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Starting the journey of Wildlife

It is now 10 years when I did my first proper wildlife safari. Having lived in Nagpur, I never got attracted to the forest, unfortunately though.

In May 2013 it so happened that Siddhi wanted to go for vacations and was categorically clear not to visit Konkan and Mahabaleshwar, our favourites till that time. My very close friend Abhijeet Shintre had just come from Tadoba and advised me to visit the place. All arrangements were done in next 4 hours. Rasika Kanhere advised us to stay at Svasara Jungle Lodge. Rasika, it was the best suggestion, as now we have made it our second home. Must mention thanks to Ranjit Mandal and Nandita Das, now our best friends.

Juhili and me were always scared of visiting forests in open gypsy, no reasons attached. So obviously the first ever open gypsy safari was driven from pre-conceived notions of fear. It was May and temperature was very high, as is the case always in this part of the country. My brother, Pankaj Wanikar, also tagged along with us during this visit. It now runs in the family. Guess what, we did not have a camera during this visit. Real amateurs, we were then.

We entered from Navegaon gate at 3 pm. Approaching this gate, one must cross the buffer, which is a dense forest. I really felt safe inside the car. At the gate, amid the dense forest, we boarded the open gypsy. Don’t remember the guide’s name now, but I had loads of questions for him, even before our safari commenced. What if Tiger or Leopard jumps into the gypsy ? Trust me I was scared to the core. He understood that we were the first timers and handled us very tactfully.

In first 10 minutes he gave us complete information about Tadoba, different zones, it’s coverage area and most importantly he made us totally comfortable by telling us the rules of the forest and behavior pattern of the animals. In those 10 mins, while we were traversing through the rough roads of the forest, I was more focused on the surrounding and I must admit that I was very scared in that open gypsy.

Slowly I started focusing on the beauty of the forest. I could see dense bamboo trees alongwith variety of trees and plantations. The first to sight was peacock and the excitement begun. It was followed by a party of deers, then sambhar deer and host of them. We also sighted Indian Gaur at Tadoba lake. I never observed birds but then suddenly got to know many species of birds. We sighted Indian Roller, Serpent Eagle, Babler, Green Bee Eater etc… The sound of continuous chattering of birds was amazing. I can still feel those vibes.

The guide took us to different water bodies as he told us that Tiger is normally sighted in the waterbodies during summer as it cannot survive this heat and need a water bath to cool itself. The sight of Tadoba lake was amazingly beautiful. As we were roaming around, I got relaxed and in the process started enjoying the ride. Offcourse the anxiety of sighting the Tiger was there. The guide was educating us about the forest and different species of trees all along. We took a 10 mins break at Khatoda gate, the place where you can get down from the vehicle, otherwise it is not allowed at all. The driver and guide were very strict about it.

Moving on, we again started our ride for tracking the Tiger. At one point the guide asked the driver to stop and wait. He said he heard an alarm call of the deer, which indicates that Tiger is in the vicinity. All of us were excited and then I was, for the first time, introduced to the alarm calls, which were coming regularly. Unfortunately Tiger did not turn up and it was about time to end our safari. So we left that place with heavy heart.

We came out at 6.30 pm without sighting the Tiger but the whole experience was worth it and became the reason for attracting me towards the wildlife. I was at peace, relaxed and in different world altogether. Next day we did sight the female Tiger, albeit from a distance, and I was introduced to a beautiful creature of almighty.

Wildlife has become a part of my life now. I am enjoying and experiencing it thoroughly. 

Chalo Jungle