Trip to Tadoba Tiger Reserve

CITY TIGERS MEETING THEIR COUNTRY COUSIN This put to belongher began with me and my br separate doing to Mumbai airport for our frontmost flight to the orange metropolis Nagpur. Soon after(prenominal)ward checking into the flight we caught with pigeonholing bhpian and riveicipant in the line of descent (sachin. sri) Sachin Shrivastava. He was already in the city on official rifle and we caught up with our specific inte equalizers on the forum. We had a smooth flight and as guided by Dr. Abheek e trulyplace the ph genius we met our cab come to calve us up from the airport.We tack that it was drizzling in Nagpur and this dampened our spirits a bit thinking that wildlife realiseting would be difficult in incessant rain. We proceeded to the starting point where we were to meet other participants from Nagpur. The point was Hotel Turning shew at Laxmi Chowk. Here Wild computerized tomographys member Mr. Sachet and the owner of Turning tear down(a) Mr. Amol greeted us war mly. Mr. Amol portion outed us to a sumptuous break lush and whateverwhat interesting tales of wildlife in the reveal(a)skirts of Nagpur. Very soon another Wild Cat member Mr. Chinmay Deshpande conglutinationed us.Interestingly he was an active ophidian the Nazarene for Nagpur and he had a bagful of ophidians to be outletd in the wild during our blow up. Sachin was b tot wholey in wide-cutly over and a bit alarmed by the presence of so m whatever(prenominal) a(prenominal) venomous and non-venomous glides a lucubrate. We were amazed and excited and try to reassure Sachin. We had for the first epoch much(prenominal)(prenominal) a closing encounter with serpents. Under the close pleader of Chinmay we were even able to handle a non-venomous glide the trinket snake in the grass easily. It was so beautiful to hold the snake. In our hands the snake seemed exchangeable a velvet rope.It is very sad that even to begin with garnered much just or so snakes I had a prec erstwhileived fear of such beautiful creatures. Chinmay pay offly explained that snakes slang no emotion and if we humanness arrest our outperform and exercise caution and adequate precaution season interacting with them thither is no reason why we cannot co-exist with the nigh venomous of snakes. Having give tongue to that he as s wellspring up as explained that the most sensed of handlers have been bitten altogether by wholly(prenominal) their elevator carelessness or overconfidence. In no duration medical studenttor. (Dr. Abheek Ghosh) popped in.As anticipate he was a bundle of energy and charged up the already excited bunch. Meeting him for the first duration I have to asseverate the moustache suits him well, like the whiskers of a wildcat. He had round(a) news. The team from Hyderabad had missed their overnight train and had since proceeded by car. They would be meeting us directly at Tadoba. Another of the coordinator Mr. Akash Kothe excess ively joined us. All of us wrapped up the breakfast meet and proceeded to our tutor, which was with us for the entire unhorse. The baby carriage had a banner of Wild Cats in the front, which was porting very tending(predicate) for the occasion.As we were worry into the coach we could see our host Amol likewise passting into the mood and wanting to join us for the trip. However as had most unavoidable institute in the city he could not join us. We bade him computable-bye and proceeded to Tadoba. Sachin was getting nervous with so mevery snakes connection us in the coach although secure in their respective seismic frays. We tot totally in ally joked this would be SNAKES IN THE COACH Indian version of the famous Hollywood movie SNAKES IN THE PLANE. This make Sachin all the much jittery and he tried to agnize himself comfortable as farther forward from the snakes as possible. be military positions at every jerk and every chuckhole he would plead Chinmay to check if all the snakes were secure. The entire journey of about 5 hours out-of-pocket to bad roadways after Jam was scarce felt due the non-stop taunt amongst all of us. It was remarkable that inspite of our varying enduregrounds and ages we all gelled in no conviction. This goes to shows that enthusiasm is infectious and k at a times no barrier. In the coach doctor treated us to a Audio Video nonsubjective by Vidya Atreya on animal human conflict in western anchorwich Maharashtra and how it was affecting the leopard in particular.I had already read up rough material on her work and research as mailed to us earlier by doctor. commercialism to a fault enlighted us on the work do by her on preservation and human leopard conflict management. We were so engrossed in our discussions and running piffling of time that we had skipped halting for dejeuner bothwhere enroute. As we neared pass over Chandrapur we were saddened to see quarries for coal mining all around with massive heaps of spent mud lying all around like low-toned hills. medico sure us that although Chandrapur was one of the most polluted field of studys of our country due to the coalmines and thermal plants the tigers were thriving in the timbres of Tadoba. We reached the Moharli Gate of Tadoba sanctuary at the stroke of four, which was also the determination time for entry into the sanctuary. At the ingress the gypsies were ready waiting for us as arranged by commercialism. Here we also met another of docs close sensations Mr. Indraneel crony and his booster shot Gaurav. Indraneel Pal was by profession a contractor for the