The Prudent Monsoon

All this while I always believed that beginner’s luck was just a statement intended to encourage the first timers to actually take the plunge instead of hesitating or backing off. Little did I imagine what would be in store for me when I took along a bunch of first timers into the Tropical Rainforest and that too in the peak of monsoons.

Typical scenes in a Rain Forest in Monsoon

The City Bunch getting ready for the Wild

Landslides, slush, slippery slopes, mossy and deadly rocks and not to mention the omnipresent Leeches. The continuous presence of one or more of the above meant that the average traveler is defeated by the elements even before he/she starts. Not this bunch though!!

Their faces speak a thousand words

Although ill equipped to handle the elements, this was a sporting bunch who came with one expectation and left with a completely changed mindset and attitudes towards all that is Mother Nature. For this bunch, weekends meant hitting the nearest bar/ pub; get pickled to the gills, stagger towards the nearest bed and hit the sack. This was a bunch of colleagues from Office who have in the past been to several locations where they have been "exposed" to Wilderness. So this group was once again in the expectation to get to a place with a proper room and bed and roof over their heads with the freedom to do what they usually did. 



So it began on a Friday night, we set off to the Cherrapunji of South India - Agumbe.... well not exactly Agumbe village but an even smaller hamlet called Guddekere. This journey by itself should be fairly straightforward - Board a bus at Bangalore the previous night at 2230hrs and get off at Guddekere next morning at 0600 hrs. No...we just could not have things that simple. We love complications, so we book a bus to Tirthahalli and plan to take a local bus to Guddekere.

For the Geographically challenged folks like yours truly...it can be a nightmare. Thanks in no small measure to a colleague who could speak the local lingo fluently, the experience was a breeze, unlike the journey itself. We were booked by a Sleeper coach to Tirthahalli which theoretically meant that you could have a good night's sleep before alighting.

Laddies, ladies and others!!! It is easier to get some shut eye in a semi reclining position than in a completely flat position in a bus that is speeding through winding roads....so with every turn, you get shoved to the opposite direction in your sleep. Depending on where you are sleeping, you could be banging on the side walls of the bus, the support steel rigging or your neighbor....Best of luck if your neighbor happens to be a stranger!!!

So all said and done, we reached Tirthahalli at 06:15 and after a washroom break, took the local mini bus to Guddekere. Being an early morning, the bus was not crowded and we all managed to get seats. Soon thereafter we reached Guddekere and were greeted by Prashant. Prashant happens to be the Camp manager and Gowrishankar's man friday at this location. Gowri being away on travel, it was Prashant who would be our host and guide over the next couple of days. 

Also at long last I was able to catch up with one of Gowri's old time mates... Sujan Bernard. Sujan is a Wild lifer turned Techie turned wild life enthusiast who now firmly believes that he is much better of in the "benign wild" surrounded by reptiles and amphibians of both the venomous and non venomous variety than be in the Wild sorrounded by the City dwelling man. Sujan had with him a couple of his guests who also joined in the group.

After settling in and a quick round of introductions, it was time for chai and breakfast and soon we were off on our first trek. Although it was monsoon, a small break in the clouds ensured that there was Sunlight for a shortwhile and this was enough to bring the birds out. Velvet Fronted Nuthatch and the Scarlet Minivets were there to greet us as we move out on our first trek.

The intern in-house Udit was guiding us with Sujan and myself bringing up the rear to ensure that there were no stragglers.

Pretty soon on cue, Udit yelled snake and there it was.... a beautiful Green Vine Snake, just yards away from the dining area of the camp. For all group members it was practically the first time they had ever seen a snake outside a Zoo. 




This experience galvanized the group and soon they had spotted a Bi-Coloured frog, a painted grasshopper and soon the list was growing along with the interest of the group. The group headed out to the stream behind the camp, while I caught up with Prashant and we reminisced the old times. 

 The journey to the stream was punctuated by rain to a point where they had to turn back. Not the easiest of treks for the normal city dweller. But the team was game to the challenge and all of them returned unscathed except for Sujan who made the debut - donating blood to the Leeches.

Soon after lunch, we had an interactive session with the group essentially educating them about the Rain-forest ecology and its importance to our own survival.

The group was totally absorbed in the discussion and were able to appreciate the importance of the small things in life. Things that always got the last priority in the rat race they always knew as Life.
Post lunch we set out for another trek and soon the team was spotting more than the Guides. To imagine that this was a group that came in with an expectation that they would be spending time in a Resort whiling away time in drinking and making merry.


Although tired, not one member wanted to be left behind on any of the treks, leeches or no leeches. All in all it was a wonderful experience that had many participants put on their thinking hats to see how they can be a part of the Conservation effort.


In a small but significant way we hope to be able to spread the word and make people appreciate what real life is all about and how they can help themselves live better and healthier by ensuring that they use nature wisely so nature helps them back.

A small but important mantra being REDUCE, REUSE & RECYCLE.

Trust you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this.

The Feast

Rains in Bangalore mean a lot to lots of creatures. Life to some and death to some...... This is the kind of life and death battle that I was privileged to witness this mid week following a heavy overnight rain.

