IF YOU want to be on the trail of the wildlife, you have to get up and, ready for the trip according to their timetable. It was half-past five at dawn and again, we were on our way. On our second day in Kanha, we had been going to have both the rides of morning and afternoon shift again in Kanha Zone. Would we be lucky enough to have another glimpse of graceful Naina yet again?
Langur monkey bathing in the morning sunshine at Kanha Zone
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Radiance of Dawn: Indian Peafowl at Kanha zone
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Leaving all the probable interrogations behind, we got started. The air was chilling, as if, it was embedded with the power of scratching one's flesh and make it numb! Paying attention to the comfort of warmth was a must. The langurs and peafowls greeted us with a hearty welcome. This time, we were on the trails of barashingas. These large deer, with a spectacular 5-6-tined antler in males, are reddish-brown in winter and greyish brown in summer with white underparts. These, however, are the hard ground barashingas. There are a total of three subspecies of barashingas or swamp deer in India. The marshland barashingas (Rucervus duvaucelii duvaucelii) are the largest subspecies. The hard ground barashingas (Rucervus devaucelii branderi) are slightly smaller than those of the wetlands. The names, be it "swamp deer" or "barashinga", does not completely suit with their nature and physical feature. Neither these deer are completely adapted to the marshlands, nor they always typically have twelve tines in total in their antlers.
Young pair of barashingas grazing in the meadows
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Although they are depicted to have five to six times in each antler, sometimes, seven to eight tines can be seen on each antler of a full-grown male. Once upon a time, they roamed over central India with the number of thousands. Now, there are as many as three hundred hard ground barashingas here in Kanha. They are also endemic in the true sense of the term because this subspecies is conspicuously confined only in Kanha today! Kanha, other than being a famous tiger reserve, is particularly well celebrated for this ungulates, making 'Bhoorsingh', the mascot of the park.
Adult barashinga stag in the water hole
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Reaching a vast meadow, bathed with a golden sunbeam, we first traced a couple of young males grazing. Gradually, we moved on towards a big herd consisting of members of several ages. This time, it was Jham Singh Yadav as the guide. The winter is the rutting season for the barashingas. I really cannot frame the moments that we got after starting the filming session in the stipulated words. At one point, an adult male and a female came out of the group and stood still for several minutes. The perfect moments of courtship were caught on our cameras.
Above: The Union: Barashinga stag and hind
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Below: Jham Singh Yadav, the guide with Kailash Khaiwar
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
Earlier we had the temporary sightings of barashingas during our last two safaris but this specialization was really something to be cherished. We paused driving for nearly an hour, studied the minute detailing of their acts and, managed to grab some shots. Balaji Sir, however, was in real contentment. His photographic venture for the icons of Kanha had been greatly fulfilled and he concluded, "I will be never coming back for barashingas!"
Barashinga herd consisting of individuals of different ages
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
The evening shift of that day was not modulated after any special query. Watching wildlife on the whole, and framing their moments were the aims. Tigers always occupy a special space in the hearts and minds of wildlife enthusiasts. But they are not easy to be tracked down. During our afternoon shift of the day, we were again in Kanha Zone. Some of the guides from different areas were murmuring regarding the probability of sightings. It had been reported that Chhoti Maada or Babathenga Female (KTR T-31) had recently given birth to three cubs and there were frequent sightings of them.
Young chital stag grooming
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
We were not lucky enough to witness the moments of motherly care. Some of our fellow tourists had a great fortune to have a glimpse of Chhoti Maada carrying a spotted deer kill. They showed us the shots on the LCD of the camera prompting us to be in the yearning state of searching. The sambars, which were grazing nearby, raised the alarm calls but we did not have any idea which tiger there supposed to be.
Sambars at salt leak to quench their needs for minerals
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
These moments of stamping hooves on the ground and raising alarm calls are considered to be the great prelude to the grand appearance. The great twist is, these preludes do not always turn out to be that fruitful. If the big cats are not mindful to turn up in the scene, it is not at all possible to film them. This moment, however, was to be experienced by us just a few minutes later when a guide suggested to move on to Kanhaghat and catch up with Munna, the legendary old male (KTR T-17). Kailash Ji did not make any delay. Munna had been reported to be lying by a water hole at Kanhaghat, which falls under Kisli Zone. A couple of weeks before our arrival, he intruded on the territory of Supkher Female and killed one of her cubs.
Meditation: Crested Serpent Eagle
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
There had been a brutal fight between the two and consequently, Munna had received a nasty blow on his left paw. The paw pad was torn and, the left front leg was badly injured. He was under the treatment by park conservancy at that time. Everyone was expecting his fast recovery, but in such an old age of 17-years, the recovery of the wounds is a time-consuming process. When we reached Kanhaghat after 15 minutes, there was a mob gathered in front of the water hole. Everyone was pondering to have a glimpse of him but he disappeared in the thickets. Deepak Da and I managed to have a poor glimpse of the old boy through our binoculars. We only managed to mark the white tips of his ears. A few minutes before our arrival, he was injected with a dose of antibiotics by the vets and, after having it pushed in his muscles, he rushed into the bushes. R. V. Pathak, one of the forest officials showed us the clip that he filmed during the treatment.
Waiting Eyes: Tourists on the trail of Munna
Photo: Pratik Mahapatra
He had also shown some of the clicks of Munna that he had taken when he was sitting and, gladly permitted those to be used in this memoir. It was really a sigh of relief to see the old dominant male having an overall great health condition despite having a rough time recently. We wished him good health. He could not make a fast move due to his injuries. Perhaps, he would still be there when we would come back again the next morning. We should be coming back right here again.
Munna sitting at Kanhaghat waterhole
Photo Courtesy: R. V. Pathak
To be continued...
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