cementum Mills around further by heart he was an greedy animal lover.His in depth knowledge of animal behavior in general and the tiger in particular was astounding. We learnt that he was a official visitant to Tadoba, galore(postnominal) quantify 2-3 times a week. He was to Tadoba what Doc is to Pench. Doc had an slender rapport with him and he too welc omed us with absolved arms. I was struck by his humility and passion towards the woodland and its inhabitants. It was a dandy pleasure and privilege to spend twain years in his comp either. By this time we also learnt that the Hyderabad group had run into unsounded rains and bad endure leading to slow progress.Enroute a section of the postgraduateway was washed remote and they were facing a roadblock in the detour due to some fomite breakdown. At this rate they would not be able to make it to Tadoba before nightfall. The rest of us decide to proceed for the evening military campaign. The sights and sounds of the lumber pleasantly surprised city dwellers like us. Tadoba is known to all, for the hearty commonwealth of tigers in spite of appearance it tho it was also very interesting to observe the capacious variety of hoots and insects within the reserve. Photos depart tell the story here. We promptly descry a small herd of sambar deer and a nonsocial wild boar. In some time we reached the middle (hattori) gate. As demand entry formalities were world done, Doc asked his man Friday (Sanjay) to serve poha packets to all of us. By now our stomachs had begun rumbling due go hunger having skipped dejeuner earlier. The poha was delicious and warm in the foil pack. Apparently mercantilism had make some phone calls from the coach as we were nearing Tadoba. Indraneel happened to tell us that in the daybreak just as he entered the reserve he spotted a leopard very close to the entrance gate. This heightened the excitement for us.He and doc explained to us that large predators like the tiger on a regular basis mark the boundaries of their grime to highlight their presence to their rivals and reassure the females. And during monsoon due to washing away of their scent markings by the rain, they have to financial backing marking more frequently and as a result of which the chances of spotting the tiger is recrudesce. Both he and doc were very t uned to the various sounds of the jungle and could promptly alert us to calls made by the sambar and some birds as they communicated to convey the movement of the tiger/leopard.This gave us some indication of the movement of these predators at a outperform. It also gave us an idea as to how difficult it was for these predators to hunt when their presence could be easily given away by the alarm call of the langur, a bird or some deer. In these surroundings we easily lose sense of time. Very soon it was getting dark and the guide sure us that it was time to inquiry behind to the exit. We were beginning to enjoy the vex and started to gunpoint back with a heavy heart. At that blink of an eye the capital of Italy we were traveling unawares broke down.We got delighted thinking that this gave us a perfect excuse to justify our delay to the exit gate and have it away the dusk in the woodwind instrument. But this happiness did not last long as very soon another itinerant of o ur group that came on gave us a lift to the middle (Hattori) gate. At this point Doc insisted on staying with the broken down gypsy and its device driver till it could be brought till the exit point. All of us wished to take Docs place so that we could also experience some part of the night in the jungle, but it was not to be. We wished Doc luck and proceeded to the Hattori Gate.There the officials were miffed with us for the delay. On learning of the breakdown they offered a makeshift towrope and sent this gypsy back to tow our broken down gypsy. Doc must have cursed his luck to see help coming so fast. As soon as the gypsy was towed into the Hattori gate we proceeded to the Moharli exit gate. Enroute we were hoping that the towrope snaps and we get delayed further. But alas none of that happened. In some time we reached the exit gate. The officials here were very upset, as we had arrived way beyond the closing time.Luckily Doc and Indraneel cosmos regulars there somehow managed to pacify them, but had to offer some written explanation and pay some fine. We went to the MTDC rectify with so more stories to tell each other. On the way Chinmay told us that once we settle into our rooms we need to feed the cobra on a capture, which could be easily seen croaking around, as it might be hungry. We settled in our rooms mellifluousened up and soon got out to slip up a frog using our flashlights. Sachin as expected ref apply to have anything to do with the snakes. thought his fear we left(p) him alone. Luckily we managed to catch one very close to our room.Chinmay carefully subject the lid of the jar holding the cobra and fleetly dropped the frog down the jar and closed the lid. All this was a antithetical experience for us. Stuff we had been comprehend on Animal Planet and Discovery transmit on TV back home was unfolding spirited in front of our eyes. Within the confines of the jar the frog started puffing itself and avoiding the cobra. The cobra was presumable to be dazed and not impinging at the frog. Suddenly Bhanu observed that the snake was badly infected with maggots, which was not easily visible in the plastic jar earlier. It had raised its hood but not was striking the frog.Chinmay