25th July: Jim Corbett’s 137th birthday celebration, by Eshaan Trivedi

The monsoon brings rains nearly everyday in and around the forest reserve, so most of the resorts are functioning at lower capacities at this time. Amid intermittent drizzles, Jim’s Jungle Retreat hosted members of the community – young and old – to a ‘day-spend’ at the retreat.
 
Members of our senior naturalist-led The Rainbow Group were invited as were forest officials and students. Between the ages of eight to 75, participants were seen sipping cups of juice and tea as they introduced themselves during the orientation. After short and informative speeches on the subjects of tiger conservation and Jim Corbett’s role by senior naturalist Rajesh Bhatt and Dr. SM Tandon, the day was starting to look bright.

Walkabout talk, photo credit: Eshaan Trivedi

A walk-around the premises of JJR was conducted by Rajesh Bhatt, who pointed out to the young naturalists, how in small, everyday steps one can take forward the great efforts of Jim Corbett and other stalwarts about conservation in this region.

The walk was followed by presentations about the life of Jim Corbett, briefing us about his accomplishments not just as a hunter, but as a conservationist and champion of the Kumaon area!

Presentation at the lounge, photo credit: Eshaan Trivedi

Over lunch, the chatter made the cafeteria at JJR come to life. People from the city were getting to know naturalists from the forest. Children were in undisturbed conversations with professors, writers and forest officials from the forest department.

Overall, it was a great day celebrated in the spirit of Jim Corbett’s tireless activities in his beloved home.
 
Happy Birthday Mr. Corbett!

The Monsoon Jungle, by Eshaan Trivedi

I was here last during the scorching dry heat of the plains. Coming from a heat wave in New Delhi, I was not surprised to see that the impartiality of the sun had left the grassland-jungle dehydrated as well. Water holes in the area were drying up, trees were looking tired, and a compulsory siesta was the only way to make it through to the evenings. In fact, the only place fauna was active was at the watering hole created at JJR, where one could see the parched birds, deer and even the roaring of the tiger was heard!

The water hole at Jim's Jungle Retreat. Photo credit: Daleep Akoi

Seasons change, and here I am again. This time, against the backdrop of famed Bollywood actor Amitabh Bacchan talking about tiger conservation on NDTV’s “Tigerthon”.

Gentle morning showers keep the temperature cool until the next rainfall (which is usually a drizzle in the evening). The sun shines brightly during the afternoon, making it a bit humid and muggy. Cloud formations are beautiful, and using one’s imagination, you can see your visions actualize in the sky.

Uncountable shades of green fill my eyes with the upper and lower canopies exhibiting layers of green, ranging from the dull to the exuberant. Truly seated in the lap of greenery! The character of the sky is changing every hour. The clouds and the sun play hide and seek, varying the temperature from cool and windy to sweaty and blazing. A jubilant orchestra of frogs sets the ambience for the evening, and continues into the night.

Monsoon canopy, photo credit: Daleep Akoi

Tiger sightings are low because less people are going for safaris.

Also, the overgrowth of vegetation suits the tigers well as they stay beneath it, making it difficult to get a glimpse of the majestic animal.

As the butterflies are dancing, the intoxication of the monsoon is evident in the animals. Breeding seems to be the order of the day, with frogs, centipedes and an array of insects and beetles becoming part of the action. Mating calls can be heard near and far from all kinds of mammals. It’s a new world for the baby insects as they are born! Beetles, scorpions, moths, caterpillars, centipedes, millipedes and dragonflies are abundant, and everywhere. In fact, in some areas, it’s difficult to walk without hearing the crunchy sound of centipedes under one’s feet!

The trees seem youthful and playful. Playing good hosts, the trees hold nests, caterpillars, fungus, butterflies and variety of insects, hereby giving rise to a new generation of flora and fauna.

Village life is blooming; tiny outputs of freshly sowed grains are revealing themselves. The cows look happy with plenty of grass, and water is plenty. It’s time to socialize as groups of men and women gather in small groups to tend to their freshly planted fields.

Riverbeds are lush! A strong presence of overpowering nature is felt as vehicles cross the joints of road where the river has reached. An expensive luxury SUV faces the same conundrum as a bullock cart as they both stand perplexed in front of the fast flowing water on the road, unable to cross! Maybe this is why I find myself here, overwhelmed by the flow of nature, where a caterpillar has an equal right to life as an elephant or a human being.

Living in a natural equilibrium, by Eshaan Trivedi

Wanting to spot a tiger in the open jungle is like wanting to pick up a chick in a nightclub: The more desperate you seem, the lesser are your chances.

Well, I got lucky today (May 11, 2012), spotting a huge tigress and her (rather large) cub as they strolled by me, ten meters away from my open jeep. Having read the horror man-eater stories in The Jim Corbett Omnibus, I must say I was terrified. Instead of reaching for my camera, my first instinct was to reach for my swiss knife as I swiftly ducked under the seat. The family sitting at the back was braver though, they lunged forward with their cameras almost falling right out of the jeep.

