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Published: November 22nd 2006
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Fatal familiarity
A sounder of wild boars grazes on the way to Parambikkulam forest division. Praveen aimed the D100 as soon as he spotted the wild boars, big sturdy ones and small shy ones, grazing on the wayside. He has not come across such a large sounder of boars in his years as a wildlife photographer. Tiny eyes above fatal tusks watched the intruders uneasily. As Praveen moved the car forward for a better view, tiny boars ran to their parents. Slowly the sounder vanished behind the undergrowth.
The first creature to greet us inside Top Slip sanctuary was a common langur. Peacocks, eagles and bonnet macaques followed before we reached the entrance to Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary. This forest division of Kerala can be accessed only through the forestland in Tamil Nadu. After two check posts put up by Tamil Nadu and one by Kerala, we enter the 285-sq kilometre forest division.
S Babu, an eco-guide, joins us. The forest department has made it mandatory to depute a guide to each private vehicle venturing into the forest after a few reveling parties ended in tragedy. Before we go deeper, we eat at a canteen run by the tribesmen on the premises, which house the divisional forest office and other buildings. Today, they didn’t go
Guide and guardian
Eco guide S Babu helps you be responsible while moving around Parambikkulam dam and division. fishing in the dam. But curd was fresh and refreshing.
On the way, we check elephant droppings. Babu says it is two days old. You have to be lucky to spot animals, he adds. We stop by a large lake. It is the catchment area of Thoonakadavu dam, one of the two reservoirs inside the forest division. An old contract gives Tamil Nadu the rights over the water bodies and the pumping stations while the land belongs to Kerala. But right of way belongs to animals, a board reads.
Monsoon, with all the rain, slush and greenery, is not a good time to visit the sanctuary. Animals are comfortably tucked away in their hideouts. In summer, adds Babu, all animals would converge at the few watering holes, where crocodiles and elephants see eye to eye. The lakeside bamboo cottage would be the perfect place to hunt for wildlife photos, Mustafah says. Shaji Pattanam vows to be there next summer.
Farther the winding road, deer graze on the wayside. But before we get any picture, they scoot, intimidated by the silence of the car. Don’t switch off the vehicle, Babu says.
Uphill, we get down from the
Antique teak
Kannimara teak in Parambikkulam forest division is one of the oldest in Asia. car for an aerial view of the dam we passed, with our guide’s permission. Babu belongs to the Malasar community, one of the four tribal groups inhabiting the division between the Anamalai and the Nelliampathy hill ranges. There are 40 eco guides like him from the four communities - Malasar, Malamalasar, Kadar and Muthuvar. There are nine tribal colonies inside Parambikkulam wildlife sanctuary.
Babu has only studied up to fourth standard, but he has been catching up with English lessons to make himself a good guide. He has found a teacher in his wife, who has studied till eighth standard. But the couple is firm on providing good education to their children. The eldest son studies in a government school in Thiruvananthapuram and the younger two in the tribal school inside the sanctuary.
At Parambikkulam dam, we are joined by another eco guide and Tamil workers at the dam site. Across the dam is a Kadar colony, which could be considered the most primitive in the sanctuary. Their only access to the outside world is the dam which bridges the cultures. Even when they mingle with the mainstream, the tribesmen keep their distinct culture and customs alive.
Gaur country
Parambikkulam forest division has a large gaur population. Next stop: Kannimara teak, one of the oldest in Asia. As measured on October 10, 2004, the teak measures 6.57 metres in girth and 48.50 metres in height. The teak plantations inside the sanctuary, mostly through artificial regeneration, is spread on 9000 ha.
When it began to drizzle, we returned. It was already evening. Though we hadn’t spotted any big animals so far, we were still hopeful. Animals usually came out at this time after their siesta. We drove past cows and dogs and cracked jokes. Suddenly, Babu shushed us. He has spotted something - an elephant, rather the top of it. It was grazing on a hillock beyond a ditch.
We get out of the car for a better view. There is only one elephant, partially hidden behind teaks. He stood there for some time, then raised its trunk. The wind has changed direction, our guide says. The beast vanished onto the other side of the hillock. The big beast has an incredible sense of smell. Babu checked the clearings beyond teaks for any animals on an outing as we resumed the journey.
Parambikulam houses many of India’s prominent mammals: elephants, tigers, leopards, wild dogs, sloth bears, wild boar, barking deer, spotted deer, langurs and macaques. Parambikulam is also home to Kerala’s largest population of gaur. Besides these, civet, chevrotain, pangolin, crocodile, jungle cat, porcupine and some 140 species of birds are found in the sanctuary.
The most fearsome among the beasts is of course the sloth bear. Babu tells us gruesome tales of man-animal conflict. A few years ago, a bear gouged out a tribesman's eye. He somehow fled the battle scene, but succumbed to the massive injury in the head three years later. Somewhere around the inspection bungalow, there was a watchman with only one hand, some early visitors had told me.
Car slows down. A herd of gaur past the ditch. They are slowly moving in our direction. Lenses are readied for the prize catch. The creatures are complacently grazing on the hillock. In small groups they move past us. Some unsuspecting animals come close to the ditch. Adults keep a watch. One of them looks at us unwaveringly. In a few minutes, as if alerted by him, the herd walks into the bushes.
Just when we thought we had finished with wildlife, we spot two more elephants. Two forest officers are keeping a watch on the road. We get out of the car and try to spot the big animals. They are moving towards the road we just drove past. If we were ten minutes late, we would have been stranded in the forest. Forest officers tell us to move on. It's time.
On the way back we spot a Brown fish owl. Then numerous peacocks. The national bird is a common sight in south Tamil Nadu. It's found in fields. But most of them are stripped of the beautiful feathers. Peacock feather trade has become a cottage industry in Tamil Nadu. Night descends. We leave the sanctuary to its rightful heirs.
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