DAY 2: 17th January 2011
The Gir Forest Reserve has one of the most dynamic teams which is dedicated to make the lion survive and also ensure that the flora and fauna alongside is intact if not increasing. There are so many initiatives and a constant check is kept on the health of the lions and their movement across the park.
Fact: 1. Although the Gir Sanctuary is 1412 sq km reserve, only a small part is open for tourists.
2. Ever since Amitabh Bacchan advertised for Sasan Gir, the footfalls have gone up tremendously. The local economy
makes 5 times in the peak season than what they do otherwise!! 😀 😀
It is also said that the best time to visit the Gir Sanctuary is in the summer months of April and May. But one would question this.
Q: Why should you go to Gujarat of all places and go on a safari in the sweltering heat of the Indian Summer??
A: The summer is the best time to see as many animals as you can because they all come out to drink water at various spots. Also, the summer is where lion spotting is at a peak.
Now your hotel probably reserves you the spot at the sanctuary for an ‘Afternoon Safari’ but they will definitely add their own charges along with it so if you have your own vehicle or are close to the Park, then I’d suggest you book your own safari.
The Safari charges are nominal (=Rs 1750) and it also include a guide who is sent with you to help you identify the various species that you manage to see. Often (=as we found out, always) the guide spots fauna for you, which are things that you wouldn’t even notice.
The guides are employed by the State Forest Department and are paid a fixed salary. (=which is minuscule). Also there are 6 routes that a jeep can take. Its 3 routes used back and forth. (=route 2 is also route 6 backwards)
The guides have their own code of letting the fellow guides know that a lion’s on their way so It is essential that you DO NOT tell people you meet about lions that you saw because it gets your guide in trouble.
So we decided to go on the afternoon safari on 17th Jan. The afternoon safari starts at 3:30 and you are out by 6. The park is shut in the evenings and nights and entry is prohibited with harsh punishments.
So by and by we were allotted Route 2 which is supposed to be the best route as far as lion sightings are concerned. Our guide was Abu Bhai (who tuned out to be a good friend). At 3:30 we set out for our Afternoon Safari.
At the gate, the guide is required to get the receipt and the vehicle permit checked so that no unauthorised vehicle goes into the Sanctuary.
As soon as we entered, we saw a peacock as if it was waiting to welcome us. The old jeeps we were travelling in made quite a noise. All around us, there were trees covered with dust, with brown prevailing more than green.
Suddenly the guide, (=Abu Bhai) asked the driver to stop the jeep. We were quite puzzled as we couldn’t see any animal or bird. Then we saw a couple of paw prints in the dirt. Looking at the paw prints, Abu Bhai reckoned that a lioness with cubs had been on this way some while back which increased our chances of sighting a lion. The guides and the other forest officials do their best to make your safari worthwhile by showing you lions.
The Forest Department, in order to keep a strict watch on the lion population, sends trackers who play on their lives and follow the lions to check their movements and also keep a watch on their general health. If during your Safari, you run into a Tracker (like We Did 😛 :P) it means there is a lion/lioness/cubs nearby!!
We did see a lot of spotted deer, the ones that we saw in the Devaliya Interpretation Centre. We also spotted a green bird and we drove through a small pond.
Then we noticed a basti (=settlement) of tribals called Maldharis. The Maldharis are tribal people who live inside the Gir Forest. They have been there for decades and they live in harmonious co-existance with nature. The Forest Department allows only the Maldharis to settle in the Sanctuary, this being their home for decades and does not allow others. Maldharis are mostly uneducated and work in menial jobs earning a pittance. But they have intimate knowledge about the forest and its functioning and are a valuable asset to the forest department. Yet, because of increasing population and the spread into deeper areas of the forest, the Department has a problem at its hand.
We took a turn at a point where you could see the hills and it was a beautiful sight. And there was a person who came out and spoke to Abu Bhai and to our delight it was a tracker which meant there were Asiatic Lions nearby. So we waited patiently. Also we noticed that there was a Forest Patrol Officer in the bushes. These officers patrol the tourist paths to make sure that the tourists do not stray and wander or litter. If you’re caught, then a strict procedure is followed I’ve heard.
Along with us there were a few others who were waiting, 2 other jeeps to be precise. And we had to wait there patiently for our turn as we tried out our new Sony camera
While we were waiting we ate a few chocolates (=Power Munchies) being careful not to throw the wrappers anywhere.