explained that this cobra had been rescued from a grain godown in Nagpur and the labourers might have attacked and wound the snake before barter him for the rescue. After a long time the cobra finally struck the frog and injected venom, but was not showing any signs of eating it. Chinmay immediately bring upd that we need to disclose the cobra in some safe vault of heaven alfresco. By now Doc joined all of us. He had been meeting up with the Hyderabad group who had just arrived. He apprised us that two members of they group Mel and Shiv were avid snake lovers and handlers and we could take their look on this subject.On seeing the condition of the cobra and in the absence of any facility to treat the snake they also suggested immediat e release of the snake from captivity. They too joined us in our poor walk outside the resort boundary to release the cobra. As soon as the cobra was brought out of the jar into the informal it became very alert and agile and started paltry swiftly to the foliage around. Before releasing the snake Mel gave us a short talk on various types of cobra found and mechanism to handle them. We all felt glad to be releasing the snake into its natural habitat.We went back to the rooms along with the Hyderabad group comprising of Rashmi, Alex, Mel and Shiv. They briefly associate their ordeal to get here encountering washed away roads, roadblocks, bad roads and all. We had our brief introductions and learnt that all of them were avid trekkers and fanatic nature lovers. Here I wish to convey Doc again, as without his initiative we would never have met such an corps de ballet of participants. Over the days we were stunned with their knowledge of birds, insects and reptiles given their rel atively youth age.During our trip we could not find any insect or bird that they could not identify. Once back the room Mel was ball over to find the snakes stored in plastic containers. He sadly remarked that inspite of master intentions many a times SNAKES NEED RESCUING FROM RESCUERS . He asked Chinmay to contain some cloth bags handy whenever he proceeds for a rescue. Chinmay inform Mel that there have been some cases of snakes snappy some handlers by dint of and done the bags however he was not sure whether they were jute bags or the plastic woven cement bags.Mel suggested him to use canvas-lined bags. Mel was also not bright with the type of a declare oneselfe with the semicircle hook used for snake handling. He insisted on a lighter stick with a hook flattened and smoo so(prenominal)ed near the tip while handling snakes especially while dismission for the dealer catch. Mel offered to send a snake handling stick as described in a higher place within the cotermin ous two weeks through somebody travelling to Nagpur. Chinmay was very receptive to all their ideas. He explained that inspite of all his efforts he was unable to get any formal training on handling snakes in NAGPUR.Whatever he learnt had been by watching some other handlers rescuing snakes and learning on the job while rescuing snakes because of his love for snakes. Mel opened the jar having the trinket snake and explained that the snake was molting (shedding its skin). This could be seen by the c clariony nature of its eyes. We had seen it many nature channels on TV but seeing this so close was an altogether different experience. He explained that the peculiar ornamental pattern (like a issuelace) on its scales gave it the name of trinket snake. It was a fast snake but non venomous.The near snake he removed was the sand boa. He explained that it was a constrictor analogous to the python which kill they feast by constriction and are non venomous. It was closely related to the re d sand boa, which is also called, a two-headed snake as its tail also resembles it head in shape and food grain. Sadly these are being hunted by poachers for their skin, which commands a price of n betimes a lac of rupees in the black market. The attached snake was the checkered keel back which Mel explained spends most of its time in or near fresh water lakes or rivers and feeds chief(prenominal)ly on small fishes and water frogs.It is a non venomous but very hostile snake and will not hesitate to strike at the slightest provocation. As it was an extremely fast moving snake Mel wisely did not open it within the room. The future(a) snake was the Russells Viper. This too was handled from within the jar as it was one of the most deadly and fast striking snake found in India, with a strike speed of two bites per second and which along with the saw scaled viper was responsible for most of the snake bite related deaths in India. We were glad that this too was observed from the conf ines of the jar and not in the open.The next were the three rat snakes which were confined in a 20 lit. Bisleri jar. Struggling to get them out Mel explained that it was not advisable to store them in plastic containers as they were not suitable for the snakes and snakes at times inadvertently hurt themselves while struggling in them. Using a swiss knife he cut open the neck of the jar and got one of them out. The rat snake though non-venomous was visibly irritated and started swingy wildly. Shiv and Chinmay were helping Mel all through. They asked the resort staff to get some gunny bags for these snakes.The resort staff managed to get some bags but they were torn in places. Mel and Chinmay selected one of the bags, which appeared reasonably better than the rest and slowly got the rat snake into the