As many of you know, I have a problem with following the mainstream, ie. doing what everyone else does. In Paris, I did not take a picture of the Eiffel Tower and in Corbett, I will not take a picture of the tiger. Unless, of course, I have an opportunity to take one of those pictures that will be framed and put up in a library. I have however taken pictures of various monkeys, deer and even dove footprints.

The interesting thing about dove footprints is that when you spot the male and female footprints together, they go left and right, up and down, following arbitrary patterns. What I have been explained is that the female leads the male into a dance, and makes him follow her all over the place! She goes left and right and up and down, and the poor male has no choice but to follow.

There is so much to learn from all the animals here, even the insects. The animals blend into their environment so beautifully. It reminds me of something Agent Smith (the machine from The Matrix) said: "I'd like to share a revelation that I’ve had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species, and I realised that humans are not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment; but you humans do not. Instead you multiply, and multiply, until every resource is consumed. The only way for you to survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern... a virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer on this planet, you are a plague."

His views may have been a bit excessive in his condemnation, but we must think about this.

At least I am today, living within this natural equilibrium.

A knight to the rescue: Sir Richard and WildAid unite for tiger conservation

On Monday, Jim’s Jungle Retreat was humbled, honored and extremely excited to host a discovery excursion for international donors looking to aid tiger conservation at Corbett Tiger Reserve under the guidance of WildAid, an international wildlife conservation organization, and the Virgin Group’s non-profit foundation Virgin Unite.

Sir Richard Branson and his son Sam Branson were here to encourage donors to give to this urgent and important cause, to appreciate the area’s stunning diversity of plant and animal life and the various issues facing the Corbett landscape.

The two-day program began with a visit to Choti Haldwani, Jim Corbett’s adopted village, where the group interacted with members from the Corbett Gram Vikas Samiti, a community-based tourism project.

This was followed by a jungle walk in the forest by the retreat. Groups of five and six set out along the riverbed and were intrigued to see first-hand the ample signs of wildlife in this forest buffer. A key take away for them was the importance of patrolling these areas as well. A well-protected forest that provides buffer to a larger protected jungle gives tremendous advantage to the wildlife within the main reserve. Animals don’t recognize borders, we do.

The next day began with an early morning start. The safari vehicles were out before sunrise and headed to Bijrani for a full day, stopping for lunch at Malani’s beautiful forest rest house, a 1900s vintage bungalow. And while a tiger sighting was not to be, Sir Richard and Sam enjoyed a quiet hour on elephant back in the spectacular grasslands in Bijrani.

What was extremely positive about the Bijrani experience was the group members’ appreciation of the forest and what it offered: quiet and solitude, its nurturing energy, a magnificent terrain, and animals roaming in the wild as was their true destiny.

Later, in the evening, Sir Richard presented the Deputy Field Director and Corbett’s forest department with a rapid response vehicle that is hoped will be used for anti-poaching efforts and to resolve man-animal conflict. At dinner, the donors interacted with the Deputy Field Director and learned about tiger conservation and Corbett management’s plans for safeguarding its precious heritage.

We hope that the destination and event served the foundation’s goals well and that their donors too are mightily convinced of this worthy venture for tiger and Corbett conservation. Among WildAid and Virgin Unites’ goals is the protection and restoration of wildlife corridors - essential migration corridors that help in maintaining a healthy gene pool. Along with proper protection of buffer forests, this corridor protection is vital for the tiger, threatened as he is by large-scale loss of habitat and degraded forest. Community outreach is another area that is part of the funds focus. We would be happy to help in all of their efforts, starting out with the expansion of our own community outreach programs.

We wish Sir Richard and Sam, and the entire team at WildAid and Virgin Unite great success in this important program they’ve set out to accomplish. Thank you for coming to this part of the world to learn about our issues and to offer much-needed action-based support.

Links:

Reuters report:

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/02/idINIndia-60270320111102

Report in India Today

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/richard-branson-wildaid-animals-facing-extinction/1/158065.html

WildAid's India chapter

http://www.wildaid.org/india?page=0%2C2

Sir Richard's blog

http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson/blog/the-tigers-of-india

This includes a WildAid film on tiger conservation.

NDTV link
http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/ndtv-special-ndtv-24x7/richard-branson-on-saving-the-tiger-in-india/215463?hp

A new logo for Jim's Jungle Retreat

I am very pleased to reveal our new logo, which we hope will inspire conversation, provoke conservation-related discussion and provide new energy to our philosophy of “Seek the tiger, find the jungle.”  

The tiger pugmark logo offers an entire jungle to the onlooker – the pad reveals leaves and a tree, its toes are shaped to represent four additional elements found in a forest: amphibian and aquatic life, reptilian species, insects and avian varieties, while the pugmark itself represents the over 50 mammalian species found in Corbett, including the tiger.

