Bird Watching - Kanha National Park

Bird watching is one activity which attracts lot many people and numbers of serious and amateur bird watchers is increasing day by day. These colourful feathered friends of ours are very important in our ecological system and can be found almost everywhere. We have done plantation at our resort keeping in mind two things. Firstly, maximum trees being planted must be from local landscape. And, Secondly that the trees planted should be either fruiting or flowering once which attract our flying friends a lot.

Pied Myna enjoying Mulberry fruit
Kanha Village Eco Resort
Kanha National Park

Normally tourists come to Kanha National Park with sole intention to have an audience with the king - Tiger. But we feel to really enjoy a jungle we should see all those small and big animals, birds, insects which altogether keep it healthy. Any forests health depends on whole bio diversity working together and not only on any one species although presence of Tiger the stripped cat certainly shows that the forest patch is in best of its health.

Red Munia on Mulberry Tree
Kanha Tiger Reserve

This year Mulberry plants at our resort - Kanha Village Eco Resort have grown big and were full of black fruits which were attracting host of birds of different varieties. This gave us a chance to see even those birds we used to miss and increase our count of birds seen at the property and even take some good photographs. Here are a few photographs for all to see and enjoy.

Common Myna
Kanha National Park

By: Navneet Maheshwari, Kanha Village Eco Resort

Cleanliness Drive - Kanha National Park

Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve is well known amongst wildlife lovers and general tourists alike, visited by tourists from all over the world. This tourist inflow has its own advantages and disadvantages. Certainly the local population has benefited a lot and their economic standard has improved with time. Although this has been a very slow process since earlier we had less awareness, even connectivity to Kanha was not very good as well as tourism infrastructure was very basic. But with time infrastructure for tourism has improved with it influx of tourists and development of local population.

Picking plastic and rags thrown by tourists and local people

With more tourists entering the national park certainly it will have some negative impact on the parks environment and disturb wildlife at times. But this in comparison with the awareness created and funding raised for protection and local population is very minimal.


All tourism areas have some issues which needs to be carefully understood and taken care of. Sustainable use of our natural resources and sustainable tourism should go hand in hand and this needs awareness and meticulous planning at all level. Kanha management has done this well and often tourists visiting the park can see and feel the difference in comparison to other national parks. Still, outside the national park especially with tourists and local population a lot needs to be done. One such issue is littering especially of plastic pouches, sachets and bottles. This issue has been raised amidst the lodge association and local people as well as park management many times but still no solution is visible.

Mr. Sanjeev Kulhalli, Director, Kanha Village Eco Resort
Picking up plastic pouches and rags

To create awareness amongst local people and tourists alike we decided to do a cleanliness drive from Khatia main gate onwards. We collected rugs, plastic pouches, etc, and burnt them in the evening. This was participated by Mr. Sanjeev Kulhalli, Director, Kanha Village Eco Resort and Member of Lodges Association executive committee, Mr. Karan Modi, Secretary, Lodges Association, Owner of Flame of teh Forest, myself, Krishna Jungle Resort and other staff and members of our lodges. We also requested the local public especially Dhabha units to take care and not to throw rubbish especially plastic on roads but to collect them at one place and burn after some time. It was bought to notice of all that plastic thrown around is eaten by animals harming them and also pollutes the local environment.


This was a small campaign which we are planning to do for coming weeks so as to create awareness amongst public at large. We will take up more issues with time and try to do our best keeping our responcibilities towards our environment and forests in mind especially towards our national animal Tiger and other denizens of forests.

Tiger - The King of Forest, whose home we are trying to protect.
Kanha National Park

By: Navneet Maheshwari, Owner, Kanha Village Eco Resort

Tiger, Safari and Holiday

December end comes holiday season, families with packed suitcases storm to railway stations and airports to catch their preferred vehicle toward holiday destination of their choice. The basic idea behind this hush bush is of forgetting the work load at office and spend some quality time with family and friends and to get back home with memorable photographs of places visited and enjoyed.
Holiday with tiger is a good idea and visiting tiger reserves to have a glimpse of the king of the Indian forest is catching up very fast. Kanha National Park in central India is one such destination where tourists from all over the world come to see the magnificent big cat and other animals free roaming in their home territory. I have been visiting Kanha for last 18 years and have seen it growing, with villages around being sleepy once upon a time to now where everyone is trying to make a buck, earn and live happily. Local population has certainly gained a lot from growing tourism around national parks.

