We
leave the resort very early, even before dawn, so as to reach
Kaziranga park entrance in time for our Elephant safari. Kaziranga
park has been divided in four different ranges; Western or Baguri
range, central or Kohora range, eastern or Agoratoli range and
finally the distant Burapahar range. The park has several entry
points. However, we enter through a gate in Kohora range, which is
almost across the road from the resort, where we stayed last night.
There is a barricade and the cars stop before that. We move on
through a small gate on a side and walk for about 50 meters or so. On
our left, seen faintly in darkness, is an elevated structure with a
staircase, from where we would be mounting the elephants.
Kaziranga
park is huge; approximately 40 km in length from east to west, and
up to 13 km in breadth from north to south. It covers an area of 378
sq Km. Approximately 51.14 sq. Km was lost to erosion in recent
years. To make up, a total addition of 429 sq. Km area was made
along the present boundary of the park and designated with separate
national park status to provide extended habitat for increasing the
population of wildlife or, as a corridor for safe movement of animals
to Karbi Anglong Hills, during flood season. Kaziranga has flat
expanses of fertile, alluvial soil formed by erosion and silt
deposition by the Brahmaputra. The landscape consists of exposed
sandbars, riverine flood-formed lakes, known as beels, (which make up
5% of the surface area), and elevated regions known as, chapories,
which provide retreats and shelter for animals during floods. During
months of June to September kaziranga gets rainfall of 2,220 mm.
During the peak months of July and August, three-fourths of the
western region of the park is submerged, due to the rising water
level of the Brahmaputra. The flooding causes most animals to migrate
to elevated and forested regions outside the southern border of the
park, such as the Karbi Hills.
As
dawn arrives, Kaziranga gets transferred from a dark dangerous world
to a 'pleasure for eye' land with plethora of mini water ponds and
fields with tall elephant grasses, swaying in the wind. I climb the
stair case to mount an elephant. There are two types of elephant
rides available, one where you can sit with legs spread across like a
motor cycle ride or the other where you can sit sideways. First one
is better for viewing the animals and I select that.
As our
cow elephant starts her walk, I notice a small baby elephant moving
around between her legs. The mother keeps a careful watch on the baby
as we trudge on. The ride is far more comfortable than I had ever
imagined, except for a rhythmical sway backwards, when a steel
handlebar keeps hitting my back. But I can easily bear that out
without any problem. We start moving. What we have around us, to
start with, is an expanse of marshy wetlands with hundreds of muddy
ponds spread around with grass patches in between them. I see a few
female Barasingha or Swamp deers grazing in the low grass, suddenly
becoming cautious and attentive as our elephant approaches them.
Next,as we push ahead, I see two fine male Barasingha specimens,
standing in the middle of a muddy pond looking in opposite
directions. They are large deers with wooly hair and a mane.
Barasinghas are mostly found near wetlands or swamps and graze on
grasses and aquatic plants.
Slightly
ahead is a water pond, surrounded by grasses from all sides. Right in
the middle of a pond, a bull Rhino is enjoying his mud bath. The
elephant stops nearby. The Rhino lifts his head and looks at us. The
sun has just broken in, at the horizon and Rhino's dirty gray body
shines for a moment before turning muddy gray again. Having had his
look at the visitors, he again puts his head back in water, totally
disinterested! We move on, the grass on both sides is now getting
taller and taller. It is so tall that it is now brushing my hands and
shoulders, even when I am riding a fully grown elephant. This tall
grass is aptly called as Elephant grass, because other animals find
going through it quite tough.
Meanwhile,
the baby elephant has suddenly disappeared in the tall grasses. His
watchful mother suddenly is alarmed and gives a serious sounding call
to him and wants to dash towards him. This is a
really scary moment for me, riding the elephant. But the mahout
quietens her and the baby also walks out of grass towards her. I
heave a sigh of relief.
We
again reach a patch where grass is not so tall. Here, there are
Rhinos and Rhinos, some in groups of twos or threes and some
wandering alone. In Kaziranga, there are more than 2000 Rhinos.The
Indian Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is also called great
One-horned Rhinoceros or Asian One-horned Rhinoceros belonging to the
Rhinocerotidae family. They are listed as a vulnerable species. This
large mammal weighs between 2260 kg and 3000 kg. It it is the fourth
largest land animal and has a single horn, which measures 20 cm to 57
cm in length. The Rhinoceros can run at speeds of up to 55 km/h (34
mph) for short periods of time and is also an excellent swimmer. It
has excellent senses of hearing and smell but relatively poor
eyesight. If angry it can attack anything. In fact its eyes appear so
small compared to body bulk that one gets a feeling that the animal
is blind. Fortunately none of the gang views us suspiciously and
neglect us going about their grazing routine. As they need around 50
or 60 Kg of food every day.I ask our Mahout about the poachers, who want to kill rhinos and cut of the horns, as it fetches huge price in black markets. He gives a chilling but quite satisfactory answer. He says that everyone here is very proud of our Rhinos. If we find some poachers trying to hunt them, we simply kill them.
We
move on. On the left there is a herd that looks familiar, but the
animals are much bigger in size. They are the Wild Asian Water
Buffalos (Bubalus bubalis) enjoying early morning sun. These animals
are much bulkier than the domesticated water buffaloes we see around
but have a narrow head, small ears and large hooves. There are more
than 2000 wild buffaloes in Kaziranga though they are considered as
endangered species. Wild buffaloes are also important to the
grassland ecosystem as they help in plant rejuvenation.
We
spend next 15 minutes searching for the animal, considered as largest
one of the big five of Kaziranga; the wild elephants. It is estimated
that there are more than 1500 wild animals in the park. It however
appears that the elephants have decided to shun us today as not a
single soul is seen anywhere to the limits of our vision. It is clear
that I would have to satisfy myself with the solitary elephant that I
saw yesterday, playing in the mud.
As we
move on, the mahout points out to a cluster of beautiful purple-blue
flowers. Rhinos have one very peculiar habit. They may wander around
the ground, grazing, but would drop their faeces only at some fixed
points creating huge dung piles also known as middens. The
purple-pink flowering shrub, known as the spider flower ( Cleome
hasslerana, Cleome specie), grows on these dung piles. The plant is
native of the South American tropics and also found in Europe and
North America landscapes.. It has invaded somehow in Kaziranga. One
horned rhinos love to eat it and seeds are passed on through their
faeces. Our mahout calls the flowers as Rhino-Potty flowers.
The
elephant we are riding, crosses a small ridge. Ahead, in an cleared
area, is another elephant mounting-dismounting platform. This means
that our elephant ride is coming to an end. I dismount and walk away.
On one of the pillars supporting this platform, there are flood
markings showing up to what level, flood waters of Brahmaputra had
reached on earlier years. From the markings, it is obvious that this
area gets flooded almost every year.
We
head back to the resort. After a quick breakfast, we shall start for
Guwahati, about 228 Km away.
(To be
continued in part XIII)
12th
January 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment