Day Two I am very fortunate to be in contact with many people who are passionate about India’s wildlife on a daily basis here in Jaipur. Unfortunately, most tell me the population concerned with wildlife is a minority. It is a “non-issue” here, the daily struggles are too great to allow people time to care about “if a species disappears.” This sentiment is contrasted with the majority of literature published about South Asia perceptions of wildlife. Indians are portrayed as having an overarching respect for living things. This is certainly true of some, yet visiting two reserve forests the liter speaks loader than verbal appreciation. The roads into “wilderness areas” are lined with trash, “they go and have liquor and throw the bottles, people don’t care.” It is difficult to look past the ditches full of rubbish, but when you do the richness of wildlife is stunning. In the face of water, liter and noise pollution these forests around Jaipur are alive and the variety of animals in each tier of the ecosystem really makes a Texan reflect on what a “healthy ecosystem” really is. One or two (meso)predators, one or two ungulate species? Here there are a dozen in each class. Today we ventured into Jhalana Reserve Forest. A few feet up from the trash lined entrance Chinmay, a local conservationist, and I see a mongoose. We stop on the road and have a stare down. Mongooses are fearless and he wanted us to know he was watching us. Next, several female peafowl called to one another as an enormous, horse sized, male blue bull (nilgai) towered over a crumbling fence line. His neck and shoulders were so thick; he did not move except the swivel of his head as we moved past. The calls of birds echoed and only grew loader as we moved deeper into the reserve forest. A pair of woodpeckers dances along above my head and they may be some of the most beautiful birds I’ve ever seen. I can hardly seem to lift my camera, there is just too much to look at. The trees filled with a multitude of different birds quickly darting from one tree to the other keep my eyes moving, and looking hard for signs of leopards kept me intently focused on the sandy path. We are walking through a valley between two low mountain chains. Up on one of the tallest points is a looming symbol of what this place used to be – a princely hunting ground. The tower, previously providing keen advantage for hunters, looks down on the valley that used to be home to tigers. Now this place is ruled by leopards, “the real kings” as Chinmay tells me. The blue bull carcasses we found periodically show “these leopards are thriving on these blue bulls, they weigh 60-70 kilograms, a tiger weighs about 200 kilograms. They eat the same thing but leopards are killing machines able to take down the same prey” and we see the evidence. After about an hour of walking Chinmay stops and circles around a spot he excitedly points to with his finger. Drawing a circle around our first pug mark sighting made it real, leopards live here just outside the busy city of Jaipur. Further up the trail we find another set of tracks, all four with the back and front all visible. Listening to the ever informative peafowl we continued in the direction of what sounds like distressed house cats “meeaooowwwwww meeoowwwwww.” It was the right decision and as we made our way onto a path that bridged a gully we saw a recently killed female blue bull. As I looked to the right to see what might be lurking down on the other side of the path I heard a crash and Chinmay grabbed my arm “LEOPARD.” We both didn’t breath as a massive male leopard dashed from his hiding spot overlooking the kill. It was quick but he ran away from us for at least four strides down the path giving me just enough time to take in his coat, dark golden colored, and see muscles flexing. He ran low to the ground and was gone in seconds. We were no more than 20 feet from where he laid. We anxiously made our way over to the ledge to see where he had been. Two deep paw prints were dug into the ground where he had pushed off. These marks will forever be imprinted in my mind, my first wild big cat sighting, on foot none the less. Day One: Due to wind my first flight from Austin to Chicago was unable to land in time to meet my connection to Abu Daubi. After a few hours at the airport sorting out the missed flight and rebooking I was set to leave Chicago the next day at 8:45 pm. The next day, I was overjoyed to get on the flight and finally get back to moving closer to India. Alas, we sat on the tarmac for a few hours, and then sat in the air for thirteen hours. Finally I arrived May 20th in Jaipur, India. The first thing I noticed about the India people, they are in a hurry. You hear about how Americans rush rush rush, but during the Abu Daubi and Jaipur boarding times the lines were completely filled before any rows had been asked to board. Likewise, a mere second after touching ground it seemed everyone stood up on the plane and started pulling bags down without any space for them to go as the cabin doors were still closed. “Quick quick” a man told me as I moved out into the aisle. I arrived at 5 am and was greeted by the owner of the hotel that will be my home for the first part of this journey. After unpacking and putting on a fresh set of clothes I headed to a nearby park. But on the way I stopped and scouted out animals in the empty lots and patches of semi-natural areas. There were all