It was a few years back when I realized that most of the hotels and resorts around Kanha are running with only commercial angle in view. All are made up of the same brick and cement structure in which we live in cities. And came a thought, why not plan something where tourists can enjoy the tribal housing structures made of mud and clay but with all amenities. To make our town inhabitant see the benefit of age old clay and mud housing bought to perfection with time by local tribesmen. With this came Kanha Village Eco Resort, a concept which I felt will be liked by city dwellers a lot. My motive was never commercial but to just make enough money to take out my interest part with which I would have been more than happy but more so to change the concept of Tigers and only Tigers to nature walks, bird watching, tribal village visits and like.

Most of the tourists visiting national parks have only one thing in mind – Tiger, they come to see it and are not interested in anything else. For this we have Gypsy vehicles available which take you around the park for a safari in search of the stripped cat. Once forest department realized that number of vehicles entering the national park is very high and rapidly growing every year a number ban was imposed to keep a check on pollution and harmful impact of moving vehicles. With this started a woe for the tourists who come to the national park not knowing that only a certain number of vehicles are permitted and all entry tickets have been booked well in advance. So now your holiday is being wasted, no audience with his majesty – King Tiger and all money gone to drain. And, with this started problems this holiday season which I had not realized earlier.

Now a day’s many bookings come directly through online booking agencies and people do not get in touch with the hotel until a day or two before reaching. Many tourists who visited our property were stranded for not getting an entry to the national park and felt we have betrayed them. Once who had planned well, talked to people who have visited earlier or called us to check could take a safari but what about others. The idea of enjoying the holiday with picnics, nature walks, bird watching etc. etc. which I was very much interested in pushing ahead all failed. I am quoting a few incidents here along with the lessons we have learnt and hope this will help other tourists and hoteliers alike.

Our Guest Mr. SG had booked through one travel agency and paid for safaris well in advance (almost 45 days) but the travel agent failed to pass on required details even after continuous requests. In the mean time all safari tickets for requisite dates got booked. We got a call from the guest only a couple of days before coming and had to tell them about it along with that we will try our best to do something but cannot commit anything so late and also will try our best to make their holiday a memorable one. We could arrange only 2 entry tickets instead of 3 and here started the problems which we had never anticipated. Mr. SG was so annoyed that he started beating and mistreating hotel staff members abusing with all the best possible obscene words. Our staff members had been trying hard to arrange entry tickets against any last moment cancellations but with this incidence they requested guests to directly contact the ticket counter. Not only the holiday of guests got ruined our staff members had to bear for mistake of someone else.

Incidence 2: One Guest MR SPS had booked after talking directly with our resort manager who had it seems said he will try to do his best and manage but cannot assure a safari. When Mrs. & Mr. SPS reached the resort and came to know that it is not possible to get an entry ticket and about the incidence of a day earlier (Mr. SG) also that the only way out is that he will have to personally ask the ticket counter personals where a few tickets are kept for last minute travelers or if entry ticket is available due to last minute cancellations. This was possible only in the afternoon so we sent the couple for nature walk and bird watching which they seemed to be very much interested in. After coming back from nature walk, I don’t know what realization set in and Mr. SPS left for his home without any further communication. Later I was informed that he had asked for a vehicle to go to entry gate and was told we have a two wheeler available and not a car and if required we can call a taxi if he insists for four wheeler but he will have to pay for it. It seems Mr. SPS thought we are just trying to make money out of him and got a bit angry and left. Miscommunication, misunderstanding or both?