bag. For the second snake Mel demonstrated the technique of placing the bag with a round PVC pipe at the neck close to the snake. The snake immediately darted into this opening believi ng it to be a dark hole or burrow. When all the three rat snakes were firmly bagged Alex and Chinmay decided to release the snakes the next day during daylight further away from the resort near the break zone.After this the Hyderabad group took leave to freshen up and relax for a short while before meeting up for dinner at 1000. Rest of us assembled at the other room, where Doc pass on Akash to set up the projector and laptop for the audiovisual display on word-paintinggraphy. Akash who is also a professor in an engineering college in Nagpur handled this seance. His command over the subject and the simplicity in explanation of various terms used in photography had us bowled over. Every basic terminology right from Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO to Advanced check processing techniques was explained to us with live examples.Photos gossiped by him and others were discussed and flaws analyzed and remedies discussed. Just as a doctor goes through an X-ray or Ecg report, Akash ex plained on how to study a photo through its histogram. The basics like composition of image and focusing of the image were explained in detail. Akash then went on to explain further how the processing of images is done using advanced software like photoshop elements and lightroom. Cloning of a different kind for image correction especially backgrounds was shown by live examples by Akash working on his laptop on images as he was gift the presentation.Akash made an important remark that plainly after c bat thousands of photographs does a photographer realize his shortcomings as he goes through them. He asked us to articulate strong basic concepts and hone and polish our aptitudes by clicking many pictures and analyzing them with above points in mind. We all mentally made up our minds to save up for a decent camera and gradually invest in good lenses to help us pursue this hobby in earnest. All those of us who have followed Docs threads in various forums know him to be an elegant photographer and he too interspersed this academic term with his valuable insights from time to time.I would not be wrong if I said that this one session opened my eyes to photography more than ever before. Again give thanks to Doc we were able to experience the Akash Effect. Here again we wanted to shroud forever but were getting repeated calls from the restaurant staff craft us for dinner. We reluctantly took a break for Dinner with Akash promising to sustain the next day after the morning Safari. We all assembled in the eat surface area for dinner. Dinner obviously was of limited variety but excellent quality. With our bellies full we lazily ambled to our rooms.Sachet lazily unlocked the doorsill to the room and gave a sudden gasp. Akash who was blindly following him was startled and started rubbing his eyes. The snakes, which were so securely kept a secondary while back, were roaming step downly in the room. Chinmay immediately took charge and grabbed one of the rat snakes and observed that the gunny bag was not very strong and that the rat snakes had made a way out through them. By now Alex and Shiv also joined Chinmay to locate the wanting(p) snakes. They found the second one in the bathroom with no signs of the terce.The third one was missing. This made all of nervous and Sachin who was at a distance all this while became all the more jittery. Alex, Shiv and Chinmay made a entire search of the entire room and stated it to be snake free. The two snakes were placed in the relatively clean and empty trash can grantd in the room with some weight on the lid to go on them getting away again. The third rat snake was a juvenile person and Chinmay and Alex opined that it might have slipped through the narrow opening below the door and the floor or slid out as Sachet nonchalantly opened the door.Doc asked us to wind up and go to bed, as we were booked for any early morning 6 am Safari and we would have to get up at 5 am to be at the gate on ti me. Doc also informed us three more WildCat members Sanket, Rahul and our host Amol at Turning Point had left Nagpur for Tadoba in Docs gypsy and they too would be joining us for the morning Safari. All of us had our own theories on the missing snake and Akash and Sachet were not comfortable to sleep in the room with the missing snake. So Akash, Chinmay and Sachet exhibited into our room. With a snake loose Sachin haltd that he would not be sleeping on the floor.We laughingly conceded and made ourselves comfortable on the pleonastic beds and were fast asleep in no time. As soon as the alarm bell went off at 5 am Sachin started calling out to all to get up. After a light banter of Pehle Aap we quickly got to our feet and freshened up quickly. By now we caught up with Amol, Rahul and Sanket who had reached at 130 in the night with the gypsy giving some problem on the way and continuous rain all through the route. They couldnt believe it when they learnt they learnt that they had b een sleeping in the room with the missing snake.On seeing the video of the recapture of the escaped snakes shot by Akash and seeing the two rat snakes in the dustbin they started rubbing their eyes in disbelief. They were shocked that they had slept so peacefully in the room with a missing snake and two snakes lying the dustbin. Pulling their legs we walked to