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One of the most sought after wildlife holiday destinations in India, Kaziranga National park’s 430 square kilometer area is home to more than 2600 Indian one-horned rhinoceros, approximately 2/3rd of their total world population. Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The vast expanse of tall elephant grass, marshland, and dense tropical moist broadleaf forests undoubtedly makes the park look beautiful but it’s the presence of Brahmaputra river, which makes it look surreal.
Kaziranga is regarded as one of the finest wildlife refuges in the world. The park’s contribution in saving the Indian one-horned rhinoceros from the brink of extinction at the turn of the 20th century to harboring the single largest population of this species is a spectacular conservation achievement. Lat year, for the first time, there were no rhinos poached. The property also harbors significant populations of other threatened species including tigers, elephants, wild water buffalo and bears as well as aquatic species including the Ganges River dolphin. It is an important area for migratory birds. The efforts are strengthened by the World Heritage Site by UNESCO declaration, granted in 1985.
Over the time, the tiger population has also increased in Kaziranga, and that’s the reason why Kaziranga was declared as Tiger Reserve in 2006. Also, the park is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of bird species with birds from Central Asia migrating here every year.
Sprawling over an area of 430 sq km, the park is split into four areas; each has its own distinguish feature regarding grasslands, the density of mammals & bird, land topography, terrains. Mihimukh in Central Range at Kohora, Bagori in Western Range at Bagori, Agaratoli in Eastern Range at Agaratoli and Ghorakati in Burapahar Range at Ghorakhati are the four entry zones into the park. Due to the difference in altitude between the eastern and western areas of the park, here one can see mainly four types of vegetation – grasslands, savanna woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forests, and tropical semi-evergreen forests.
Our day started before sunrise with an Elephant Safari at 5:30 am in the Western Zone at Bagori. There is a debate on the use of these majestic mammals for human endeavor and the arguments are usually along the same line of those against zoos and animal shows. I am a firm believer in the kind treatment of animals and that this is planet is for us to share but I am also a firm believer that barring cruelty, the right set of wildlife conservationists, animal lovers and trainers and well educated docents can present and use animals in the right way to introduce and inspire an even larger group of people.
In our safari, lasting about an hour, we got to see the rhinos at a close range, something that would not have been possible in a jeep. The Indian rhinoceros or Indian rhino for short, also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros or great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi). Indian rhinos have a thick grey-brown skin with pinkish skin folds and one horn on their snout. Their upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps. They have very little body hair, aside from eyelashes, ear fringes and tail brush. Bulls have huge neck folds. The Indian rhino’s single horn is present in both bulls and cows, but not on newborn calves.
The horn is pure keratin, like human fingernails, and starts to show after about six years. In most adults, the horn reaches a length of about 25 cm (9.8 in), but has been recorded up to 36 cm (14 in) in length and 3.051 kg (6.73 lb) in weight. Indian rhinos are grazers. Their diet consists almost entirely of grasses, but they also eat leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruits, and submerged and floating aquatic plants. They feed in the mornings and evenings. Watching them at that close range in their natural habitat, made me only love the rhinos and elephants even more. Even before the sun had risen, I had already fallen in love with the park.
Back in the hotel, we got a quick breakfast and then headed back to the Eastern Zone, this time in a jeep. We were able to cover a much larger portion of the park. The Eastern Zone, is marked by a large body of water, around which spread acres of swampland. Swamp deer, appropriately named, camped on the banks.
Wild Boar and Water Buffalo walked around lazily. The wild water buffalo, also called Asian buffalo, Asiatic buffalo and wild buffalo, is a large bovine native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List since 1986, as the remaining population totals less than 4,000. A population decline of at least 50% over the last three generations (24–30 years) is projected to continue. The global population has been estimated at 3,400 individuals, of which 3,100 (91%) live in India, mostly in Assam. The wild water buffalo is the most likely ancestor of the domestic water buffalo. With two large horns piercing the air around it, I was glad I was in a jeep far from its reach.
