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Published: November 10th 2014
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Gypsy Safari My recent visit of Kanha National Park was an out-of-the-world experience of exploring the awesome national sanctuary of tigers, and many other rare mammals and birds, though we missed the Jungle Royalty’s view by a hair’s breadth. It is thanks to a 1,000 strong IFS officers and staff of the Department of Forest of Madhya Pradesh that the trip gives a world class experience in its 5 hours Gypsy Safari. Though the conservation contemplation as a nature lover leaves me with more headache than a heady memory.
Sighting a tiger is a subtle act. Look for PIP(pug-mark impressions); have an ear for the long warning calls of deer, the birds’ sudden chirpings, movement of deer, monkeys, and birds. The Kanha park guides and even drivers like Mr. Ali are thoroughly trained in it. Mr. Tomar, our guide, notices the faintest pug-mark impression left on the loose sand/dust-covered crossings(designed to help sighting)in the Park or on any dusty or sandy spot with great excitement and decides the predators’ direction of movement for reaching them for a sighting. We closely followed a streak of tigers by their fresh early morning pug-mark impressions and the long warning calls of deer and the
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Hawk perched on tree-top terrified movement of monkeys, birds and jungle-fowls; but missed the trace of the animal as it chose a direction deeper into dense, old sal tree groves; but as we left it behind and moved cautiously without any clue, we found a Gypsy Safari jeep standing breathlessly and before we could understand the reason, our driver, Mr. Ali, jumped out of his trance like quiet shouting, “Tiger, Tiger ...”; and the sturdy gypsy burst into speed to near the jeep standing ahead us, whose occupants signalled us to calm down, indicating to the right side of the road, making sign of four, meaning a female tiger and her three cubs; and our driver and the accompanying officials swore to have seen the rear-half or the tail of the animal and each of them were in a state of mind that spoke of the awe that this majestic jungle royalty creates in human mind. I laughed wondering what these shaken humans, who I had relied on in this venture, would have ended up like had we come face-to-face with the awesome predator.
But still hoping to snatch a glimpse of the streak of tigers, we pitched for another chance, and by
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Black headed Orion that time standing behind us were a dozen of jeeps with fifty-to-sixty camera trained into the direction; with each vehicle moving back-ward or forward to adjust locations to fit to the probable sight at which they may reappear. But all that we ended up with was the sensational tale that the occupants of the car ahead of us had to share with us, their video record. In fact, the female tiger had just emerged out of the bushes left to the Safari path and remained frozen on the road with its babies; and would have remained in the state for quite some time as their habit without caring for the jeeps and its occupants; but for the cubs’ unfounded fear and quickly hiding into the bush which brought the mother follow them; and thus leaving me high and dry to console myself with what Mr. Rathee, Mr. Ravi, and Mr. Satvir had to tell me of what they had seen of the female tiger.
Kanha National Park is only four hours journey from Jabalpur, the nearest airport connected to Delhi and Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal. Established with an area of 250 square kilometre in 1933, now it stands expanded
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Chital deer grazing the grassland to a huge Sal sylvan spread of 945 square kilometres in the Maikal hills of Satpura ranges, the original habitats of Gond and Vaiga tribes and numerous predators, prey animals, and birds. Ironically, all that the applaudable developmental and conservatory efforts have achieved us is near domestication of both the aboriginal and wild.
The wild animals appear as tamed to the hordes of Gypsy Safaris invading their habitats as the local tribal people to the torturous violation of their society by the endless flow of crowds of tourists, officials, and traders. Both, however, wonderfully exhibit their characteristic decency in the new environs. I see gaurds, bisons, jackals, deer, tigers all roaming around with the least unease with the Safari jeeps; just as the Gond and Vaiga tribal boys coolly waiting on the tourists in the Kanha tourism hutments and hotels and other establishments. Neither the animals show any sign of irritation at the 165th Gypsy Safari tearing through their territories with gazing eyes; nor the waiting young boys show any sign of impatience to their last guests at night in the hutments nestled at the Kanha forest gates.