Rains meant that Ant/ Termite queen hatchlings began to come out of their shelter in an attempt to set up new colonies elsewhere.

The first cluster was probably the luckiest. They got out unscathed with no predators nearby to take note. Soon however it was a different story. The Jungle grapevine was in full flow and soon we had tens of mynas, magpie robins, cuckoos, ravens, Shikras, Caloutes, Squirrels, Coucals, all came in within space of minutes and then the feast began.



Soon the birds were dancing and chasing after the flying queens for a dose of high protein. A rare treat for the creatures!!!















The Magpie Robin soon had its beakfull of queens and was dancing away in joy......











Meanwhile it was hard work for the Mynas and Ravens and the Mynas were left in the wake by the resourceful Magpie Robin.











One Myna was particularly disgusted with the success the Robin was having. Neighbors Envy! Owners Pride!!!










Pretty soon the Mynas and the Ravens caught on to the Robins tricks and started to catch the insects much to their joy.














Soon the Squirrels also joined in and made merry!!














While the Shikra lay in wait for the unwary bird or lizard or mammal. She was not so lucky today though with the birds and animals moving all the time in high alert.











The Mynas even tried to steal from the Robin without any success.











The entire episode lasted about an hour by which time most of the visitors had feasted. Then as if someone had turned off a switch, the insects stopped coming out. While it was death for so many insects, their deaths was not in vain as they helped so many other creatures in the food chain alive by providing sustenance. Meanwhile their large numbers ensured that sufficient numbers escaped to form a new colony elsewhere!!

Thanks Mother Nature for providing a No Holds Barred uncensored glimpse of Raw Nature at its best on a beautiful Wednesday morning.

Who needs a Television, when you have live events unfolding outside your door!!

The Danger Humans Do not Face!!

Atleast most humans avoid getting into situations that are life threatening and are able to grow into Adulthood fairly comfortably.

This is not so with Wildlife where the Survival is a daily Challenge!!

Take the case of this baby Squirrel who was born 5 weeks ago in a nest in my house. As long as he was a baby, he stayed in the nest and was safe from the prying eyes of Crows and Mynas who desperately tried to get him.

However once he become a juvenile and began exploring the nearby territory, he became fair game for any predator that happened to be around. Our presence ensured that he was in relative safety, however even we did not bargained for the tragic scene that took place in front of us this weekend.

In the morning, the frisky juvenile possibly exited the nest too fast and fell two stories down on to the concrete floor. He was dazed but seemed fine. After staying put for a few minutes, he scampered away and we heaved a sigh of relief.

In the afternoon, we heard the soft thud yet again and looked out to see an action replay of the morning's scene. The juve this time staggered away below our car and immediately we heard his squeak. We ran out to see the neighborhood cat holding the Squirrel in its mouth....and all too soon it was over.

One's death meant an extension of life for another....so is the way of nature!!! Imagine if we humans had to live by the same rules...our population would possibly be a fraction of what it is today and the world would have been a much better place to live in.

Post the Fight...the Reward

My last post was about THE FIGHT!! Two pairs of the Indian Myna going at each other with everything the had!!

 To the Winner go the spoils!!! Obviously right!!

So here you have ......the Winners Celebrating and moving on to the next step....

 I meant courting!!

These two have been at it for a while....now I hope I'll be lucky to catch them in "The Act"...

 If my luck holds, I could also catch them nesting.....

Watch this space for updates!!!

The Fight

It was a rare weekend that I was at home and was chilling out on Sunday watching a movie on TV with family.. Sometime in the mid morning, we were suddenly jolted out of our relaxation by loud and persistent screeches of Mynas.









The first thing that struck my mind was that there was some predator which had attacked and got hold of a myna and the little bird was screaming for its life.
I called out to my wife, meanwhile rushing to get the camera and we both stepped out in anticipation of seeing a hunt in progress.

As soon as we stepped out, we saw two mynas engaged in combat and were just about to turn back when........

We saw another pair similarly engaged. For the average city dweller bird combat may be a rare event, but a double combat is a Show Stopper.

 The anger was palpable and the rage with which the birds went at each other was a sight to see...

 We fully expected to see atleast one bird either get injured or die in the combat considering the viciousness with which they went at each other.






Having never before seen mynas fighting each other so viciously, my wife and I were entranced in this rare behaviour scene being played out that we completely lost track of time or the fact that the sun was beating down on us.
 

Even when they separated and one bird tried to flee, the other bird just chased, caught up with the fleeing bird and the fight continued

After a while I realized that one pair was trying to get to one side while the other was hell bent on preventing them from getting there....

So it was all about territory or nesting sites. Real Estate has prime value even among the avians. So much so that they were even willing to roll into the gutter to fight for what they valued.

Then after close to 7 minutes, one pair decided that they had enough and took to their heels.










The Victorious pair then flew to a perch on a PVC drain pipe and began calling out their Victory song.

What a sight it was....a common everyday bird which is considered to be a pest in many parts of the world the Common Myna or the Indian Myna (Acridotheres tristis) is a highly intelligent bird and a major part of the birds' success in any new habitat has been its ability to adapt quickly to its new environment. These guys just about made my day...!!!