Incidence 3: We got a very last minute booking through a travel agent and clearly communicated that we are not very sure if safari tickets will be available or not but that we will try to help the tourists. These tourists were booked at some other resort well in advance and had their safari tickets made but the manager of this resort did not pass them to us rather got them cancelled. Guests had to change the resort at the last moment due to some maintenance problem at the property which was not possible to sort out immediately. Guest Mr. V was not very happy as such firstly due to change of resort at the last moment and now with availability of one safari only instead of two. One of our staff members had an entry ticket which he had booked for his personal guests and tried to help and send Mr. V and family on it but the forest department did not allow it and returned them from the entry gate. Mr. V had to settle down with only one safari but, he took it very lightly and considered our problem realizing that our staff members are trying their best to help out but we felt really bad since he had lost a safari and a chance to enjoy the forest.

I realized that mostly tourists coming to any forest area especially tiger reserve comes with the sole idea of seeing a tiger and only the tiger. They are not interested in anything like an eco holiday with other activities and so it is always the best to contact the guest directly and ask for booking of safari which if required should be done immediately.

To book a safari vehicle with seating capacity of maximum 6 people following details are needed and I request all tourists to give the details to your accommodation provider well in advance so as you do not miss a safari and ruin your holiday. Name, age and fathers / husband’s name of all guests along with address of at least one guest with a photo id proof and its number. Do remember to carry the original ID proof with you when entering the park as it is checked before any entry.

You can also book your entry ticket directly through the website of MP Online. Go to the website, click on citizen services, go to national parks under the head reservations, click on book now and book your ticket directly.

Photographs of Kanha Village Eco Resort

Some photographs of Kanha Village Eco Resort, Kanha National Park. A award winning resort all made of mud, clay and other biodegradable material. Recently it got Best Eco Tourism Initiative Award 2010 at TTF Ahmedabad.

For further details see http://www.kanha.in/ and link below.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=54455&id=1061957587&l=0e89b0c7b6 


Navneet Maheshwari
09977853263, 09425153263
nature.luv@gmail.com
kanhavillage@gmail.com

Barasingha - The twelve tined deer

The Barasingha or Swamp Deer (cervus duvaucelii) is one of the most vulnerable species of deer, native to India and Nepal. The name is derived from its antlers and means 12 tined or horned deer in Hindi which is its most striking feature although mature stag has anywhere between 10-14 tines, though some have been known to have up to 20. Barasingha are also known as swamp deer, they love to live in dry grasslands, wet swampy grasslands and reed beds bordering the major rivers. Their main diet is grass which is available from vast grassland of central and northern India and they also feed from the bed of wet swamps.

 

Barasingha has been divided into three races namely duvauceli (swamp-dwelling and found in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh and Assam), branderi (is found in Central India) and ranjitsinhi which is seen at Assam. The central Indian race is known as Hard ground Barasingha as they have adapted to central Indian plains and live in the vicinity of forests. Today it is found only within the limits of Kanha National Park and is rightly called as 'The Jewel Of Kanha'.

Swamp deer is a medium sized deer, which grows to a height of 130 cm and weighs around 170 – 180 kg. It has thick brown coat, which becomes darker in color as the mating season approaches. In monsoon season the females start showing white spots as in Spotted deer but they are not very prominent. Male deer has antlers, which can grow to length of 75 cm with girth of 13cm at mid beam. Barasingha can be seen grazing both in the daytime as well as at night. Female Barasingha mature at an age of 2 years or more.

 

They usually move around in herds, consisting of ten to twenty members. However, the size of a herd keeps on changing, as the breeding or mating season comes, the number of members in a herd goes as high as sixty. The dominance over a herd of female deer is established by a fight amongst the male Barasingha. The breeding season of the swamp deer is during the winter months of November and December when males long rutting calls can be heard. They have a long gestation period of 6 months. Mother Barasingha gives birth to single young one and for protection from predators they conceal them in tall grass. It has an acute sense of smell and depends on this capacity to sense any danger.

