Wildlife Photography: 3 different generations

I am sure a lot of you are aware of the tantrums that the pachyderms throw up in Assam, especially during the paddy harvest season and locals having to chase them off by bursting crackers. But, this is one side of the story. On the other side of the story is the peaceful living elephants of Kaziranga National Park. These massive mammals also look a bit weak and thin as they don’t get variety in their diet.

 
But, amidst the good and the bad, you can appreciate the aura of Indian Wildlife by seeing these elephants exist in total harmony in the Kaziranga National Park. And on top of this, if you see a special moment, you are totally transfixed. Such a special moment it was when I saw these 3 generations of Elephants during my jeep safari inside the central wildlife range of Kaziranga National Park.

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Countryside Elephant Watchtower at Assam, North East India

This was one of the most interesting experiences I had during my stay at Nameri National Park. It was late November when I was here last. The birding and wildlife experience was great. In fact, I could not have asked for anything more. However, it was marauding elephants that completely captivated my interest.


Apparently, this was the month when the rice crop was nearly ripe and soon to be ready for harvest. This is good news for the farmer, but the bad news for him is that the elephants know this piece of information too and they had made their way from the Himalayan mountains of Arunachal Pradesh into the plains of Assam. And once they were on the plains, they ensured that they attacked the rice crops every night. To prevent this, the local farmer community would set up watch towers where people would keep watch right though the night and if the elephants came by, they would alert the group and set off crackers to to scare away the pachyderms. I heard the crackers the first night and was keen on being at the actual scene the next night. Thus, I cajoled a local farmer and got a seat in one of these make-shift watchtowers for the night. It was a scary experience as locals mentioned that in the past, the elephants had uprooted such watchtowers. Thankfully, nothing happened when I was around. But, nonetheless a fantastic experience to see a huge herd of elephants in the dead of the night.

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Camping by the River Cauvery at Dubare in Coorg, Karnataka, India

It was one fine spring weekend! Me and my friends packed up our camping gear and headed towards Dubare – Cauvery’s secret treasure trove, about 227 km SW of Bangalore.


The Dubare forest, a popular haunt with tuskers, lies on the south bank of the Cauvery in eastern Kodagu (Coorg). Outside the perimeter of the Dubare forest reserve, this area is conducive to growing coffee. And, as is typical of exotic Coorg, this place has a peaceful laid back style.


We spotted the Cauvery as soon as we crossed her at Kushalnagar and the moment we turned into the Dubare Reserve Forest road, the entire world around us changed form. The entire area is lined with bamboo trees on either side of the roaring Cauvery river. In between, there were vividly green paddy fields near the banks.


After driving around for a while, we finally spotted a nice camping spot on the northern bank of the Cauvery and within an electric fence to prevent us from the elephants. After setting camp, we set out to explore the nearby hiking trails which are available in plenty here.


Close to our camping site was also the Valnoor Fishing Camp, where joy fishing of the famous Mahseer fish is carried out. But, since, none of us were the angler type, we decided to explore the non fishing side of Dubare.


The next morning, we went and crossed the Cauvery on a boat and went to the Dubare side where we took an elephant ride into the jungle to spot wildlife. Post this, all of us went for a swim and a dip in the pleasant looking Cauvery river. During monsoons, white water rafting sessions are held here. This is when the Cauvery is at its turbulent best. Overall, Dubare offers a great weekend getaway from Bangalore!!

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