“Nature never ceases to amaze us” – this was proved in our recent trip to Pench – The Land of Mowgli. Our trip started with the journey from Nagpur to our camp in Pench. We introduced ourselves to each other and got into the safari vehicle to go to our camp which was in the Naller buffer zone. After reaching the camp, we relaxed for some time after which I went birdwatching around the camp, near a small stream.
The second day, we woke up with a lot of energy which we would need for our first activity – the long birding trail which was around 10 kilometres long. Though it was tiring, it was also very exciting as we could see various birds and butterflies. We also found the pugmarks of a Tiger, a Leopard and some scats of wild dogs (Dholes). This time, we saw a couple of raptors as well like some Jungle Owlets and a Shikra. By the time we reached our camp, it was already lunch time. After lunch, we had planned to go for a short cycle in the nearby villages, but we had to return after cycling for a kilometre or so as it started to rain.
At night, a senior forest official visited our camp and spoke to us about nature conservation and how interventions were planned to increase tiger numbers over the years. He also provided some valuable information about how tiger census was conducted every year. The discussion threw light on overall forest ecosystem in and around Central Indian forests and their habitats.
The third day, we woke up with our fingers crossed because the first activity of the day was our second and final safari in Pench and we hadn’t seen any land predators. For about an hour, everything was normal. We had seen a herd of Sambar Deer, some peafowl and Jungle Babblers when we got a call about a Tiger 3 – 4 kilometres away from us. Though we took a shortcut, there were at least 15 other vehicles at the point in front of us. The tiger crossed the road far away from us and went into the bushes. Our guide told us that there was another road in the direction where the tiger had gone. So, we took advantage of the fact that we were the last vehicle in the queue and quickly reversed our vehicle and went to the point, hoping that the tiger would come there. Just seconds after we reached the point, our suspicions were confirmed when we heard Langur alarm calls in our direction. True enough, the tiger came and started walking right in front of us. That’s when we found out that it was actually a Tigress who was scent–marking her territory! It was a very magnificent and mesmerizing scene. After walking in front of us for 3 – 4 minutes, she went into the bushes, leaving us amazed by her grace and confidence.
We thought that she was our first and last big cat sighting in Pench, but we were wrong because another big surprise was waiting for us. As we were returning from the safari, we heard Langur alarm calls very close to us and stopped our vehicle. It was a Leopard which was spotted by my friend Vikram, after which all of us were able to get a slight glimpse of it. We were probably the happiest ones in the camp as we were the only ones who were able to see the leopard. These were also special moments for me as this was the first time I had seen a big cat in the wild.
Our 4th and final day of the camp started with a patriotic program. On the occasion of Independence day, we went to a government school in a nearby village to witness the celebrations. It was a proud moment for all of us to celebrate the Independence day with the local children and villagers.
After we returned from the school, a few of us had the once in a lifetime experience of cycling in the dense forest along with the forest guard. After cycling for 7 kilometres in the challenging terrain, we halted near a stream where we relaxed for sometime and watched the thousands of butterflies which were feeding in the area. After that we went back to our camp in the same route. Though we weren’t able to see a lot of wildlife, the overall experience of cycling in the lush green jungles of Pench was probably the activity I enjoyed the most. Later, we had luch, packed up and left for Bangalore, thinking about all the memories we made in this adventurous and highly educational camp.