Even though it was around 4:00 it wasnt hot in the forest. The forest is densely packed with trees. shrubs and undergrowth of grass and other flora. So those act as natural temperature monitors. There was a time when we drove through a thicket of forest and the temperature drop inside the glade was almost 3-4 degrees.
well back to the lions. So we waited our turn and drove through to see a lioness playing with her cub, well it actually wasnt like that. The lioness simply looked bored while the cub poked, lazed and played with her. I guess the heat was bothering the mummy along with the cub because once she just grabbed a bite off the cub telling it to mind its own business.
The cub had a lazy stretch after which it playfully jumped at the mother again when the mother started playing with it too, biting and licking the cub. It was a real treat to watch. We were simply awestruck. I guess even among animals the relationship between the mother and child is same as us humans, (= remember our mothers playfully attacking us after we bugged them, see the same!!)
We could have stayed there forever watching this exchange but our driver took us ahead where a teen cub (=duh she was a little grown up, looked moody n didn’t indulge in games with the cub!!) Also she was hidden amongst some dry grass so we couldn’t get her picture properly and i know it was a she because she didn’t have a mane growing!!
After our lion fantasy, (=we were darn lucky few people get to see what we saw, lions playing with each other, a cub, etc etc) we drove on ahead. To our surprise (=and Super luck) there was another lioness ahead. But she was surrounded by jeeps with many people chattering as usual.
What I don’t understand is the need to converse and gossip among yourselves as if the animal u see is a model i mean you’re in the jungle so doesn’t it seem right to shut your trap for a while?? Amartya Sen rightly calls Indians argumentative, we feel the need to talk always even without reason.
Finally our guide got others to shut up. It wasnt a picnic at a zoo really. I urge tourists who have plans to go to Gir to please respect the place you are at, spare the jungle and save the chatter for afterwards.
We would have had a chance to see a third lion but the tracker said that the lioness (=in this case) was hidden and could move anytime so it wasn’t worth the drive. So we went on ahead.
As we drove on, we noticed a weird parrot like bird, i think it was called ‘Plum headed Parakeet’ or the like (=Sorry if i got the name wrong!) which Abu Bhai said was a rare sight. We also spotted a boar, (=which we found out was the lion’s dessert, a choosy pick over the deer or sambar that is preferred usually) Also we saw an eagle (=A Lesser spotted Eagle as Google Images reveals)
We also spotted the ‘Ghost Tree’ (=Ooh Spooky). It’s supposed to be a native to Australia but survives here because of migratory birds bringing seeds in their droppings.
We drove through a thicket of trees, also called as the ‘Dark Forest’ (=Aww quit it it was nothing like the Forbidden Forest) and through red muddy tracks (=as opposed to brown tracks before) to make our way out of the Safari. On the way we also crossed a railway line, from i think Rajkot to Somnath that passes through the Sanctuary borders. It’s a narrow guage railway line and there was a station called Sasan, Gir \. That must make good watching, passing through the Sanctuary.
Thus ends our AFternoon Safari, First Lion(ess) Sighting and Encounter with Nature
Coming Up ASAP: Morning Safari, Drive to Somnath and others
Also notes on Turkey 😀 😀
The forest patrol bikes!! Pretty cool i’d think
a peacock at the entrance to greet us
The Road Ahead
Naughty Cub Poking Bored Mum
Mummy n Baby
Bored Model.
Lioness wid Pillu (=Cub)
Finally I decided on Spain!!! Exotic and Beautiful Spain!! It was some place my mother had been wanting to go for ages!!
those photos and reading about a new country, a new city and a new culture only make me feel so excited. It makes me wish I had millions in my bank account so I could travel everyday!
While we do our fair share of travelling in our cities and philosophically, we do travel through life, solo, but going to visit a new place, interacting with new people and having new experiences has a different flavor altogether. You suddenly have more experiences to talk about.
I’ve put up my Bucket List and I am going to be an Indi-Traveller, travelling on my own, discovering new sights and secrets!!! As I take a deep breath in, I can’t wait to put my best foot forward and fly solo. The world is my diary!! And it waits!!
,
Board at the entrance
A Sambar
A shy Blue Bull
I am Homeward Bound 