And even when I heap praise on Kanha’s world class
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Langoor staring at the Safari management, I think of the cruelty of those British colonialists who had joined hands with the native kings and princes in gaming tigers to near-extinction to flaunt their skins as medals of gallantry and adventure; and one Maharaj Kumar of Vijayanagaram in a short span of 5 years during 1947-51 had shot down 30 of them all by himself, while the current Kanha tiger population is mere 73-105 according to 2006 census against the all India tiger population of 1,706 according to 2010 census. My heart pains recalling the atrocity that it might have meant to tigers when the entertainment crazy tourists persuaded the local tribal folks to scream to terrify tigers to a corner so that elephants carrying tourists on their backs could close in on them in a circle so that the riders could see the predators.
Now when those days of human atrocities on animals have become horrifying past stories, and we feel proud of the sensible eco-tourism gimmicks of caring flora and fauna on the golden principles of carrying-capacity as we promote eco-tourism, don’t we need to see beyond time and stop this show before we end up regretting again in future for the atrocities
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Majestic tigress with her cubs that even this would mean to animal kinds. Can’t we think of going beyond eco-tourism and the need for giving up entirely the practice of this rather uncivilized act of exposing fragile wild-life to this fanatically crude love for them, letting the wild live in the wild for the optimal growth of their population with all human wisdom at its support. Can’t we learn from the fact that our national wild life wealth had succumbed to the connivance of politicians, bureaucrats, engineers, developers, poachers, and the senseless thrill-seekers and eco-tourists even when the enlightened Forest Department and their capable IFS officers and civil servants had convinced us of their managerial excellence in conservation and adventure tourism. Nothing less than leaving the wild on their own can keep them secure.
Only by sparing the endangered species of human madness for thrill and adventure can we stand a chance of future generations swearing by our wisdom and compassion for the wild life whose only saviour is mankind; and leave it to future generations to search for better ways of appreciating the wild life than the savagely gross hunting, elephant-back safari and the stage-managed forcible group sighting of tigers.
With the
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The stream side grass in bloom exception of conservation Guru and officers like Dr. H. S. Pawar of Kanha fame, our conservation authorities gained popularity more as forest-fringe tourism, and commercial development enthusiasts giving hasty clearance for felling trees than authorities out to plug the loop-holes for plundering. Kanha Safari enthusiasm and its much totted world class managerial excellence and conservation to me sound childish when I realize that the whole affair is built around a minuscule surviving lot of only 73-105 tigers left in the National Park as per the 2006 census in national population of only 1,706 tigers held in 2010. Why census is not being held timely and what might have happened to the predators by now. Statistics tell of the sad reality that neither increasing budget allocations, nor growing IFS officers cadre size and number of forest officials have achieved the milestones of for arresting the dwindling size of forest cover and their threatened wild habitats.
But despite my hard luck with sighting a tiger or a leopard for the joy of my lens, I felt all the more rejoiced at the grandeur of early morning Sal jungles, golden leave fall-view of ghost trees, ripening rich brown grassland clearing sights, micro
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Richly afforested hill with golden Ghost trees drainage systems formed of nullahs, mini-lakes, like Shravan lake, with rich flowering grass views; and glimpses of gracefully grazing spotted-deer, leisuring bisons, ant-hill seeking sloth bears; wandering jackals; and the sight of avian specials of Malabar pied-hornbills, black-headed Orion, hawks, owls perched on grand old trees.
How to get there By Road a wide network of bus services/taxi connect Kanha with neighbouring destinations of Jabalpur, Bhopal, Bilaspur, Nagpur, Raipur; and
By Air with Delhi, Bhopal, Nagpur; and
By Rail with Jabalpur and all major cities of India.
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jessica
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sanctuaries in india
The blog representation is very nice and interesting,with beautiful images.India is a place where there is grand tigers, effortless elephant, great peacock, rhinoceros, chital, and so on in their common territory. The untamed life havens and national parks offer chances to investigate intriguing widely varied vegetation.There are various natural wild life sanctuaries in india and national stops in this nation where you can appreciate best of your untamed life or wilderness tourism