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Sandra and Barry's Continuing Adventures 2009

Elephants and Rhinos in the Jungle - Royal Chitwan National Park April 25, 200 Apr 28, 2009

Elephants and Rhinos in the Jungle - Royal Chitwan National Park

April 25, 2009

Our visit to the Royal Chitwan National Park has been the highlight of our time in Nepal. Located in the Terrai – the plains of south central Nepal, Royal Chitwan National Park has been a protected hunting area for the elite since the 19th century. It gained status as a protected national park in 1973 and a World Heritage Site in 1984. The park is rich in wildlife with 57 species of mammals including: 25-35 wild elephants, 408 rhinos, 115-120 tigers, 2 kinds of monkeys - languor ands rhesus, sloth bear and deer (spotted, barking and hog deer) too numerous to count.

We arrived Monday April 20 and left the jungle area the following Sunday.

While in Pokara, we had tried to sort out whether to stay in the park itself or in one of the many lodges located on the edge of the park. We opted to stay in the park at the Temple Tiger Jungle Lodge for the first few days and then move on to Sauraha, on the edge of the park. In retrospect, this was an excellent decision.

Representatives from Tiger Temple, who said the journey would continue for another hour and a half, met us at the bus station. We had left Pokara at 7 a.m. and travelled through mountainous landscapes down onto the plains of Nepal. As we moved south, the heat and humidity increased significantly.

The Temple Tiger van initially travelled along the paved highway, turned off onto a dirt road that went through Thauru villages and finally stopped by a riverbank. We transferred to a low-slung boat, sitting on the gunnels with our luggage neatly placed upon the front of the boat. After crossing the wide, swiftly moving river, a jeep met us on the other side. We piled in, moved off across the grasslands and entered into the forested jungle.

By this point, we knew we were in a different kind of place – maybe a scene from Jurassic Park. While standing in the back of the Jeep, we sighted a mother and baby Rhino standing in the long jungle grass. Rhinos look prehistoric and are direct descendants of dinosaurs.

The rhino is quite incredible looking close up – its hide looks like plates of armour, its nose and mouth look soft, its little round ears are fringed with brown hairs, it is bowlegged and can move incredibly fast (up to 40 km/hr). It appears to be a genetic cross of a large pig and a cow. Rhinos are majestic animals - standing erect in the fields or river with their horn so prominent. Other times, it has a “cute” look with only its head and ears showing while sitting in the mud or when the birds are sitting upon its back.

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Rhinos can mate any time of the year and live up to 35-40 years of age. Teenage rhinos travel in small groups. Adults both male and female travel alone and are territorial. More than once, we heard and saw a dominant male chasing another out of its territory. One or both could be heard from far away and sound very ferocious.

We were very taken with our first sighting of a rhino and every subsequent sighting!

Our three days viewing the wildlife, birds and flowers took place via different modes of transportation – from the top of an elephant, in jeep, on foot, and by boat. The highlight, for both of us, was the elephant rides into the jungle.

Our first ride was quite remarkable as our elephant carried us into the marshy wetlands below the Lodge. The elephant eats and drinks as it walks along. White egrets and storks dotted the grasslands; massive rhinos, weighing a couple of tons, walked around slowly, grazed and/or lounged in the water. Rhinoceros are vegetarians but can be very aggressive toward those who infringe upon their space – including human beings. Due to its size, the elephant does not face attack from the rhino as the rhino backs away when the elephant gets close. In addition to seeing the Rhinoceros, we saw a peacock, eagle, barking deer, kingfisher, doves, fields of butterflies, and herds of spotted deer.( *The list at the end of the entry includes all the animals, reptiles, and birds we saw.)

On the second day, we attended a forty-five minute information session by the elephant compound. Ten domesticated female elephants work at the Temple Tiger. These elephants live 10-15 yrs. longer than wild elephants, due to the supplemented diet and regular visits from a veterinarian. The elephant’s trunk has over 40,000 distinct muscles and is used to pick up things, smell, breathe and drink water. Elephants are very smart, react emotionally to events and (unknown to us) use tools. As it moves along, sometimes it picks up a branch in its trunk and uses it to swat flies, or when standing - to scratch themselves and “brush their teeth”. There are three levels of workers responsible for an elephant and they will only have their job if the elephant does not reject him and responds to his requests. The “phanit”, or senior elephant driver, develops a special relationship with his elephant, which may last for many years.

An elephant eats approximately 240 kilos of vegetation per day. After the information session, we fed an elephant a grass bundle filled with rice. Barry felt squeamish as the trunk moved along his hand to grab the food. Sandra felt “shocked’, at how easily the elephant took the food from her hand.

Sandra befriended a five-month-old elephant. The mother oversaw the meeting. The baby was playful and trusting of her environment, as she is well cared for of at Temple Tiger. Sandra said it was fun to pet the infant’s trunk, and neck that is covered in bristling hair. The hair drops off as the elephant becomes older. Sandra found the contact a bit scary as the babe looks small but weighs over 200 kilos and may “act naughty” by pushing the person nearby. Sandra stood behind a small pole as she petted the elephant.

Our jeep drive took place the morning of day two. We stopped on the trail when we spotted an 8-10-foot python. Our guide, the driver, and an additional animal spotter disembarked from the jeep. The spotter pulled the python by its tail back onto the road for the photo opportunity. Sandra and the other two women with us went up close to get the photograph. Barry remained in the jeep. He had no need to stand any where near a python. The python is not poisonous but wraps around and strangles its prey.