Do let us know what you think of our new mark. We at Jim's Jungle Retreat, Corbett Tiger Reserve, look forward to your reactions. 

A rising mercury offers splendid wildlife viewing

Place: Jim's Jungle Retreat
Quarterly Update: by Imran Khan

As the mercury rises, Corbett’s safari timings have also changed accordingly.  Early mornings and late evenings are pleasant and one can stay in the park for a longer time during the peak hours of activity of the forest’s denizens.  Even as the wheat crop gets harvested from the farmlands surrounding Corbett, various fruiting trees like mango, litchi and Phyllanthus emblica (amla, or the Indian gooseberry), have started flowering, providing additional food sources to both insectivores and frugivores.

Meantime, many of the man-made water holes have been refilled, while several more are being created for habitat management. The scarcity of water has been felt all over the Bijrani and Jhirna tourism zones as a number of waterholes have dried up and animals living on the peripheral range of CTR tend to move closer to human habitation.  Infact, tiger sightings have been regular as most of them have chosen to remain in the vicinity of waterholes.

There are several noticeable changes to the forest cover as well, with the topography changing colour from green and brown to light green, indicating leaf fall in many species of tropical trees and the associates of Sal. Some of the species such as Indian Laburnum, Ebony trees and a large variety of ficus have started growing new leaves, providing fodder to wild elephants, primates and other herbivores.  Much of the ground vegetation, comprising the Indian Curry leaf, Clerodendron and Ageratum, among others, have started flowering and now sport a new coat of tender leaves, instigating butterflies to start looking for the nectar.  One can see several butterfly species, including the Common Tiger, Common Grass Yellow, Blue Pancy and the Evening Browns fluttering on the lower strata of the forests.

This also is an important time for birders, as several species descend on the Corbett landscape from peninsular India and the Himalayas for breeding and feeding purposes.  Peninsular arrivals include the Asian Paradise Flycatcher, Blue-tailed and Chestnut headed Bee-eaters and the Indian Pitta, while various cuckoo species fly in from their Himalayan perches into Corbett to breed. The beautiful long-tailed Paradise Flycatcher, ready to breed, and the rufous males with shorter tails, learning to breed, offer excellent photography opportunities.  Nightjars too have come out of their hibernation and one can hear them often, its call similar to the sounds of a wind mill in flow. Most species of Raptors, or birds of prey, begin to establish their territories with loud calling sounds. Even as the males establish territory, the females are courted for the breeding season that begins with the onset of the monsoon in July. Various other bird species, including the Spangled drongo, Golden oriole, Indian roller and Leaf bird, have started pairing up and will begin to breed over the coming weeks. 

Corbett's Platinum Jubilee begins, Imran Khan

2011 marks Corbett Tiger Reserve’s Platinum Jubilee year that commemorates India’s pioneering wildlife conservation effort of establishing Asia’s first protected forest in 1936.

For the first time since Project Tiger’s inception in 1973 an India-wide survey reveals a marked increase in tiger numbers. A 12% rise to around 1800 tigers from 1411 in 2008, despite an overall shrinkage of habitat by 6%, is good news. However, this demands a greater push toward scientific management of the reserves as well as better relations with peripheral human settlements. This may only be possible with the intervention of chief ministers of the 17 tiger states in the country.

The Corbett landscape has been in the limelight recently, especially because of increasing tiger numbers, rising levels of man-animal conflict and a sizeable increase in the number of tourists and tourist facilities operating without a wildlife tourism policy. Positive and wider awareness about conservation at the grass root level, while building up of a strong political will for the tigers may be the main ingredients toward a successful celebration of Corbett’s 75 years of existence. The greatest inspiration comes from the sightings of around 25 - 35 cubs, caught on camera via camera traps laid across the sanctuary.

With the launch of Corbett’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, a number of events have already taken place:

* A tiger monitoring and conservation workshop, held in New Delhi and Dhikala, was attended by some of the greatest field workers, including Dr George Schaller, an authority on big cats and their habitat management; Dr Siedenstiecker, a leading gene biologist on big cat inbreeding and possible repercussions, and a plethora of government and non-government representatives. The outcome of the workshop was to refocus emphasis on foot patrolling, beat management, wide use of camera traps and monitoring of the pugmarks.

* A workshop titled “Tourism & Tiger” with active participation from local politicians, villagers, print media and forest personnel, which resulted in positive and constructive discussions on responsible and irresponsible tourism. The end result of the daylong discussions suggested that responsible tourism is the best tool for conservation.

* A World Bank team of tiger conservation experts from U.S.A., Australia, England and Italy visited Corbett and discussed funding opportunities for better conservation techniques. During their discussions at Jim’s Jungle Retreat, we presented ideas on promoting ecosystem farming to give land back to the tiger for its forest corridors.

Other events will occur through the year in Dehradun and Corbett. By November 15 the Prime Minister is expected to close the year-long celebrations with the launch of a coffee table book on Corbett.