Tryst with Nature

Our first tryst in conservation was through the wildlife census at Melghat. Had signed up for a 10 day stay and field work with forest officials and was looking forward to the walks in the wilds. The officials were kind enough to warn us that facilities would be real basic. The first day saw me and 15 others from various parts of Maharashtra assembled at Semadoh, where the forest officials briefed us on the method of census (pugmark casts) being adopted for the process. It would involve 7-8 days of walking / patrolling in the jungles for 10-12kms each day in the mornings, compilations of the findings and interactions with the forest officials. The last 2 days would also involve night stay at the machans to identify animals that visited the waterholes or sighted on the pathways during a full moon night. I was to be in a team of 2. Melghat is a dry jungle and in the peak summer was sweltering hot. The first day schedule started at around at 7:00 a.m since our guide did not turn up and we had to go wait for an alternate guide. It was a hot, sweaty walk in the jungles in search of pugmarks and some sighting. All we managed was a faint pugmark which could not be traced and gyan on some trees housing beehives, that were visited by bears. On our way back on the 12km trek we managed to see a nilgai.

The second day saw our frustration levels building up since our guide ditched us once again since he had to attend to some forest fires. We petitioned for an alternative beat with the census officials so that we could have more fruitful work done. We were then suggested to move to Koha-Koktoo, part of the Guagarmal Sanctuary. We were asked to carry with us rations since we would have to cook for ourselves and the location was quite remote from any civilization. As we drove down to 26kms into the core forest, we picked up the necessities in the local village mart. At around 8 in the night, we came upon a signpost indicating Koha 2kms, pointing to a kuccha pathway off the main highway. We drove down the pathway negotiating a steep decline through a sandy bank in pitch darkness. On the right side after about 1km we saw abandoned buildings which were in a semi-built stage. Further 200mtrs, we came across a gate which was chained and shown as Guagarmal Sanctuary. Not knowing whether to proceed ahead, my colleague and I alighted from the vehicle and opened the gate which was loosely chained and proceeded ahead. Suddenly in the light beams we could see sambar deer all over the place, staring at the vehicle. We sensed something was wrong as we seemed to be moving away from any possible tenement and decided to retrace the last 1km to see if we had missed any pathway or signpost. Suddenly we were surrounded by two motorcycles and forest officials, suspecting us to be poachers!! Hurriedly we pulled out the pamphlets signed by the census officials assigning us our new location at Koha. Then we were explained that the Koha village had been relocated outside the forest and our hideway was a 2 storied bamboo thatch machan right on the highway. With great relief, we made our way with the officials to our machan which was to be our home for the next 5 days. Bath under the water pumps, khichdi for meals and long walks in the dry thickets tracking animals.

The next 3 days were fruitless as there was no sighting. Even birds were scarce due to the heat and lack of water. On the 3rd night, after we had finished our dinner and were disposing off the remaining food near the fence, we saw a pair of red unblinking small lights approaching us. Our torches could not help us figure out what the source was, but as it came closer, we could make out the profile of a jungle cat, in the pale moonlight. Later, while getting ready to sleep in the machan, we heard a loud splash in the shallow waters of the tributary that we had crossed during the night of our arrival. Our forest guard who was with us at the machan immediately announced that this was due to a sambar trying to escape wild dogs (dhole) and it jumping into the water was a means to stave off the attack. A second guard immediately jumped down from the machan with a torch and ran to investigate. We controlled our urge to follow suit and waited with bated breath for the action to unfold. There was complete silence!! Fifteen minutes later the guard returned saying that it was indeed a case of the dholes chasing the sambar deer.

Early next morning, we set off in the same direction and as we entered the Guagarmal gates, the guard asked us to FREEZE! 300 meters ahead were the pack of dhole with blood streaming from their faces and in the distance, we could make out the dark stains of the blood soaked into the earth. The leader of the pack eyed us for a few minutes and then melted away into the tall grass, as the pack followed suit. We rushed to the place of the kill and the guard stepped into the grass to retrieve the abandoned lower limb of the deer. A little ahead we saw the half eaten forelimbs. We continued walking hoping for a tiger sighting, when the guard announced that having sighted the dhole, it was unlikely that the tiger would be around, they being fierce competitors. We proceeded with no sightings till noon, except for further footprints of the dhole and bear. We returned to the machan.