Following the jeep drive, we began our boat tour through the jungle. The air was thick with termites and the surface of the water was covered with termites. We had seen many termite homes, which look like giant sand castles. The termites fly into the water where most are unable to fly out and become food for the fish. Gharials, a fresh water crocodile with a long snout and sharp teeth, were sunning themselves along the shore and swimming in the water. The Gharial is perfectly suited for eating fish and does not attack human beings. There is another crocodile, the “mugger” that eats everything, including people. We did not see one of these - which made Barry very happy.

The local Tharu people were encamped along the river- fishing with nets and from boats with wooden poles.

The Temple Tiger Lodge is well suited for animal and bird watching. During down time, from the watch station, we looked out onto the marshland, the river and the jungle. Rhinoceros were always present in the water or the long grass. Many different birds flew across the skyline, swam or were perched in or on the marsh grass.

Even before our evening nature walk began there was quite a bit of nervousness on Barry’s part. As part of the briefing, the guide, Ambika stated:

• If you see a rhinoceros hide behind a tree and if possible climb it;

• Upon spotting a sloth bear - back up slowly, drop to the ground belly down and act dead;

• Upon sighting a tiger be very still and stare at its eyes. Do not run away as it will attack from behind.

We were particularly concerned about tigers, as we had learned in the Sunderbans, in India, how dangerous they might be. Here, in Nepal, the tigers are less lethal to human beings. A tiger that attacks a human is darted and sent to the zoo in Kathmandu. The cycle of a tiger continuing to hunt humans, once it has acquired taste for human flesh, is broken.

We saw no dangerous animals on our walking tour. We did see the languor monkey with its black face and long tail. The languor monkey and the deer in the jungle enjoy a symbiotic relationship. The monkey will warn the deer of an approaching tiger by creating commotion in the trees and throwing things at the deer below to catch their attention. The deer in return, lead the monkey to salt deposits.

Our two-hour elephant ride on the last afternoon was the most spectacular. The elephant, from the direction given by our guide and driver, approached a mother rhino and its three or four year old child. The rhino backed away from the elephant when we approached. We were able to get close to a number of different rhinos, some of which watched us watching them for quite a few minutes before moving off.

We continued our elephant ride, searching for a sighting of the ever-elusive Bengal tiger. We followed established paths and went through areas of grass as tall as our elephant. Our driver pointed out a wild boar’s nest. As we approached, the mother ran out into plain sight. Her strategy was to divert our attention away from the nest to protect her babies. The elephant walked around the nest and we followed the mother through the long grass. Overhead the grey-headed fish eagle flew against the blue sky. As dusk approached, we stopped at a watering hole hoping to view some wild life. None was visible. We saw many interesting things along the way, including a beehive high in the trees, pink wild ginger, spotted deer but no tiger.

Poaching is a serious issue in Chitwin. Every 9-10 kilometers, within the park, the Nepalese army stations soldiers to protect the wildlife. Soldiers are under orders to shoot anyone pointing a gun at wildlife.

There is a real beauty in riding an elephant in the jungle whether one sees wildlife or not. We will remember the gentleness of the elephants despite their huge size and strength. They walked with us upon their back up and down riverbanks, through the river, among the trees, along the stunted grass and marsh and in the long jungle grass and bush. We will also remember the loveliness of the river with its birds and rhinos; the birdsongs as we moved slowly through the jungle and grasslands and the tension of being apprehensive of what was lurking within the long grass.

We were at Temple Tiger Jungle Lodge for three days. Although the rates were high for our budget, it was well worth the price. Our cabin on stilts was kept immaculately clean and sprayed for mosquitoes a few times a day.

Electricity was only available a few hours a day. Each evening, the staff put lit kerosene lanterns in front of our cabins, which we used to get ready for bed. The down side of no electricity was that the fan only worked when it was on. We tried to sleep in 33-35 degree heat with high humidity. Wet cloths helped a bit but we are still re-cooping from little sleep.

Each morning between 4:30 – 6:00 a.m. depending on the day’s schedule, we received a knock at the door as a wake up call and offered tea or coffee. The staff prepared the beverage in the dark by lantern light. This is just one of the many examples of the excellent service provided by staff to the guests of the Lodge.

Unlimited complimentary tea and coffee were available all day. The buffet served for breakfast, lunch and dinner and was tasty and of high quality.

The naturalist staff and elephant drivers are knowledgeable, kind and skilled. The drivers demonstrated their skill through keeping the ride gentle, using their sticks (wooden stick and metal spiked rod used to prod the elephant) to prevent the long grass and tree branches from hitting our faces. They spotted and pointed out the wildlife as we rode along. The guides knew the names of the birds and plants and had a good knowledge of the behaviour of the animals. They care deeply for the jungle, its life and the well-being of the guests.

The visit to Royal Chitwan National Park is our trip highlight in Nepal.

Sightings:

• Mammals:

elephants (domestic), rhinoceros, hog deer, spotted deer, barking deer, wild boar, jackals, languor monkey

• Reptiles and Amphibians:

python, gardial crocodiles, gecko, frogs (43 counted in a small pond)

• Birds:

open bill stork, large egret, brown and black cuckold, swan hen, chestnut headed bee eater, white throated kingfisher, night heron, purple heron, white breasted water hen, Indian roller, woodpecker, black drango, grey headed fish eagle, common cuckoo, red breasted parakeet, red whiskered bulbo bird, elgin parakeet, black headed oriole, jungle fowl, peacock, jungle myna, lesser adjutant stork, emerald dove, spotted dove, purple heron, brown heron, lesser whistling teal duck, pond heron, moor hen, oriental magpie robin,

Until Later

Sandra and Barry

We may be contacted at sanbar79@hotmail.com

Our web site is: http://ama.mytripjournal.com/sandrabarry