"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
I am not a avid wildlife lover. I like going to the forests and farms because I like the quietude of these places. The disconnect that these places bring in is incomparable to any other regular place. And though I've been to multiple tiger parks, have never sighted one and was not much perturbed by that thought as well.
So the big family get together at Kabini was kind of a something to look forward to and the fact that there is going to be so much of hullabaloo in the entire area by the kids and everyone that there was a good chance that we may not even see a dog - let alone a tiger.
The entire safari process in Nagerhole - which was about 18 Kms from where we were staying - is designed in a way to completely discourage visitors to the park - which is a good thing for the animals.
Let me try to explain a bit. You can book through the resort you are staying in (for a price though!) - which probably is the easiest thing to do. However, we were a big party and the resort couldn't accommodate the entire group. So we decided to get the tickets ourselves.
The morning safari tickets are given the day before by 4 PM. There are only 70 tickets available and the queue starts by 2 PM or so. So you have to be early to get bulk tickets. And all individuals who need tickets should be in the queue as there is only one ticket given per person. We were late and by the time we reached the lady officer doing the booking, there were only 12 tickets left (as against the 22+ we were looking to book) and have to take it or leave it. So we took it.
The problem with the wildlife safaris is that you have to get up early in the morning. Managed it somehow and was in the park entrance by 6AM to get into the bus. The safari buses are fixed when you book the tickets - so there is no need to run fast - but to get the best seats, again we've to be there early.
Tigers have a mystic appeal to spot. I've been to multiple reserves to spot tigers and the only success was to spot a lot of tiger shit. And it needs to be understood that they are very difficult to spot and there are people who have been on safaris non-stop without having to spot one.
So it was with a lot of skepticism the morning safari started (at least for me). There was a small group in camouflage - each with about a feet length lens - looking to get a snap of the tigers in the bus as well. They strangely reminded me of Shikari Shambhu.
We staked out near the water hole in Nangengutta for a long while and while the bus that came behind us has seen the tiger crossing the road into the dry bushes, though we waited for a whole while, all we could see was an yellow outline far away that I was not sure whether it was a tiger or the reflection of the morning sun.
However, the place was absolutely beautiful to behold, with a bunch of birds flying across and an occasional monkey coming down to get some water. We waited for a reasonable amount of time and then started getting into the forest. There were tons of deer and peacocks/peahens to look at but the highlight of the morning safari was the sighting of the endangered Red Fox which with its shiny tail was roaming in packs - obviously looking for breakfast.
The morning safari ended without much of animals or excitement with which the day started out. We were all tired but there was an evening safari to go to.
- Jim Corbett
I am not a avid wildlife lover. I like going to the forests and farms because I like the quietude of these places. The disconnect that these places bring in is incomparable to any other regular place. And though I've been to multiple tiger parks, have never sighted one and was not much perturbed by that thought as well.
So the big family get together at Kabini was kind of a something to look forward to and the fact that there is going to be so much of hullabaloo in the entire area by the kids and everyone that there was a good chance that we may not even see a dog - let alone a tiger.
The entire safari process in Nagerhole - which was about 18 Kms from where we were staying - is designed in a way to completely discourage visitors to the park - which is a good thing for the animals.
Let me try to explain a bit. You can book through the resort you are staying in (for a price though!) - which probably is the easiest thing to do. However, we were a big party and the resort couldn't accommodate the entire group. So we decided to get the tickets ourselves.
The morning safari tickets are given the day before by 4 PM. There are only 70 tickets available and the queue starts by 2 PM or so. So you have to be early to get bulk tickets. And all individuals who need tickets should be in the queue as there is only one ticket given per person. We were late and by the time we reached the lady officer doing the booking, there were only 12 tickets left (as against the 22+ we were looking to book) and have to take it or leave it. So we took it.
The problem with the wildlife safaris is that you have to get up early in the morning. Managed it somehow and was in the park entrance by 6AM to get into the bus. The safari buses are fixed when you book the tickets - so there is no need to run fast - but to get the best seats, again we've to be there early.
Tigers have a mystic appeal to spot. I've been to multiple reserves to spot tigers and the only success was to spot a lot of tiger shit. And it needs to be understood that they are very difficult to spot and there are people who have been on safaris non-stop without having to spot one.
So it was with a lot of skepticism the morning safari started (at least for me). There was a small group in camouflage - each with about a feet length lens - looking to get a snap of the tigers in the bus as well. They strangely reminded me of Shikari Shambhu.
The morning safari ended without much of animals or excitement with which the day started out. We were all tired but there was an evening safari to go to.
No comments:
Post a Comment