Nepal, Chitwan 2 (jungle safaris and rhinos)
November 13, 2010
Through the jungle on elephants and by jeep – today was all about the (photo) safari.
While the jungle was still shrouded in thick fog,…
…I warmed up my (photo) shooting accuracy on insects…
…and two-wheelers racing past. By the way, four people on one moped is the rule rather than the exception here – very economical. ;)
Next I edged a little closer to some carved wildlife. By the way, the gentleman made the rhino between his feet especially for me. :) A nice photo to remember some genuine handiwork by.
Before setting off on the real elephant safari, I quickly documented a dangling insect, and off we went:
Our big pachyderm - an Asian elephant – with its mahout on top. The four of us made ourselves comfortable on Dumbo, and off we went, straight into the jungle. I did have a few expectations of the tour, but I would have been happy with just some dense vegetation. What we saw after barely ten minutes, though, beat all my expectations:
Indian rhinos! Not only is this an endangered and actually mostly nocturnal species – we spotted a rhino cow with a young calf just a few meters away from us at the edge of a clearing. Rhino cows with young in particular are considered extremely aggressive and are dangerous even to large animals and humans. Only a few months earlier, two Germans and their guide had been chased by an Indian rhino in the Chitwan jungle, and one of them was critically injured – he survived. And now here we were, sitting up on an elephant, and the rhino cow didn’t seem bothered by us in the slightest. Although our pachyderm was already extremely nervous and trumpeting, our mahout, who was pretty worked up himself, steered us even a little closer.
A breathtaking moment! I wonder what would have happened if one of us had climbed down…
We didn’t want to push our luck, so after a brief moment of awe we crept on through the jungle.
The canopy grew denser and denser. Here and there a few rhesus monkeys darted through the treetops, but they were definitely too quick for my camera.
A lazy sambar deer didn’t let us bother him and calmly carried on with his “rest break” in the bushes.
Our pachyderm carried us on through mud…
…and dense jungle…
…and into the river for a drink and an elephant wash.
We watched a few locals in their narrow boats before heading…
…back to the starting point through even denser jungle.
Here a particularly magnificent specimen was just getting its wash.
The “little one” in the picture isn’t quite as harmless as all that: three weeks earlier he had trampled a Chinese tourist flat, as a guide explained to me after rushing over in a state and swiftly steering me away.
Back at the lodge I enjoyed a few quiet moments…
…before we finally set off by horse cart…
…and dugout canoe for the jeep safari.
If obstacles like fallen trees blocked the track – no problem…
…we simply drove straight through the surrounding jungle – a real adventure! :)
From the lookout we saw, besides our vehicle and driver,…
…all kinds of birds such as geese, ducks, storks, kingfishers etc.
Being a biologist with a botanical bent, I was of course also interested in the vegetation and its impressive blossoms…
…in every color imaginable.
But the fauna stepped it up once more too, presenting a magnificent Indian rhino in the thick greenery as well as…
…a distant mugger crocodile.
His colleagues turned up in all shapes and sizes at the crocodile breeding station inside the jungle, which we visited later.
We also got to see a few wild boars at the “lure contraption”…
…before we passed a few checkpoints (to keep out Indian poachers) and headed back toward civilization. As we crossed the river by boat, we noticed a growing commotion on the opposite bank.
The reason was obvious: two fully grown rhinos were strolling along the river less than 50 meters from the edge of the village. Several armed guards were already standing by as a precaution, but they had their hands full holding back overly curious tourists. The rhinos had a little look around and eventually ambled off.
Back at the lodge, a hefty giant spider greeted me from above my head in the little restaurant. At that size, the specimen above would surely have made a full meal. Although I do like trying new things – and this fare would certainly have been nutritious – I opted for something else after all, ate, thought happily about all the animals I’d seen that day, and then enjoyed a deep sleep with the unique sounds of the jungle in the background.
Further links:
- Safari – A term that has changed over time: from journey to hunting trip to photo hunt
- Asian elephant – Elephas maximus, the second-largest land animal on earth
- Indian rhinoceros – Another name for Rhinoceros unicornis
- Rhesus monkeys – For the smart crowd: Macaca mulatta
- Sambar deer – Scientific name: Rusa unicolor
- Dugout canoe – A narrow and practical type of boat
- Mugger crocodile – Crocodylus palustris, likes to eat tasty mammals
- Wild boar – Omnivorous and very tasty itself: Sus scrofa