.Its also about discovering that for every species of plant lost, we lose 30 species of organisms. There is drama,tension, mystery, colour and wonder in this world which we often miss. Unfortunately there is also death and decay here which we are indifferent to.

On a different note. Some quick updates here...
This blog has been selected as the featured blog in Best Indian Blogs and Im quite kicked about this..Thanks guys for reading my blog and making this happen. Im off to a new destination day after, a hill station ,a fort and a forest rolled into one..Any guesses ? You can look for answers in Cerebrate . Ive been missing out on all your posts and will catch up when I am back next week.

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