booming with wildlife. I startled a flock of partridge (like partridge in a pear tree) and they scattered quickly over the ground and over a hill and were gone. They reminded me of prairie chickens in the U.S. There were at least ten different species of birds in each of the undeveloped areas I walked through. Bird calls were more numerous than the constant honking from the nearby streets. Bright orange lizards and a quick glance at a mongoose were the biggest highlights. But, I quivered at the mongoose knowing cobras (prey) were probably close by. Jawhar Circle is a very large circular park. Unlike the unkept patches of wildlife alone the way, the park was very well taken care of with women and men dotting the landscape picking weeds or sweeping pathways. Birds were everywhere but overall I enjoyed the small patches of urban wilderness more. There was more life there than among the trees and large bougainvillea cascades in the park. Later, Chinmay would tell me he rescued 27 baby cobras from this park last year. After three hours of walking I was starting to feel the effects of the heat. It is over 110 degrees in Jaipur every day this week. Thankfully it is not humid, but nevertheless it violently hits you in the face the first time you go outside. Later that evening Chinmay, the local wildlife rescuer and founder of the Sariska Tiger Conservation Organization, came by my hotel to talk about our plans for the next few weeks. Before I knew it we were off on the motorcycle to the reserve forest on the edge of town. There are thought to be around 16 resident leopards who regularly venture outside the forest and into the nearby human dwellings (encroaching on forest area) to snatch dogs and goats. The area is very sandy with stark rocky outcrops thrusting up through the sand with hardly any vegetation able to cling to the rock. The trees on the sand are constantly changing as their roots cannot hold onto shifting sand and easily fall over due to wind or water. It’s a harsh landscape but biodiversity is spectacular regardless. As soon as we moved pass most of the human used areas a flock of nearly twenty peacocks started calling to each other in various tones and clearly different messages – they were warning each other. These beautiful birds started gliding up into the tree tops (an incredible sight) with only one or two remaining on the ground. “Leopard, they have spotted a leopard” Chinmay tells me as we dismount the bike and stand quietly near the road edge hoping to sight what the birds are loudly discussing. After fifteen minutes we could hear peafowl further up the road start to send out the same type of calls over the trees. The leopard had moved way. The commotion could have been caused by a stripped hyena, jackal or other meso-predator as well, but the atmosphere seemed right for the top of the tier. Along the way to the temple inside the forest, we spotted several female blue bulls, a large wild ungulate, and of course many different birds, all beautiful. When we reached the temple we were greeted with a huge troupe of macaques looming, well over 100, around the edges of the spring fed pool. They started to make their way towards us but our flash lights and quick charges at them turned them away and back up the walls and onto the roof tops of the structures around the pool. Crashes were frequent as one or more fighting monkeys would fall from the building tops and into the water. The noise is frightening as howls and growls echo up into the rock walls above us. The holy men tell us leopards come down from these steep mountain sides and take macaques regularly. These monkeys while laud are all running and casing each other – the perfect distracted meal for a leopard. We watch the mountain side for a while but only see a few fighting macaques tumbling down the mountain. We’ll come back and stake it out for a few hours soon, Chinmay tells me. We head back out towards town and with a “torch” in each hand I spotlight both sides of the road from the back of the bike. A dozen bright eyes shine back and we say goodbye to a herd of female blue bulls. I spotted a civet on a low rock fence and we turn back around and watch him scamper off. These animals are perfect adaptors to an urban life and remind me of raccoons in their dexterity and easy of survival. We then stop as I see a pair of eyes gleaning out from under a rock overhang but quickly Chinmay grabs his torch and says with excitement “leopard… huge, huge yellow eyes” as he focuses on something just behind the small pair of eyes I spotted. He is convinced these eyes belonged to the top predator who rules this area. The last tiger in this forest was shot in the 1940s by the prince. Ever since the leopard has dominated this area and with a preferred prey size falling perfectly in the rage of dog-goat the leopard is the top local conflict animal. We also spot a desert fox, its close enough we can see its entire body trotting parallel to us along with its large ears and bushy tail until it disappears behind a rock. We leave the forest and are back in the surrounding villages. Cattle are starting to settle down and are curled up on door steps and on the narrow margins on the road. We stop under a highway to get a cold drink and it is much welcomed, it is around nine pm and I am still drenched in sweat. After we down the bottles it is back on the bike and home for the first night of sleep in three days. |