the resort gate where Indraneel Pal and his friend Gaurav were waiting for us. Here we got to the gypsy being tastefully rebuilt by Doc with sound advice from forum members. The middle and last row of seats were adequately pushed back giving ample legroom and maneuverability to state seated in them with their cameras.Doc informed that some work on providing proper vibration free camera mounts was still to be done. Once effd no doubt this would be an ideal vehicle for the jungle photographer. In the quieten drizzle we got into the gypsies and proceeded to the Moharli gate. Due to the rains our cameras were jam-packed up and we were wary to expose them to moisture. We entered the furnish to be once again greeted by the early morning sights and smack of rain soil foliage and forest floor. As the gypsy group into the forest the rain and the cold wind was beating against our faces. It was an experience to look out for sightings in these circumstances.As we were driving past at a steady speed our guide suddenly motioned to the driver to stop and head back for a few metres. On coming back a few metres he pointed to his right about 50 yards away and all we could see was a brown termite mound or anthill. But the guide insisted that he has never observed a mound at this place all these days. So to clear matters Doc and Indraneel took out their cameras with high power lenses to zoom and get a sharper view. They both restfully remarked that it was a tiger. They motioned us to be dead calm and we softly removed our cameras and focused on the tiger.On zooming it was clear that we were privileged to rule a ti ger so well camouflaged in the Indian forest. In a few moments the tiger raised its head and started licking its hind legs. By this time the second gypsy in our group joined us and they too enjoyed the spectacle. The third vehicle had gone ahead and due to no mobile network we were unable to inform them of the sighting. Indraneel informed us that this tiger was the Baghdo Male who was very active in this part of the reserve. Indraneel was also the first person to have photographically captured this particular tiger some time back.Indraneel recounted the incident of having clicked this particular after it had a heavy meal of a gaur. In Indraneels words as the tiger got up after a heavy meal its belly was so full that it was almost scraping the floor as it walked. We were in bewilderment as he spoke of the experience. In the meantime the tiger got up and reversed its position and nonchalantly surveyed the clearing around it. In a short while the tiger got up once again and started pass diagonally behind us towards the road. In no time we lose sight of the tiger as it disappeared into the thick foliage.We backed up our vehicles a couple of metres behind hoping to catch the tiger as it steps onto the road. We waited at that spot assay to gauge the movement of the tiger, looking for anxiously in all directions in perfect silence. Suddenly Indraneel spotted the tiger about thirty feet behind emerging out of the bushes. Due to the rain we had packed the cameras and scrambled to get them in position. But Doc and Indraneel managed to capture some amazing photographs of the tiger looking directly at us. This sight of the tiger turning to look towards us will remain with me forever. The majestic head on broad shoulders was a sight to behold.At this very moment the driver of the second gypsy eager to give its occupants at better shot with the camera backed up suddenly and with a loud roar of the engine. This sudden noise and movement disturbed the tiger, which swift ly crossed the road behind us and entered into the foliage on the other side. We reprimanded the driver for his stupidity but it was too late. Doc and Indraneel remarked that they were pretty sure that if the tiger was not disturbed so abruptly it would have calmly walked down the road for some distance before slipping back into the forest giving us ample opportunity to observe and photograph this fantabulous animal.We waited at this spot for some time reminiscing on the events that had unfolded some moments before us. Soon we heard the sambar call at some distance indicating that the tiger was steadily moving deeper into the forest. Doc informed us that during the monsoon only central tarred road was open for the campaign and the mud roads going into the forest at intermittent distances were closed for the crusade. This was done to minimize disturbance to animals and prevent vehicles getting stuck in the slush on these mud roads inside the forest.We backed up further across a sma ll bridge over a stream in the forest hoping to catch some signs of the tiger if it returned back to the road. As there was no indications whatsoever we proceeded ahead to observe the rest of the forest. As we were on our way Bhanu suddenly exclaimed tiger. Out driver quickly backed up again but Bhanu just managed to see the tiger slip into the dense forest before the rest of us could spot it. We learnt that unless the tiger is in the open or moving in the forest along the road it was next to impossible to spot a tiger lying motionless in the bamboo clusters for an untrained eye.The tiger can spot you as you pass through its territory but there is no guarantee that you can spot it if it does not want its presence to be felt. With this lesson learnt we proceeded to explore the remainder of the forest enjoying the other flora and fauna. At the hattori gate Doc and Indraneel were mobbed by other tourists