An Experience To Cherish

 The jungles of Jim Corbett spread over to about 1300 sq.kms. and have about 250+ tigers. As we set out on our first safari for the day, we hoped to sight at least one of the many tigers in this densely dense jungle.

Our first safari on Day 1 was in the Bijrani zone. It was raining lightly but we did not let it dampen our spirits. A little into the jungle, we saw a pair of jackals sitting by the trail. And oh dear were they cute. The one closest to us was continuously yawning and looking around curiously. If I could, I'd pick one and take it home as a pet! We then saw a train of tiger's pugmarks in the sand, heading the opposite way. We knew they were fresh because they hadn't been washed away by the rains from the previous day. As we drove deeper, we saw a juvenile Changeable Hawk-Eagle perched on a tree branch.

We drove further into the dense green jungle and across many water streams but still no signs of any big cats. By then we had completely given up the hopes of seeing a tiger in that safari, and instead engaged ourselves in the beauty of the forest. The forest looked as though it were a rainforest, with mosses and algae on a few trees, and some creepers and climbers hanging off the branches. The trails weren't very bumpy either. The sun was just rising, painting the skies a shade of yellow. As our jeep ventured deeper into the forest, we continued to look at the different species of trees and plants.

The trails were the prettiest and the most serene ones I had ever seen. Along the trails in some sections of the jungles were rocky water streams, just as you'd imagine when you think of these. As the sun rose higher and higher in the sky, it cast a yellow glow on the rocks and leaves, leaving me mesmerized by the breathtaking view. There were some parts of the trail that went right through the streams and that's when we got a complete landscape view of the mountains and the numerous streams that snake through the valleys, tinted a light hue of yellow.

We were crossing a water stream when we saw a Yellow-Throated Marten. Our guide told us that seeing this marten in the Corbett jungle is an even rarer sight than seeing a tiger! We watched the tiny fellow jump on its little feet for barely 5 seconds or so. It then disappeared behind a cluster of bushes, completely hidden from our sight.

We drove a little further, where our guide showed us a tree, one side of which had white lines. These white lines were marks made by a tiger's claws from a long time ago. This marking is done by tigers as a way of marking their territory and claiming dominance. On the other side of the same tree were similar marks but red in color. These red marks were newer ones done in the very recent past.

As we drove back towards the main entry gate, we saw a Scaly-Bellied Woodpecker on a tree, sunbathing under the glorious morning sun. After we exited the gate, we drove back slightly disappointed. But this was only the first safari, there were 3 more to go. Maybe we'd see a tiger on one of those...right?

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Our evening safari on Day 1 was in the Jhirna zone. It is bigger compared to Bijrani and has about 7-8 extremely bold tigers. We were pretty hopeful about sighting a tiger on that safari. We drove through the mountainous jungle and had our eyes peeled out for the big cats.

The first thing we saw was another Changeable Hawk-Eagle. We then saw a bunch of Himalayan Griffons, a type of vulture, sitting on a dried up tree. We also spotted Great Indian Hornbills jumping and flying from tree to tree. The flap of their wings sounds like an airplane flying from above your head. This is why they are given the nickname of "Flying Tigers". As we drove further we saw a Black-Rumped Flameback on a tree trunk, pecking around for any insects and termites hidden under the layer of dried wood.

We drove further into the dense jungle, and stopped at a crossroad, listening for any movement or call indicating the presence of a tiger. We waited for about 15 minutes and decided to go a little further and come back again to check.

When we came back to the same spot and waited for a while, we heard a tiger roar in the distance. This had our hearts racing as we anticipated the nearing of the tiger. We heard the call once again, and then...absolute silence. We held our breaths as we strained our ears to hear even the faintest roar again, but in vain. We drove further to a spot where, to our right side we could hear calls from jungle fowls and peacocks. We waited again for about 15 minutes and then drove back to the entry gate, disappointed yet again. Well, we still had 2 more safaris left, we'll hopefully see a tiger on one of those...

