Elephants, Tigers, and… Hanibus? Oh my.

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

I’ve been waiting to write my next blog in anticipation of something exciting to tell about, however in the last several days things have built p and now I feel I have too much to write. But first, let me begin with the setting of where this entry is being written…

I am sitting approximately 80ft up on a watchtower in the middle of Corbett National Park. It’s 11am and already about 85-90 degrees F, though there’s a breeze. I was dropped here at 10:30am and will not be able to be picked up until 3pm due to park restrictions of automobile travel. No walking is allowed in the park so I must remain in the tower.

But don’t misunderstand me, I’m not complaining. This was my idea. (And yes Mother, I’m wearing sunscreen.)

Corbett National Park is an incredible sanctuary with large expanses of grassland and river flats greatly resembling the African Serengeti and forest that makes you feel you’ve been inserted into the story line of he Jungle Book. Plus the highest density of tigers in India (approximately 164 individuals currently).

We arrived yesterday afternoon. We took a 2-hr jeep ride at sunset and this morning at 5:45am. We didn’t see any tigers but we did see several species of deer, elephants a multidude of birds and raptors, and more. The different habitat types within the park are diverse.
(11:46am, Just spotted a tiger in the river taking a dip!)
The compound we are staying in is an area of about 5 city blocks surrounded by electric fencing. It consists of tourist housing, rangers housing, a first aid clinic, a restaurant, and the elephant’s barn. This morning after breakfast I was speaking with a ranger and he mentioned the possibility of going to the watchtower. I decided the prospect of a spectacular view, quiet, time to write, and the possibility of seeing a tiger sounded fantastic and told my group I was going I was pleasantly surprised when two, Pax and Vania, wanted to come as well, and welcomed the company.

We were dropped off and climbed the 4 rickety ladders to the top. The view is incredible, we have elephants foraging to the west, a watering hole to the south, and the river with a tiger bathing in it to the east. We were disappointed at first to find a rowdy group of Indian men arriving only to sit and play cards, loudly, without even looking around. What’s the point of being up in a watchtower, right?

But an amazing opportunity arrived when another jeep pulled up before 11am. Two tiger program officers from the World Wildlife Fund in D.C. and their guide, an Indian wildlife conservationist climbed up the tower and the guide promptly told the men, in Hindi, to shut-up if they were there to see tigers or leave if they weren’t. They quieted down.

Over the past couple hours I’ve gotten to know Shannon and Bernie of the WWF and their guide, Rajiv. It’s always exciting for me to meet people who have the careers I am perusing. I’ve exchanged contact info and I’m thinking about the opportunity to volunteer in a park in India to improve eco-tourism resources.

(1pm, 2nd tiger sighting, in similar area, bathing in the river. Definitely a male, he has a huge head and must be at least 7ft long)

Our time in the tower is almost over. We’ve seen 2 tigers at a distance bating in the river and a herd of 10 elephants with several babies came to drink at the watering hole just next door. I don’t want to descend, I could happily spend the night up here.

Well, I guess I passed the time without getting to the other things I wanted to cover for my blog. I’ll have to write another entry once I return to Sonopani.
--------- ---------
April 17th: As for the rest of my time in Corbett…
That evening we went out in the jeep again and saw another tiger. He was a juvenile, abot 2-3 years old, 5 ft long. We spotted him walking through the forest, absolutely stunning.
Our last morning I got to ride on an elephant through the river flats. We didn’t spot any more tigers but it was beautiful and a really cool experience.

As for the title of this entry: Corbett National Park is filled with fields of marijuana plants, it's every where. It grows like a, believe it or not, weed. It's bizarre to see something that is both extremely revered and spurned in the US just growing naturally all over the place.