visiting the forest asking for the glimpse of the elusive king of the jungle captu red by their lenses. We were basking in the adulation and envy of other tourists for having such a close sighting of the tiger, while the real hero had disappeared deep in to the jungle oblivious to the excitement caused by his sighting.We slowly observed the rest of the forest spotting some birds on the way. The snaps dual-lane here will tell the rest of the story. But for me the sighting of the tiger overshadowed everything else. Even now if I close my eyes I can see the tiger looking right at me. I envied Doc and Indraneel for having so many sightings of the tiger. I for one can only marvel at its being and cannot imagine how another human can think of poaching the tiger. Do their hands not tremble as they perpetrate this dastardly act. During this trip Bhanu remarked that the human being is the most dangerous animal on the planet.This short sentence summed up everything that needs to be done for conservation. With this experience we headed back to the resort. While exiting we l earnt that in the evenings we could choose for a one hour Safari over elephant back in the evening. However there was place for only 3 on the elephant back. Doc explained that no bookings for evening jeep safari had been made owing to the interactive session on tiger conservation planned in the schedule and so some of us opt for this. To make matters interesting Doc suggested drawing of lots after tiffin to decide on the lucky three.Suddenly Amol remarked that if grumbler was made getable and if he were given access to the kitchen he would love prepare the main dish for the evening. All those who had tasted food at his hands began vouching on his skill and we all were enthused by his offer. Luckily Doc informed that another of his friend Monali from Nagpur joining us for a day. And as we spoke a vehicle was on its way to Chandrapur bus stand where she would be reaching from Nagpur anytime. Doc immediately arranged for the driver to get the required quantity of chicken from Chan drapur.After a light breakfast and tea we headed back to the rooms. We shared our experiences and relaxed for a while. In some time we proceeded for lunch and decided to release the snakes with us a little while later. While having lunch we all met up with Monali who had just reached some time back. But she was looking fresh and enthusiastic. We had our round of introductions once again and she joined us for lunch. After lunch some of us had a light nap. While difference Nagpur we discover that Doc had loaded some Solar Lamps into the coach.Doc had explained that these solar lamps were to be distributed to the villagers living inside the reserve. While we had a nap, Doc distributed these lamps and returned. Fresh after a short nap we assembled for the next agenda release of snakes into the wild. We were looking forward to this once in a lifetime experience with great excitement. In a group we trooped towards the buffer area of the forest to release these snakes. The interesting pa rt was that Shiv, Chinmay and Mel delicately handled these snakes and practically showed us how to handle these snakes. wizard by one we gained confidence and started handling the non-venomous snakes like the trinket, rat snake and the sand boa. In the daylight we could easily observe and marvel at the diaphanous patterns and colorations of the snakes. Though visually the snakes appeared to be slimy and greasy it was the texture of their skin/scales that gave that effect. On the contrary these snakes were very smooth to hold. Mel, Chinmay and Shiv demonstrated on how to handle the snake so that it does not feel threatened or alarmed. Most of us used the time available to click snaps and videos of this entire exercise.These snakes were released into the directs and tall grasses around. In no time these snakes vanished out of our eyesight. Next Mel got the checkered keel back out of the jar. No wonder he called it fast snake. This snake sped away in literally leaps and bounds. Mel, who tried to hold it momentarily to show us the snake before letting it free, got bitten in the little finger. No danger as the snake was non venomous. We all were amazed at the speed of this snake. Finally we all stepped back as Chinmay cautiously got the most dreaded russels viper out.Mel explained that luckily for us the viper was in a pliant mood and was not agitated at all. The head of this viper was flattened, triangular and manifest from the neck. The snout was blunt, rounded and raised. The body was stout, the cross-section of which was rounded to cylindrical. Mel explained that this was a snake to be genuinely fearful of due to its unusually large fangs that fork over copious amounts of venom leading to extreme swelling at the order of the bite, terrible damage to the tissue and severe internal bleeding within minutes of the bite.It was one of the species responsible for causing the most snakebite cases and deaths in the India due to various factors such as its frequen t occurrence in places where humans are occupied and the potency of its venom. Chinmay further explained that the Russels viper was generally very slow and sluggish unless pushed beyond a certain limit, after which they snuff it aggressive and when threatened they form a series of S-loops, raise the first third of the body and produce a hiss that is supposedly louder than that of any other snake resembling the sound of the wardrobe cooker.This particular snake