Last May, I witnessed the magic of Kabini during summer. I concluded, a trip to Kabini in summer is going to be a part of my itinerary every year. My previous trip to the backwaters was in August and I still remember every location of the park where I sighted wild dogs. A two-second glimpse of a sub-adult leopard was also the highlight of that trip. After a span of nearly 6 months it was time to re-visit Kabini.
 After a lot of struggle with the Cauvery Water Issue - protest groups on the highway who had blocked the traffic, I was at Cicada Resorts, Kabini by 1pm after a lovely drive through the forest. The vegetation was totally brown and the fire-line burning had taken place and the forest really didn't look attractive with the usual greens. The brain-fever bird calls were evident on the road and I could relate to Shekhar Dattatri's Nagarahole film where this bird's call marks the advent of summer.
Cicada, had improved their services with a world-class safari vehicle, with bucket seats, interesting look and forest friendly features. Vikram Nanjappa, and Arun my friends who work there met me and I checked in after the Tender-coconut water welcome.
 The evening Safari started at 4 in the evening and along with me was a couple and their two kids. The elderly kid was quite enthusiastic about the safari and the little one was asleep. Just after we left the resort, we came across the scrub birds like the shrikes, and bush chats. The Kabini lake had a lot of egrets hanging around the edges. On the main road of the park, a troop of Hanuman Langurs stopped us for a while and we moved on. Very soon we sighted a humongous Sambar Deer which was at least twice as big as an adult male chital. He was jogging away from the salt lick where we spotted him towards the thick vegetation behind the scene. The forest department were working on the Fire-line burning at a distance and we were sure with human presence at that spot nothing much can be sighted.
 Incidentally, strong alarm calls of the chital were heard near the Power-line track of the park. We followed the calls and saw a Jungle Lodges Jeep standing at a distance and waiting for the drama to unfold. As we closed by, a leopard (probably a male) crossed the jeep track in high speed and vanished in to the bushes. The other vehicle was a few meters away from the spotted cat and they had a nice look of the thrilling moment. We were satisfied that we at least saw it from a distance. I wished the little kid in my vehicle wasn't present. It made quite a lot of noise and I am sure, sighting would be much better without it. With due love and affection to the kid, I honestly feel couples shouldn't spoil the show of other tourists bringing their infants to the safaris, especially if the stay in a resort costs at least 5000/- per person per day. I wonder, what my wife would feel some day when I dump her out of a safari because my own kid would make noise. Cruel!
  We reached the backwaters of Kabini and the shade of the forest was totally different from the other ranges. The vegetation around the backwaters was totally green. At a distance, we spotted a large tusker hanging around the edge of the banks. We went closer on the other side of the lake and had a lovely 15 minutes of pleasurable Tusker action. The gentleman walked towards the water and drank a few gallons of water and then started mud-bathing. Every movement he made against the setting sun's back light was a sight to see. After overwhelming pictures of the spectacle, we moved on and the day ended but not before we spotted a herd of Gaur drinking water. I probably saw this for the first time. A woolly-necked stork which I thought was so shy the previous time I encountered it in Kabini was just walking a few feet away. The day ended after a very interesting photograph of the setting sun.
  The next morning, I was the only guest who went out on a Safari and I loved to grab this opportunity. I not only got enough space for the equipment, It also cuts down the human noise. The Morning safari was quite normal with Elephants, Gaur, Sambars, Chital and a lot of birds. One special Indian-Roller posed for me for nearly 15 minutes and he let me experiment with 1.4X Converter, 2X Converter, a couple of take-off and landing shots and finally flew away to a higher branch.
 I heard villagers had blocked the traffic near the HD-Kote area too, so that paved way for yet another safari and I chose the Boat ride in the evening. At least 12 international guests were a part of the boat this time and the noise was double. At least I understood the kid's cry and language the previous day but these guests spoke in Spanish at the top of their voices which was irritating and not even understandable.
 Elephants, Elephants and Elephants were the highlight of this boat safari with Gaur, Chital, Sambars, Wild Boars and a lot of water birds sighted. For the first time I could spot and photograph a Grey-headed Fishing Eagle from a close distance. Two young tuskers who found company of each other just after graduating out of their mother's herd entertained us for quite a few minutes with mock-fighting. The elderly tusker got irritated by the Red-wattled Lapwings that hang around and started chasing them.
  Another customary sun-set photograph marked the end of the day which reminded me in detail of my lengthy stay at Kabini last summer. It also persuaded me to plan up things for the april-may season with some match practice with all the new gear. I swear, this year's summer is going to be a drama all wildlife enthusiasts around should never miss.
 Every time, I have visited Kabini a leopard has been sighted. This time was no exception. How ever, it is time to find other means of photographing the leopard which most of the time slips away in a split-second. Updates from the Annual Elephant Symposium in summer this year should be interesting.
Click here for the Photographs of the Trip
Sighting:
Leopard,
Elephants,
Sambar Deer,
Gaur,
Chital,
River Terns,
Grey Heron,
Red-wattled Lapwing,
Small Pratincole,
Malabar Lark,
Indian pitta,
Wild boar,
Indian Roller,
Hanuman Langur,
Little Cormorants,
Great Cormorants,
Grey-headed Fishing Eagle,
Brahminy Kite - Adults and Juvenile,
White-throated Kingfisher,
Oriental-turtle Dove,
Spotted Dove,
Green-bee-eater,
Black-winged Stilt,
Long-tailed Shrike,
Bush Chat,
Tree-pie,
Spotted Owlet and many more.
_________________
Cheers,
Jayanth Sharma
jay@wildlifetimes.com |
... take care
My next visit to kabini will be with you as i wanna spot the BIG CAT