In the evening, we set out with a group of village labourers hired by the forest department, to ensure water supply to the artificial water holes set deep inside the forests. We were also to identify potential locations for the overnight stays in the forest. We boarded a tractor and set out at about 4:30 pm. After driving for an hour, we reached a concrete storage pond with a hand pump fixed to it. We took turns pumping the water for about half an hour to fill up the pond. Closeby was a watchtower. It was now getting dark. The laborers were to proceed ahead to fill a similar pond further deep into the forest. We were offered an alternative to stay back at the watchtower or accompany them. We decided to stay back. As the tractor disappeared into the forest, we made our way to the watch tower. After a few minutes, the overpowering stench of dead meat assailed us from the tall grass behind. It was indicative of a carnivore making its way to the waterhole. We waited patiently for the next half an hour, but it did not show up. Meanwhile, sambar and chitals came by to quench their thirst. As the dusk turned to night, the labourers returned and we alighted from the watchtower. As we narrated our experience, they said that no animal of the forest was to be feared except the sloth bear, because it is the most ill tempered and unpredictable animal one could come across. We traced our way back to the machan for a dinner under the starlit skies. The night cooled off with light showers, but that also meant that if this rain continued, the next day’s sighting could be a washout!

My wife was joining us the next morning for the machan stays and I set out to pick her up from Amravati. As we drove through the cool climes of the Melghat forest, I narrated the experiences that we had had so far. We eagerly looked forward to the night stay on the machan. Back at the machan, the guard told us that we would leave for the waterhole by 4:00 p.m. After a quick lunch of khichdi, cucumber and onions, three of us made our way to the waterhole along with the guard. The machan was at a height of around 15 ft from the ground and had to be accessed by climbing the tree. Childhood memories and skills were put to good use as we hauled ourselves up to the machan. It was a basic bamboo structure leaning out over the waterhole below. Ahead was an open area surrounded by the forest. Behind was a slight hillock which we had come down to get onto the tree. The guard then said that the machan was too small to accommodate 4 of us and so we three novices could stay there to keep vigil on the animals visiting the waterhole. In case of any attack, we were to protect ourselves with a 5ft wooden stick! He also had the grace to mention that sloth bears, gaur, wild dogs etc were abundant in the area. We looked at each other and wondered at our foolhardy decision to become sitting ducks for any wild animal.

As dusk fell, we could hear movement on the hillock behind. In the darkness, we could outline a herd of gaur making their way to the waterhole. The warnings of the guard played through our minds. Not that gaurs would attack us on a machan! The herd lingered on for some time and then was lost in the dark environs of the jungle. It was soon dark and all we had for company was the moonlight and the sounds of the jungle. In the dark, the human mind plays dirty tricks: magnifying every sound and movement. Even the sounds from crickets and nightjars pushed the panic buttons. A while later, there was commotion below. Loud shrieks and we figured they were jungle cats fighting. Soon this settled down.

Somewhere a slow rumble was heard – and our ears tried tuning to the sound. The rumbles intensified and we tried hard to figure out what the animal could be. Elephants are not present in this jungle and so it could not be them. Soon we narrowed it down to our own stomachs churning!! And we knew no way to stop them! As the hours progressed, there were periodic sounds of animals, the calls, the hooves, screeching of the insects all which made the night even more eerie. This was to be an overnight vigil and we were soon losing our nerves and patience. We took turns sleeping and waking up the other if they began to snore! The night went by slowly. The weather had turned cool, the smell of the forest was heavenly and we watched the moon rise and set.

The false dawn is one of the most interesting times of the day. Its when the world plunges to pitch darkness, the moon has set and the sun is yet to rise. One cannot even see ones own hand.. Boy! What a feeling that was.. complete silence.. beautiful yet creepy! It was a loooooooong wait for an hour before the first rays of the sun broke through and we heaved a sigh of relief. As the sun came up, we scrambled down our perch and surveyed the banks of the waterhole. There were several hoof marks, indicative of the visit the gaurs paid us and the small footprints of assorted animals. We quickly made note of them and started walking back to our base. Our nerves were so jangled that we just didn’t have the patience to wait for the forest guards to come and get us. As we reached the camp, we shared our notings with the census officials. Soon it was time to bid goodbye to the beautiful jungles.

As we made our way to Chikaldhara for the evening, we spied chameleons on the road. We stopped to admire the beauty of nature and we knew in our hearts that our tryst with the jungles had just begun.