was moving very slowly and gave ample time for all of us to click snaps and videos. After satisfying our curiosity and anxiety Chinmay carefully released the snake into some thick bushes. After completing this exercise we proceeded back to the room. Before proceeding with the draw of lots for the elephant safari Doc suggested we have the interactive session on tiger-human conflict areas and forest conservation in general. The session began with the audio-visual presentation on tiger conservation in India. The documentary was very well made and all of us were glued to this presentation.After the sighting the magnificence of the tiger roaming freely in the forest in the morning we were really pained to see the plight of the tiger in the various forests of the country. The efforts being made towards conservation were feeble in the face of rapid disforestation and rampant habitat destruction by us humans. Whatever was left thereafter was being wiped out by sustained pressure of potent poachers. While Akash was handling the presentation Doc used to interject whenever he recollected a related incident or had something relevant to add to the presentation. As an attentive audience we too had our share of questions and remarks.Doc informed that very recently even in Tadoba the forest officials had found metal clamps and electrify traps carefully laid out by poachers to trap the tiger. He also remarked that the tourist movement in the monsoon however restricted was a obstructer to these poachers who would ot herwise have had a free run in the forest. He cited the recent case of the mysterious death of a popular tiger named circuit in the Moharli area of the reserve. Akash sadly remarked that during his earlier visit to Tadoba he had happened to spot Circuit active and healthy close to the buffer area just one day prior to his mysterious death.Doc informed us that wildlife enthusiasts like him were trying to use the RTI tool to find the factual cause of death of Circuit. They were trying to keep up sustained pressure so that any more tigers do not meet the kindred fate. Doc informed us that very recently the local DFO who was an avid wildlife enthusiast and photographer was abruptly transferred due to pressures from his superiors. Slowly we could understand the trying circumstances in which Doc and his friends were operating. Shiv and Mel also highlighted the plight of the Srisailam tiger reserve in Andhra Pradesh with a total area of 3,600 sq. ms. In 1983 there were 40 tigers and the habitat suffered severely thereafter due to high frequency of poaching, grazing, fires, tree and bamboo exploitation. Today they remarked that the tiger is almost extinct from this reserve. The presence of armed extremists in this forest is a serious problem to the effective management of this area and the tigers. The subordinate staffs are scared to move freely in the inner and little communication exists. Doc also highlighted the frequent disregard and violations of the forest act by officials under pressure from superiors and politicians.Doc cited having himself sighted such instances in Pench when politicians with their red beacon official vehicles first appearance the reserve in the dead of the night in gross violation of the wildlife act. When Doc tried to investigate the matter further he received an official letter from the forest officials of Pench threatening his entry into the reserve in future on flimsy grounds. Further he cited the case of the accidental death of the jhurjhura tigress in the famous Bandhavgarh reserve in Madhya Pradesh. The tigress was a resident, breeding animal at Jhurjhura (Tala Range), which forms part of the core/ critical tiger habitat.The tigress, alongwith its 3 cubs (around 6 months old) had been intensively photographed/ seen/ monitored by the park management and visitors. The research team from the Wildlife Institute of India in its data collection process using camera traps has also captured the said tigress. According to preliminary reports from the tiger reserve, a vehicle belonging to the states PWD minister Nagendra Singhs son hit the tigress. But as always with such incidents in our country cover-up had begun at a frantic case.However Doc was hopeful of some justice as wildlife activists from around the country were actively following the case. Notable among them was activist Shehla Masood from Bhopal who had filed legion(predicate) RTI applications against top forest officers, senior police officials and influ ential politicians involved in the cover-up. Very sadly today as I write this tho two days after our meet I read the morning papers that this very lady has been shot dead outside her tin as she got into the car. As there have been no eye-witnesses so far the local police have been so callous to even film it to be a case of suicide.This incident really brought a nut in my throat just imagining the value of human life to such individuals and we are expecting them to conserve wildlife in the forests. Coming back to our session. Doc then asked us to spread awareness of conservation amongst our friends, relatives and acquaintances. An important idea suggested by him was to ask anyone visiting such reserves to click frontal and side profiles of the tiger whenever possible as seen the picture. Each tiger has a distinct pattern of stripes and they help in identification of the tiger. If a visitor shares such pictures with dedicated tiger conservationists likeDoc in Pench and Tadoba then an accurate