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Our morning safari on Day 2 was in the Dhela zone. The area that this zone covers is completely grasslands. As we were driving through the tall, dry golden grass, we saw a pair of Great Indian Hornbills perched on a tree branch. As we drove on, we saw a Jackal sitting in the dried golden bushes, licking and munching on the bone of an animal.

We drove a little more deeper, and stopped at a watchtower. We were allowed to get off the jeep and look around. That was when we saw a pair of Yellow-Throated Martens trotting alongside each other, across the dried up water stream. This time we had the opportunity to watch them for a little while longer, and took the chance to click photos of them. Soon enough, one of them disappeared into the golden grass, while one waited behind for a while. In a few seconds, the second one too ran into the grass, following the first one.

We then drove even further and waited at one spot, under the green canopy of trees, waiting for any sign of the elusive big cat, but the whole jungle was silent. We drove back to the entry gate disappointed yet again.

Early in the morning, just as we had entered the gate at 6 a.m., we noticed two jeeps parked side by side right in the middle of the road. They were parked barely a few 100 meters away. As we neared them at a very slow pace, one of the jeeps left and the guide from the other jeep told us that they had seen a tiger. It had just walked into the thicket on the right side of the road and we missed it by a few seconds. We had suggested the guide that we wait there for a while and see if the tiger appears on the road again, but he denied stating that the two jeeps most likely had confused another animal for a tiger, considering the fact that it was very dark. So we had no choice but to drive on. Later when we came across one of the jeeps that had seen the supposed tiger, their guide showed us a video they took- under the headlight of the jeep, a tiger was walking head-on, unfazed by the dazzling headlights. This disheartened us a lot. We missed the tiger by just a few seconds.

As we returned back to our resort, we prayed hard to see a tiger on our last safari for the trip.

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Our fourth and last safari was on Day 2 in the evening, in the Garjiya zone. As we got onto our jeep, our driver told us that this particular zone has a lot of water- including the usual water streams and the rain water from last 3 days. The trails in this zone had become very slippery and so some regions had become inaccessible because of the slippery roads, which make it hard to drive the jeeps. Now we had a lot lesser area to cover. This slightly crushed our hopes of finally being able to see a tiger. We still had some faith that a small area will not hinder our chances to sight the big cat.

As we ventured into the deep forest, we looked around, desperate for any sign of the big cat. As we were driving past a slushy path of trail, our driver steered the jeep to the left on the grass, so that we don't get stuck in the slush. Instead, we got stuck in the long grass. Somehow, our driver and guide managed to get us out of the grass and continued with the safari. A little further, our guide pointed out an Indian Scops Owl perched in its nest. Later when we looked at the pictures of the owl, we noticed another owl sitting below it, slightly hidden by the wood.

A little down the path, we saw another tree with the claw markings and teeth markings of a tiger, done in an effort to mark their territory.

Soon we reached a spot with grasslands on two sides, a thicket on one side and a water body on one side. We waited there for about 15 minutes in hopes of seeing a tiger walk out into the clearing, but to no avail. We felt disheartened with every passing minute. This was our last safari and so far we had not seen even a single tiger.

As we drove a little uphill, we waited under a tree with bated breaths- we were in the territory of a man-eater tiger. This tiger was known to kill the villagers that pass by through the forest. As we were waiting for any movement, we noticed a lot of bird activity on the tree near us. There were lots of Himalayan bulbuls, a Heart-Spotted Kingfisher, a Dwarf Kingfisher, a Nuthatch and a Fantail jumping around. We busied ourselves with observing these tiny feathered creatures. Soon we had to drive back to the entry gate as time was up.

We were driving to the gate when we noticed a few Flamebacks flying around, and some were pecking at the trunk of trees to try and find termites to eat.

We left to our resort extremely disheartened. A lot of people had told us that not much sighting happens in Jim Corbett, but that's not true. Sighting does happen, in fact, sightings happen in almost every safari, you just need luck to be able to catch a glimpse of the shy, elusive big cat. Although we did not sight any tigers, me and my mom absolutely loved the jungles of Corbett.

As we embarked on our return journey, we decided that maybe we'll leave re-visiting Jim Corbett for the last, and in the meanwhile explore the other countless tiger reserves in India!