Agumbe - A Slice of Heaven on Earth



Riverside - Near the Camp

The Camp Site

Stress builds up in the system causing major deviations in performance and efficiency! This is something most of us workers have heard sometime or the other! So what do we do about it? 

Most of us do nothing and continue with our mundane meaningless lives driven by the Rat race. Some head into the mountains or to the seaside for a break and there is the last group of freaks who head out into the Jungle.

One such escape was the 

Rainforest Rendezvous at the Agumbe Rainforest.

Organized by Darter Photography. This was a weekend getaway and the timing was ideal for me to "Blood" my kid, since it would be her first trip and I wanted desperately to know first hand how she would react to the rigors of such a trip.

Mind you this is not for your typical armchair loving couch potatoes who think that they can order room service no matter where they are and they will be served. The jungle is a place for true to nature individuals who truly love and appreciate nature in original - rugged, harsh, stark, beautiful and dangerous - and are prepared to face all she can throw with equanimity and courage. The Courage to accept and live in the conditions thrown at them; rather than try to change the circumstances to make life easier for themselves at the cost of lives of countless other lives. 

So we were off from the heat and dust of Bangalore to the relatively cooler environs on the overnight "slow" Bus service - Not much of a choice since this is the only  direct service from Bangalore. We reached the campsite after a short drive over some tough terrain. The vehicles stop some distance away and the last part of the journey has to be completed on foot. The walk is sure to wake you up if the drive did not....

Once everyone was freshened up and ready, we assembled at the dining hall for the briefing ahead of the day. Soon we had our first encounter.... The Draco came calling. Draco dusimieri or the Southern Flying Lizard landed on an arecanut tree close to the dining hall to catch the early morning sun for a recharge. The next few minutes were a constant clicketyclick as the shutters went wild. Soon we had the briefing by Gowri Shankar and Shreeram, followed by a delicious Malnad breakfast before setting out.

 

Draco Dusimieri displaying

Hill Myna

Butterfly basking in the early morning Sun

As soon as we set foot outside, we were greeted by the racous calls of the Hill Myna - a bird whose intelligence and copycat ability have resulted in the bird being hunted for the pet trade. It is often the smallest in nature that have the power to influence the environment. Most oohs and aahs were drawn by the small creatures - Nymphs, spiders, damselflies, grasshoppers, crickets etc.

Note the amazing venation on the wings



We moved further on and busied ourselves with filming the flora and fauna. Meanwhile my wife who was not carrying a camera, decided to walk ahead with our daughter. Couple of times, I had to call them back to ensure that they did not stray too far. Little did anyone imagine the surprise that awaited us at the next turn.



My wife had decided to take a breather while she waited for us and decided to rest on an exposed root of a large tree by the side of the path. She set down and relaxed while our daughter explored nearby. Soon she was lost in thoughts and started to imagine that she was seeing a King Cobra on the path. She had been hearing about the King so much from me that she decided to be a part of the trip just to see if all I said was true.

A spider with Camouflage

A Signature Spider on its prey

Grasshopper - Note the leaf its resting on.
The thorns are a protection against being grazed.

After a while, (Time has a different pace at Agumbe) still lost in reverie, she picked up a few of the dead leaves near her foot and started to play with them. She heard some rustling and realized that the leaves in her hand could not have caused that sound. She looked at the direction of the sound and saw movement about 3 feet behind her. With her heart pumping, she turned in the other direction  and was stunned.....

What she saw was beyond her comprehension for a few seconds and it slowly started to sink in to her that she was seeing the World's largest venomous snake - Live and in Person. A 12 foot long snake was crossing the path so close behind her and in her excitement to call the rest of us, she started to get up. The small movement was enough to cause the snake to turn back on its path and charge towards her. 

The speed of the u-turn and movement shocked her and she froze in the middle of her movement from sitting down to getting up. Once she stopped moving, the snake stopped and went back to his business. 

At this point, she began calling to us in a low voice; not being sure if the snake could charge again. Not being loud enough, none of us responded and continued to shoot other interesting subjects. My daughter being nearby could hear her mother and responded to my wife's calls only to freeze with a single "maaa".

Not getting any response from us and being so close to such a large snake brought desperation into my wife's voice and she started to shout "Snake".

