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Young World
Trailing the leopard
GOWRI RAMNARAYAN
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The forest is neither lonely nor quiet. Life throbs everywhere. The trees quiver with multi-hued birds ...
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"Tusker Trails". Doesn't the name unroll visuals of gargantuan elephants — trampling through bamboo bushes, splashing across wild streams, flaunting the might of untamed jungles! With the Nilgiris for its backdrop, Bandipur Sanctuary is flanked by three National Parks — Nagarhole, Mudumalai in Tamil Nadu and Wayanad in Kerala. Together they constitute India's first Biosphere Reserve. The rivers Moyar, Nugu and Kabini flow into it. It was set up as a sanctuary in 1931 by the Mysore State, and expanded in 1941 into the Venugopala Wildlife Park, named after the deity atop the Gopalswami Betta range. Extended further, it became famous as one of the tiger reserves established in 1973.
Dry, deciduous Bandipur is the favourite haunt of elephants though relentless poaching has destroyed most of the tuskers. We are lucky to see a lone grandpa at the Moyar gorge, massive tusks intact, so still that he made a fresco all by himself.
For our evening drive into the wilderness, we get a thoroughly tired jeep. (Later, when I ask our young driver Kalim to name the bird that was constantly emitting strangled squeaks, the bland reply was, "Tyres").
The forest is neither lonely nor quiet. Life throbs everywhere. The trees quiver with multi-hued birds. The fire across the meadow is a clump of the Flame of the Forest trees under the orange sun. Bonnet macaque and grey langur indulge in leaping matches everywhere. Forest lore has it that if you are lost, you can survive by following the monkey food trail! Suddenly, you are plunged into a fairy dance. Butterflies! As far as the eye can see!
Bandipur has a large deer population. The friendly chital is everywhere, kadavu (sambhar) sneaks past the thickets. Water birds hop on the track, jungle fowl take short flights, and peacocks sweep the forest floor with their dragging tails. We find a gang of wild pigs rooting in the grass.
Now and then, we give right of way to small herds of elephants. A demo of the famous "elephant panic distance" is on when a young male charges at my flashing camera. "Common," says casual Kalim — after racing to safety.
Rules are strict about leaving the jungle to wildlife before nightfall. As we turn resort-wards, the jeep gives its biggest lurch, coinciding with Kalim's suppressed shout, "Leopard!"
There it is — in the middle of the track. Waving its snaky tail in lordly nonchalance, the creature squats squarely before us, at leaping distance from our disconcertingly open jeep. We sit statue-still, mesmerised by its awesomeness.
Five l-o-n-g minutes go by. Kalim tries to scare the beast away by starting to move. But the beast strides towards us. We hurriedly inch back and halt when it does. The creature revels in the staring match, fascinated by its ringside view of humans.
My friend asks, "If we go past, will the beast spring on us?"
"Only if it is hungry," says Kalim. "Is it hungry?" she persists.
"Don't know." After 20 minutes of this to-n-fro leopard trot my friend muses: "Kalim would make a better meal as he is young... "
I wonder, "But will the beast be so sensible?"
Finally, Kalim decides to make a dash for it. As he revs up we get our best audio-visual yet. The beast raises itself up, golden muscles rippling, rosettes bristling, tail a taut whip, and opens its mouth to emit a roar that resounds with stereo surround effect at full volume.
The jeep has had enough. With a speed we didn't know it possessed, it turned right about and zoomed back through the gloaming, cranking to a stop only when it hits home ground.
Now it is time to boast about our rare sighting to others and bask in their envy. Next morning, my friend has the last word.
"I think I like leopards only on National Geographic."
Jungle lore
* The Bandipur National Park can be visited anytime of the year except during the heaviest rains.
* The vegetation shifts from the dry deciduous to the tropical with valuable trees like teak, rosewood and sandalwood. Bamboo and palm lace the forests everywhere. In their season the Indian laburnum, red silk cotton and the Flame of the Forest create a riot of gold and scarlet.
* Bandipur is one of the nine Tiger Reserves established in 1973 and the lucky few can still glimpse the lordly beast in this sanctuary.
* The region has ruins of ancient settlements with crumbling walls, carvings and memorial tablets. Animals now use the abandoned water tanks. .
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