Jungle Safari 101: At Nature’s lap in Kabini

Many of us have grown up in urban jungles with our knowledge of wildlife and jungle restricted to local Zoo, National Geographic and Discovery Channels. With our metros vertically expanding and urbanization making its way into tier two and tier three cities, wilderness, natural resources (rivers) and wildlife are further getting decimated (not just consumed) at an alarming rate. Sad but true, neither those living in the cities are healthy nor the wildlife living in the forest let to live healthy. Human greed for forest land and animal products (meat, skins, etc) is justified by Darwinist as “survival of the fittest”, an easy way to make animals responsible for our crimes.

I decided to put my city life on hold and booked myself on a two day trip to Kabini to check out what is left in the jungle. Kabini was once a hunting hotspot for the Royal Family of Mysore and British and over the period the Government of India has taken it under their supervision for conservation and protection of wildlife. Now, Kabini is considered to be one of the best wildlife sanctuaries in Karnataka, famous for its spectacular wildlife and bird life.

November through January is the annual mating season for many of the mammals and birds in the jungle and it seems so uncomplicated (Their mating aren’t planned to match the school admission season and there is no family planning since survival rates are pretty low in the jungle). There is no question of marraige for mating in the animal kingdom and mating is purely decided based on the showmanship of the male.

The monsoon had ended a month ago and the entire forest was dressed in shades of green. The only bald portion that resembled my head was those left by the jeep tires.

I chatted with Afsar, 35, a senior naturalist, during my two day stay at Kabini River Lodge. Afsar is from Kabini and has been with Kabini River Lodge for over 20 years. He speaks the language of the jungle and his respect for wild life and wilderness turns you speechless. His bird and animal calls get responses and also gets them aroused. During one of the trips, Afsar imitated the mating call of Gaur and Sambar Deer and sent the males running behind the female and sniffing her urine.

Here are some pearls of wisdom shared by Afsar during our interaction on the Safari. Here is the link to the Picasa album https://picasaweb.google.com/108289564546757100555/Kabini%20authkey=Gv1sRgCNu5j6WowfXp_wE

But visit the pics after you read the text.

Turn on your olfactory nerves: The fresh supply of oxygen and the smell of herbs in the forest can overwhelm your lungs and make you feel disoriented, but don’t shy away from sniffing the environment. Elephants put their trunk out to sniff the air around for food and danger, and so do Snakes with their forked tongue to collect the scent and process scent through Jacobson’s organ. You don’t need a trunk or a forked tongue to sniff, but just attention to the air around you. Look out for the distinct smell of elephant dung, strong smell emanating from the civet cat’s scat, smell of must in the air; this is enough to tell you what is around.  

Plug your ears into nature: Leave those ear buds from iPhones and media players behind and plug your ears into nature. Listen to the calls of birds and monkey that sit on tree tops. With their binocular and panoramic vision they track the movement of predators in the jungle. Their shrill calls either convey the arrival of a predator or announce the end of struggle between the prey and the predator. These guys do the role of informants without any expectations or salary. Mammals mating calls can often sound like bird calls, and only with experience can one differentiate one from the other.

So, who is watching?  This can be the easiest and the most difficult question to answer. To the entire city bred, so much of greenery can turn you color blind and take away your attention span. There is so much of drama happening everywhere in the jungle, so never take your eyes of the forest even for a minute. While you think there is no wildlife, there is certainly someone on the treetop and someone lurking behind the bushes watching you.

On the Ground: If you look down from the vehicle you can find foot marks of members from the Cat family (Tigers and Leopards) and other large mammals like Elephants, Gaurs, etc. It is an interesting experience to analyze the footprints, but following the trail can often lead you to the predator and can be very dangerous. Sometimes you can also spot snakes and other reptiles crawling their way to termite mounds.

At the eye-level: It is easy to open your aperture at the eye-level and capture all the jungle drama. Deers, Monkeys, Wild Boars, etc. can be easily spotted since they are at the bottom of the forest pyramid. Often the species at the bottom of the pyramid are herbivorous and peacefully co-exist. While as you move higher in the pyramid the species hunt each other for hunger and survival.

Action on tree tops: Apart from regular birds such as Parrots, Wood Peckers, King Fisher, sometimes you can spot birds of prey such as Vulture, Serpent Eagle, Brahmini Kites, apart from Leopards waiting for their prey on tree-tops.  Afsar has captured a picture of two Leopards in-action on the tree top (I called his picture wildlife pornography and not photography!). So watch out for action tree-tops.

Other action spots: Depending on the season the action spots keep changing. Bamboo forests invites elephants and tuskers post monsoon, while the vegetation near the water bodies invite Deers, Elephants and other herbivores closer to summer. Waterholes bring the species in the forest pyramid together and always remain a big action spot at both dawn and dusk.

Hornivorous time of the year: Wild animals are always on the look-out for food and shelter and attend to their hormonal needs for each season. As a result all seasons are entertaining. The movement of animals is more when food and water is in shortage and their movements are restrictive during the mating season and post mating season. You can watch peacocks dance just before the monsoon and during the monsoon season. And post monsoon season is ideal time to watch animals mate. I spotted tuskers (some had a mammoth erection) almost another trunk between their hind legs, Male Guars and Sambar smelling the urine of their female counterparts.

Best time of the day to visit the jungle: Waterholes are hot action spots at both dawn and dusk.  Early mornings (between 6am - 8am), more herbivores move around in search of food and water. In the afternoon they are all busy resting under the trees and that is when most of the kills happen. It is not rare to spot a thirsty Tiger or Leopard on a summer afternoon near the water hole.

Don’ts on a Safari:

1. Use Flash when you take pictures
2. Taking food with you or feeding wild life (don’t want them to lose fear of humans)
3. Powerful deodorants or perfumes
4. Littering the forest; throwing burning matches or cigarette butts can start a fire
5. Getting off the safari vehicle
6. Usage of mobile phones and engaging in loud conversations

What did I spot on the Safari?

Animals: Elephants, Wild boars, Mongoose, Squirrel, Guars, Deers (Spotted and Sambar).

Birds: Drongos, Bee-eaters, Kingfishers, Woodpeckers, Spotted Doves, Peacocks, Forest Fowl, Brahminy Kite, Serpent Eagle.

Nature and wildlife @ Kabini seems like a limited period offer. Now that you know what to look for and how to behave while on a Safari, book your trip to Kabini.