Wide-eyed in Wonderland

Wide-eyed in Wonderland

Views: 1718 | May 29, 2018

From close encounters with wildlife, the writer comes to realise some hard truths and mistaken notions about the animals.

Written by Mrunmayee Amarnath

Mrunmayee at the start of a line transect walk

My door to ‘Narnia’ opened with the ‘Line transects’ I took part in. Besides the exciting encounters with wildlife, they carry me to an enchanting world where every blade of grass, plant, tree and animal speaks to each other. I watch in rapture, understanding a bit of it but unfamiliar with most of the goings on. The timeline in my world stops when I start my walk into the world of animals and it starts when I finish.

My first line transect experience in Bhadra during 2009, when I narrowly missed an encounter with a leopard, kept me going back to the jungles for another chance. It was few years later at Bandipur that I experienced an unforgettable close encounter with a tiger. From then to my eleventh line transect this summer at Wayanad, the annual survey has become an inalienable part of my life.

I have religiously participated in line transect surveys of WCS in the last 10 years and every step during these walks in the dense forests has been a new experience and learning. The animals apart, the very chance to be in pristine surroundings opens up a new world.

Going back to the Bandipur experience in 2012, I recall the excitement that had built in me, despite little support from family. While I had started walking line transects in Bhadra Tiger Reserve since 2009, I had heard many stories about encounters with tigers and elephants during line transects in Bandipur.

Line transects of WCS are very well organized and are highly disciplined with strict camp rules. Participants usually stay in anti-poaching camps of forest department with basic amenities and get a firsthand experience of lives led by guards and watchers of Forest Department.

I started my first line walk of the year in the evening. Transect lines are 3.2 km in length and walked by a team of two to collect tiger prey data for various scientific analysis. Lines are walked twice a day and teams are decided by the camp in-charge and announced before we leave the camp.

I was fortunate to team up with Killivalavan Rayar, one of the finest researchers and field ecologists of WCS. We started the line on time and closed it, with a few sightings of prey animals on the line and lot of learning from Killi. On our way back to camp while driving, I remember wondering when I would come across a tiger. I had never seen them in the wild until then.

Surprisingly, the very next moment I saw a tiger running away from the road. It took few minutes for the joy to sink in and then I realized that there was another tiger, much bigger in size, which was looking at us. This one seemed very sleepy and with great difficulty opened its eyes to look at us. It was so amazing. We watched it for about 45 minutes at a stretch. Both the tigers were just 50 meters away from us. I silently watched the animal as Killi clicked some pictures. We finally had to leave as it was time to pick teams from other lines. I realized how the mistakenly perceived ‘dangerous’ animals can relax and trust humans, once assured there is no danger!

Tiger resting in the forest ©Ng Bishwanath Singh

I continued the rest of my week in Bandipur waiting to see some elephants on the line. And did they oblige! I recall the fear when a tusker gave a loud trumpet call from very close to the jeep, waking me from my part slumber as we drove towards the morning line.

The week was filled with many more interesting sightings. Everything, including seeing a jungle cat stalk its prey, peacock with opened feathers, two big-built Gaurs fighting it out, was special. But the best was yet to come.

On my last day, I was dropped at the starting point for my morning line walk. My team mate and I were waiting on the forest road for the morning light to start our line walk. The forest was silent and dark. We heard a tiger calling continuously from afar. After a couple of minutes, we heard a response from another tiger. It was loud and we were clear that it came from somewhere very close to us. We immediately moved away from the road and hid ourselves behind trees, expecting the tiger to cross the road.

There was very little light. I was behind a small tree and saw some movements on the road. There was something coming towards me. As it came closer, I saw the stripes. The tiger was walking towards me without realizing my presence.

Soon it was just about 15 meters away from me. I could now clearly see its stripes and face. It slowly dawned upon me that here was a tiger. I lifted my hand to beckon my team mate. The tiger saw me and stopped in its track.

We looked at each other for a few seconds. My world froze and I did not know what to do. I was in front of a big, powerful animal, weighing 250 to 300 kilos, wrongly perceived to be violent. It could have killed me in just a leap as I stood defenseless. But, instead it chose to turn and run away, perhaps more scared of the human!!

I was spellbound after seeing a tiger for the second time in the same week. It was as if a holy goddess had appeared before me and disappeared even before I realized what had happened. It felt as though the tigers welcomed and bid goodbye to me.

On my return home when I narrated my experience, my parents were happy for me, that I had experienced something they had not in their lifetime. In a telling departure from the norm, they now accompany me in some of my pleasure trips to forests, besides actively encouraging my pursuits.

My love for the forests and wildlife only increased after that experience, planting within me a strong desire to help conserve them.

Photo credits: Rujan Sarkar (Cover)

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