Hello all.
As I mentioned before (see my post titled "On Wildlife Conservation and How Not To Get Trampled By Elephants - Part One"), this blog entry is on the second part of my internship at the Wildlife Institute of India. Actually, I should rephrase that statement, because this phase of my internship was in the field (i.e, in the wild) - at Corbett National Park, Uttarakhand, India.
Corbett National Park is one of India's oldest, most famous, and (despite the heavy tourist traffic all year round) pristine national parks. It is named after the famed hunter-turned-conservationist James Corbett, a man worthy of legend. Besides a whole range of accomplishments in his lifetime, he managed to hunt and kill around 50 man-eating tigers and more than 150 man-eating leopards, ridding the hills of Uttarakhand of the fear that enveloped them. However, he wasn't the cold-blooded hunter that he seems to be, he was a man with a vision - he dedicated the latter half of his life to the conservation of forests and wildlife. With his awe-inspiring knowledge of flora and fauna and jungle lore, he recognised the beauty of India's natural wealth - a beauty that I am sorry to say, not every Indian appreciates.
"The tiger is a large-hearted gentleman with boundless courage and when he is exterminated - as exterminated he will be unless public opinion rallies to his support - India will be the poorer by having lost the finest of her fauna."
- Jim Corbett (1875 - 1955)
And it is there, in the National Park named after this legendary gentleman, that my story continues . . . . . . .
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I was working with another PhD student as part of the project "Monitoring Source Population of Tigers in Corbett Tiger Reserve" being conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR). The work involved estimating prey (tiger prey) abundance through DISTANCE sampling and Carnivore Sign Surveys and training of the Forest Guards in carrying out these surveys. But before I launch into a description of the work that we did in CTR, a bit of background information might be in order.
In order to better study the tiger, wildlife scientists have to (for obvious reasons) study its prey. DISTANCE sampling is usually carried out to study the population densities and dynamics of Ungulates (Deer, Monkeys, Elephants, Cattle and so on). It involves carrying out Line Transects, in which randomly placed lines (of 2 - 3 km) are selected in the region under study (CTR has over 90 line transects). The researchers walk along these lines and spot the ungulates present on either side. Using a laser-equipped range finder, a GPS unit and a magnetic compass, the perpendicular distance of each animal from the line is calculated. The raw data is then fed into a software which uses statistical analysis methods and extrapolation to calculate the population density of that particular species over the whole park. (Pretty neat, huh?) Carnivore Sign Surveys, on the other hand, involve walking along random paths in the jungle and spotting various signs that indicate the presence of carnivores in that area - scat (faeces) samples, pugmarks, scratch marks in the ground and on trees, etc. Another very useful technique for studying animals (especially tigers) is Camera Trapping - pairs of Infrared cameras (facing each other) are installed at strategic locations all over the region under study. The cameras take photographs of animals as they pass in between, and the photos are then analysed using another software. Since no two tigers have the exact same stripe pattern, camera trapping is an extremely powerful tool for studying individual tigers in a park.
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| An Infrared camera in position for Camera Trapping |
Here are some photos that I took during the Line Transects and the Carnivore Sign Surveys:
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| Chital (Spotted Deer) |
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| A couple of Sambar Deer |
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| Claw marks made by a tiger on a plum tree (the marks were positioned way higher than my head, and I'm 5 feet 11 inches tall, so you can imagine the size of the animal that gouged these onto the tree! |
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| Pugmark of a male tiger (you can tell its a male tiger by the squarish overall shape of the mark). |
During my internship at Corbett, I would be like a research fellow, not a tourist. As a result, I would have free access to the entire park, just like any other wildlife scientist. I would be able to get out of the vehicle in the middle of the forest, and enter the core area of the Park (things that are strict no-no's for your ordinary tourists!) Anyway, before we left for the National Park from the Wildlife Institute, I was given some pretty important instructions - regarding the rules and ways of the jungle.
The conversation went something like this:
Scientist: "As you might know, wild elephants are the most dangerous and feared animals in Corbett Tiger Reserve. I mean, they literally annihilate any foreign object that they perceive as a threat."
Me: "Okayyy . . . . "
Scientist: "Basically, if an elephant charges at you when you are on foot in the forest, just run. Run like you've never run before . . . ."