King Cobra (Ophiophagus Hannah)Male contemplating "to climb or not". He crossed just 2-3 feet behind my wife resting on a tree root

The desperate note in her voice finally penetrated my thick head and I looked up . Simultaneously Shreeram and another participant also reacted and what we saw was stuff of our dreams. I was trembling inside and fear froze my legs for a while caused by the knowledge that there is no Anti venom for the Indian King Cobra and there in front of me was a King just feet away from my wife. Gowri Shankar was also away on some errand, which meant that we had to take charge. So while multiple instructions were being shouted to her, Krithika was desperately looking to me for guidance.

In my best calm voice, I repeated to her what is absolutely the right thing to do with Kings and Cobras - Freeze or move slowly. So I asked her to stay put and move slowly in-case she wanted to. Placing absolute trust in me, she followed the instructions and started to relax. Soon it was business as usual for the gang. Shutters clicked and flashes popped while we got images of a lifetime. Soon Ashwini the intern got Gowri to rush back. The King who had been looking for a convenient place to get across the path soon realized that there was too much commotion for his comfort and started to move back into the slope from where he had come. By the time Gowri reached the spot, the snake took position in the thick undergrowth looking at us.

The King giving us an audience

Till this point, my wife had stayed rooted to the same spot where she had been when she first saw the snake. I called her over to take a look at the King who had by now settled in the small opening in the undergrowth. After granting us photo ops for a few minutes the King decided to move on. We spread ourselves along the path hoping to see him cross again. However the wait was in vain. After a while it was time to regroup for lunch and we headed reluctantly back to the camp chattering about what we just experienced.

Lunch was followed by a session on Rainforest conducted by Shreeram and supported by Gowri Shankar. Post lunch we headed out in a different direction and it was essentially macro time. Plenty of birds were in attendance, though they were too far to be able to get a clear shot. Malabar Trogons, Yellow browed bulbuls, Racket tailed drongos, Hill Mynas, Jungle Crows, White Cheeked barbets, Yellow fronted leaf bird etc.

Later that afternoon, we headed out in the vehicles hoping to see a rescue in a drive filled with anticipation. Every phone call to Gowri's phone was looked at with a hope of a rescue call. Unfortunately it was not to be and we headed out to Kundadri Hills to capture the spectacular sunsets. The hill is home to a Jain temple and a small pond. The pond was well stocked with fish and where there is prey; there is bound to be a predator. Before long, Gowri spotted a checkered Keelback swimming in the pond. We kept ourselves shooting landscape while waiting for the sunset. I also tried some timelapse shots - not with any degree of success though :(

Sunset At Kundadri 

Landscape from the hilltop

Post the sunset shots, we headed back to camp for dinner and a night walk. Soon Gowri called out snake and there it was..... a Cat Snake (My first one). The group was responsible enough to ensure that flash was used judiciously and did not affect the snake's night vision.

Cat Snake - Boiga Beddomei

Amboli Bush Frog

Then it was Amphibian time....The Yellow Bush Frog, Amboli Bush Frog, some Toads and then it was bed time. Although the weather outside was pleasantly cool, the tents were warm enough to sleep in without covering us with blankets.

Yellow Bush Frog

At about 05:30 am I woke with a start thinking that someone was whistling early in the morning. It took a while to sink in that it was infact one of the most melodious calls in nature - The Malabar Whistling Thrush. An amazing start to the day with the beautiful calls resonating through the camp. Then it was more Dracos, Sunbirds, Drongos and babblers. With the birds above, we walked along a stream and were greeted by damselflies - Forest Glories this time. A little further on, we discovered the "Spiderman" - a Katydid who was probably nocturnal and was catching up on beauty sleep. Further along, we came upon a partially dried up stream with interspersed pools of water. These pools were home to the Skittering frogs who were on the prowl for a meal.

One of the group members had a close encounter with a Skit hunting a mud puddling butterfly. The frog was so fast that all the participant could manage was a blur of a shot of the moment when the frog caught the butterfly and disappeared into the water.

Forest Glory

Forest Glory

Katydid - Spiderman

Rat Snake

Scorpion

Soon it was back to the camp for a quick bite and back out for the last outing of the trip. Gowri then sighted a juvenile Rat snake out prowling. The last sighting of the day was a scorpion who was probably disturbed out of his hideout by a carelessly placed foot. With the scorpion bidding us goodbye, it was time to pack our bags back to "Civilization".  

This actually seems to be a contradiction in terms especially after encountering the Regal King, the Courteous Cat Snake, the melodious Whistling Thrush and other fauna that we had the fortune to encounter during our stay at the camp. 

Yet we say.... we are heading back to Civilization although all it means is that we are back in the midst of a cacophony of vehicle horns, exhaust smoke, crowded streets and traffic jams. Yep... Its called "Civilization"!!