At one point of time, Barasingha used to inhabit most of the areas of northern as well as central India. However, habitat destruction and poaching has restricted them to the protected forests of Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Madhya Pradesh. At a time the central Indian population (Hard ground Barasingha) had decreased to less than 70 and were on the brink of extinction when the forest department took in hand the precarious task of their conservation and due to hard work and dedication it has risen to a level of around 450. Their population worldwide is estimated at around 5000. The drastic decline of the Barasingha population is due to distruction or modification of its habitat, Poaching and shooting and Diseases introduced by cattle.

One can find the Barasingha (Swamp deer) in the following national parks of India:

• Dudhwa National Park (Uttar Pradesh)

• Kanha National Park (Madhya Pradesh)

• Kaziranga National Park (Assam)

• Manas National Park (Assam)

To see Barasingha the best place to visit will be Kanha National Park and Tiger reserve since it has a well developed tourism infrastructure and also easy to reach. Meeting Dr. Shukla, research officer and an integral part of Barasingha conservation here can also make it a very motivating and educational tour.

Barasingha durin rutting  season (Kanha National park)

Barasingha at Kanha National Park

Hard ground Barasingha at Kanha National Park

Kanha National Park

Tiger at Kanha National Park

Planning a Tiger safari is not an easy task with places like Siberia to Indonesia, China and India on the list. Each of these tiger countries is different culturally and geographically so give an altogether different experience. With snow and icy cold winds of Siberia to tropical climate in India you can experience the diverse habitat where Tigers live.

I haven’t been to other countries for tiger safari but with what I have learnt and heard from other travelers India seems to be the best place for tiger safari. It is good not only for watching wildlife and tiger but also enjoying the diverse culture and especially tribal culture. The most famous national parks in central India are in state of Madhya Pradesh which also has large number of tribal population and they are around these NP areas only.

Kanha National Park and Tiger reserve is one of the most famous of the lot along with Bandhavgarh and Ranthambhore NP’s. Thousands of Tourists and wildlife enthusiasts come here to see wildlife and enjoy nature at its best. Sal and Bamboo forests and grasslands known as Maidans locally are excellent habitat for Tiger and other wildlife. It is here that Mogli, Sher Khan and other characters of famous Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling got shape. This famous forest tract also known as Kanha Landscape was the inspiration behind The Jungle Book and has helped understand Indian wildlife in many scientific studies including George Schaller’s.

For tourists this park is open from 16th October till 30th June every year. You can see the wildlife on Gypsy safari’s and on elephant back if tiger show is announced. Now the forest department has come up with a new scheme known as ‘Patrolling the Tiger land’ wherein you can get a chance to stay inside the park in huts made for the guards and see the forest and its inhabitants on foot. This is allowed in few areas and designated tracks open for tourists. This is not only pollution free way of enjoying trip to forest but also an experience in itself but surely this is not for week hearted once as chances of face to face encounter with wild animals although exciting is also dangerous. Only the very well trained and accustomed people should try to take this way of wildlife viewing on foot.

When on trip to Kanha national park you can stay at the forest rest house or MP tourism hotels which are in the core area or many privately owned once which are scattered in the Buffer region. Here you can get accommodation available for as low as 500/= INR to 60,000/= INR. Some good places to stay here are Kanha Village Eco Resort, Kipling Camp, Banjar Tola and Singinawa resort at the higher end and for low and medium end Chandan Motel, Panther resort, Mridu Kishore resort and Krishna jungle resort are good choices. Most of these hotels and resorts will also help to arrange for safaris on Gypsy.

It is advisable to reach here with advance booking in main holiday seasons of Dushraa and Dipawali (October / November), New Year (20th December to 7th January) and Holi (March). If you are a photography enthusiast try to plan somewhere in April when the hot day time increases the chances of wildlife viewing and photography. For further details on Kanha NP you can check http://kanhavillage.blogspot.com/2010_01_01_archive.html

Spotted Deer herd at Kanha National Park

Gaur (Indian Bison) at Kanha National Park