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.