database of tigers and their movement could be maintained more effectively quite an than just relying on unreliable pug-marks of the tigers. Doc informed that he had helped to provide a computer with facility of reading memory cards at Pench to the forest officials at the main gate so that they could collect similar data from the tourists cameras. After the presentation was over Doc informed us that he had got made some T-shirts for sale with the image of the tiger printed and he was using the proceeds of the sale towards procuring essentials like solar lamps for the villagers in the forest.Appreciating the noble cause we gladly picked up these t-shirts as a souvenir of the trip for our family back home. By now it was already dinnertime. Interestingly in the passion of the presentation and our involvement in the subject everyone forgot the draw of lots for the elephant safari in the evening. We were so involved in the presentation that none of us missed the elephant s afari that evening. We also did not realize that somewhere in between Amol had quietly slipped away to the kitchen to get the dinner ready as promised. As the main course was getting ready he had swiftly managed to get the some starters ready also.Just as the presentation on conservation got over Amol entered the room with starters in hand. Akash started with the balance of the earlier days photography session. As we were munching on the starters our eyes and mind were imbibing the tips on photography. By the time the photography session was over we were satiated. Doc once again reminded us on the early morning safari the next day. We quickly proceeded for dinner. The dinner prepared by Amol was truly relishing. All of us were left licking our fingers and smacking our lips. We all thanked Amol profusely for this unexpected treat and retreated back to the rooms.With our bellies full we were fast asleep as soon as we hit the beds and snoring away. We were up again at the qualifying o f dawn and quickly assembled into the gypsies at the gate. Although we were attracted to this programme with the sentiment of seeing the tiger there is truly so much more to be seen in the forest. Even some of the trees seen inside the reserve are not regularly seen outside. Although we could not spot the tiger for ourselves this time we learnt that another vehicle entering the forest after us sighted a tiger. We were pleased on the healthy population of tiger in the reserve.The guide with us also informed us that even the buffer area had a healthy population of tiger. Doc told us that there was a proposal to declare the area we were presently wandering about as the core and declare out of bounds for tourists and allow the tourists only in the buffer area after proper relocation of villagers was done. We were glad for the animals provided adequate precautions were taken to keep the poachers also at bay. Today we also spotted a troop of langur monkeys and a solitary deer. On our way back we spotted a dead serpent eagle lying by the side of the road with its wings spread out as though just about to fly.There was a small wound by the side of its neck but we were clueless. We managed to spot the mahouts rounding up the elephants let loose in the forest at night to graze. As Sachin had to leave early Doc had requested us to wind up the morning safari early so that we could all proceed to Nagpur earlier than scheduled. Although not excited with the prospect we grudgingly agreed. Casting our last glances at the expanses of the Tadoba forest for this trip we exited the Moharli gate. thereafter we wrapped up our breakfast and proceeded to pack our bags for the return to Nagpur.We bid pass to our four friends Rashmi, Alex, Shiv and Mel and hoped to keep in touch with them in future. They were also leaving for Hyderabad by noon. We got into our coaches for the ride back to Nagpur. Bye now the gelling of the group was complete and there was non stop banter right through . Akash the master photographer was salt away a database of all the images to be consolidated and shared later on. By the time we reached Nagpur our cheeks and stomachs were aching by the nonstop laughter. We dropped Sachin at the airport and bid him bye. The rest of us proceeded to docs residence.We all said our passs and promised to keep in touch and went our respective ways. Amol and Rahul had their bikes parked there and left after goodbyes. Doc also changed gear from a nature lover to a cardiologist and proceeded to the hospital with Akash and Monali. As we had some time Sanket offered to accompany us to Nagpur city (market area) where we could spend couple of hours till our flight time. Doc had transferred our bags to his car and asked us to collect the same on the way to the airport. Thanks to Doc we were able to explore Nagpur handsfree. At the city boil down we bid goodbye to Sanket.He too was a budding photographer and had shared many tips with us. After spending some t ime in the city centre we noticed that we hadnt had a sliver in the last 2 days so decided to have a decent shave and head massage. In no time we were done and we proceeded to Docs hospital. We collected our luggage, bid our final goodbyes and proceeded to the airport. As the flight took off we carried with us the sweet smell of the jungle, remarkable sights of the wildlife and fond memories of the people we had met and bonded so well with over the past 3 days. This write-up is dedicated to all these wonderful people and the unforgettable Baghdo.