Me: "........................."
(It was at this point that I realised he wasn't joking).
Scientist: "However, if you encounter a tiger and it prepares to attack, your best bet would be to climb the nearest tree. It's futile to try and outrun a tiger."
Me: "Couldn't you have told me all of this before?"
It was only later in the internship that I learned that the grad student I was working under had previously been chased by an enormous male elephant, and had narrowly escaped the hand of death when a tiger had passed from two feet behind him . . .
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| The entire herd gazing at the unwelcome visitor (me) |
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| The King of Corbett, lurking in the bushes |
Life-threatening dangers notwithstanding, I still went through with the internship. And it was worth every second of it, and more. It was the experience of atleast a couple of lifetimes.
Being a wildlife researcher might sound glamorous, but believe me, it isn't. They live a hard life. I got a taste of it during my stay in CTR. The accommodations were basic - they had 4 walls, a roof and running water, so there was no inconvenience, but that was it. We had two research assistants with us (locals), who were practically men Fridays - they were quite skilled in the kitchen too.
The weather didn't help either. North India can be extremely hot in summer (I'm talking soul-sucking, plant-shriveling heat). Temperatures were consistently in excess of 47 degrees Celsius (116.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and at times I would wish I were a desert rabbit, so that I could regulate my body temperature via my large ears!You might imagine that I had a hard time, but the truth is I enjoyed living like that. It was in the midst of wilderness, and it was unbelievably beautiful.
The more I thought about it, the more I admired the wildlife scientists. They regularly stay in forests like Corbett National Park for months on end, tirelessly working to preserve the country's natural heritage. They are, in my opinion, the true heroes. Other remarkable people I met and interacted with during my stay in CTR were the local villagers. They live an extremely hard life, are sometimes attacked by wild carnivores and elephants, and earn measly amounts of money that do not fulfill all their needs. Yet they maintain an unbelievably positive outlook on life, and for this I salute them. I came across a man whose legs had been mauled by a tiger a couple of months ago, yet still had the unfathomable courage to smile.
I am sorry to say that governmental apathy and red tape do play their part in increasing the difficulty of both the wildlife scientists and the local villagers (the villagers even more so). Researchers face the inefficiency of bureaucracy at every step, be it obtaining grant money or implementing their research goals. The forest guards (mostly comprised of villagers) receive meager salaries and almost no training. And people wonder why poaching and illegal trade in animal body parts is so rampant. Often the poachers are villagers themselves who have resorted to such desperate measures just to make two ends meet.
Like Jim Corbett, I believe that one of the solutions is generating public awareness. I also believe that it is the role of the media to highlight the incredible work being carried out by researchers and dedicated naturalists towards wildlife conservation (besides the usual celebrity gossip). Towards the purpose of spreading the message, I gave a series of talks and presentations at the Vivekananda Youth Forum (where I do volunteer work - see my blog post titled "The Vivekananda Youth Forum") on the importance of wildlife preservation and the work being carried out to that effect.
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Truth be told, I hadn't expected Corbett National Park to have a rich variety of bird life (atleast, not as rich as in Dandeli Forest Reserve, for example). I was proved wrong in spectacular fashion - the place was a veritable aviary! Here are some of the magnificent winged creatures that I spotted in the forest:
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| Common Hoopoe |
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| Crested Serpent Eagle |
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| Rufous Treepie |
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| Brown-Headed Barbet |
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| Indian Cormorant |
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| Red-Wattled Lapwing |
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| Black Partridge (And no, it's not in a pear tree) |
For a budding ornithologist and an ardent lover of nature like myself, this internship was a dream come true. I gained knowledge of a plethora of things - ways of the jungle, research techniques, wildlife survival and lots more. All my life I had wished I could do something really concrete for wildlife conservation, and this was the perfect opportunity. I got to meet some extraordinary people, and gained insights into their ideas and opinions. It was for the scientific experience that I had gone for this internship, and I came out with so much more. Despite the ever-present dangers (we had an armed guard with us whenever we walked in the jungle for our surveys), the lack of luxury and the scorching heat, the days I spent in Corbett were some of the most invaluable ones of my life.
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