One of the most memorable sightings happened in this Eastern Range. Our guide stopped the jeep a few hundred feet from a thicket and silenced us to watch. Slowly but grandiosely, out of the forests, emerged a large female elephant with a calf. The elephants approached another female elephant also appearing magically from the forests and as they approached each other, stopped and gave each other the most caring embrace with their trunks. The caring gesture was human like or maybe we are just more elephant like. Then, the baby elephant caressed the mother and reached out for more love. The interaction lasted maybe a few seconds and the herd hung out there for a few minutes but in those few minutes, ethced into my mind, a memory that will never fade. I will keep it alive.
Asian elephants are smaller than African elephants and have the highest body point on the head. The tip of their trunk has one finger-like process. Indian elephants reach a shoulder height of between 2 and 3.2 m (6.6 and 10.5 ft), weigh between 2,000 and 5,000 kg (4,400 and 11,000 lb), and the males have long tusks. Since 1986, the Asian elephant has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List as the wild population has declined by at least 50% since the 1930s to 1940s, i.e. three elephant generations. The Asian elephant is threatened by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation. It is our collective responsibility to protect these animals for the future generations. These are the giants of our planet but also the most caring giants in existence.
The Eastern Zone is also home to a large species of migratory birds. The Brahmaputra crosses the park here. Cormorants and Storks glided as if we were in Jurassic park and Kingfishers and Eagles perched on trees looking for prey. Geese and Pond Heron waded in the waters. An Indian roller and a Madagascar Bee-eater were chirping. A Yellow-Footed Green pigeon and a Snowy Egret were on the lookout. Turtles were sun bathing.
We exited the park around 11:30 am, excited with our sightings. Lunch was at Kaziranga Haat Cultural Village, a non-profit being run by a very charismatic Director, Rupjyoti.
The organization works with local Assamese women, helping them to build trade skills. As part of the organization they run a kitchen serving hyper local food. Some of the items were foraged from the forests nearby. They have a small shop with clothes and crafts from women in the area. It was a simple, very delicious meal and we are grateful to the organization for the work they do and for feeding us that day.
Our jeep picked us back for our afternoon safari into the Central Zone. Two days prior to our arrival a tiger had been spotted here so we were all keeping our fingers crossed that we would see one in the few hours we were going to be there. Tigers are known to cover over 20km a day, so our chances were but that didn’t stop us from looking around every corner and into every bush. We were greeted by a family of elephants as we entered the park, and then heard the call of monkeys.
We saw a large herd of deer peeking from the tall grasses and a rhino in the middle of a swamp. We paused for a break by the Brahmaputra. Turtles lounged in the setting sun.
A Great Hornbill started to caw above us. A Crested-Serpent Eagle was hoping for a final meal. Another elephant family started to emerge from the woods. We waited to see if it would come by the road and cross in front of us. It did not.
As the sun began to plummet, our guide was getting anxious to leave. The park has strict rules about all visitors being out of the park by 5 pm.
We started to bid our goodbyes and rushed towards the exit. Just as we relaxed and started to chat about dinner, the jeep came to a halt. The jeep ahead of us had stopped. Everyone started to scream, “Tiger!”, “Tiger!”.
Our guide pointed a stealth movement in the bushes to our left. We turned and saw a tiger staring back at us. We froze. It was closer than 10m from us. I know, because my camera lens was set to 10m-infinity and thus couldn’t focus fast enough. The tiger disappeared. Our guide had a sixth sense. He backed up our jeep. Within seconds, the tiger reappeared right behind us. It was crossing the path behind us. It turned, gave us another glance, and disappeared once again. Wow!
A park that had already given us so much from dawn to dusk, gave us the icing on the cake. We had seen a tiger in the wild. A bucket list item. Wow!
We exited the park. We were filled with excitement. We couldn’t stop talking. We couldn’t believe our luck. When we reached our resort, our girls made sure their names were up on the board for the latest tiger sighting.
Karthik Raja 