Panthera Tigris - the first pug marks inside Corbett.
Sal trees characterize Corbett more than anything else.
The best way to see Corbett is on a gypsy. Elephant rides are definitely exciting and allow you to get closer to animals but, you will not cover more than 7-8 kms in 3-4 hours.
The best place to see the Mugger Crocodile and Gharial inside Corbett is Crocodile Point. Here you can see the Gharial sunning itself on the banks of the River Ramganga. Incidentally, the Gharial (a crocodilian) is a critically endangered species.
Our guide/driver was a superstar. He showed us how to use the binoculars (Olympus 7X35 DPS I) to get a closer shot in the absence of an SLR camera. Here you can see that the Gharial is a male because of its bulbous nose (tip of the snout).
This Mugger crocodile was resting just a few metres away from the Gharial
A barking deer crosses one of the forest roads on hearing our gypsy
Can you spot the owl?
A female sambar and its baby. These are found throughout Corbett in large numbers. Tigers usually feed on an adult Sambar kill for 2-3 days.
The baby Sambar looking right at us!
While the Hog, Barking and Spotted Deer typically run away at the slightest sound, the Sambar is often slow to react.
We saw more of the Mugger and Gharial here (they look like logs from afar) - on the far bank to the left .
Try and spot the crocodile (or is it the crocodilian)?!
Chital are definitely the easiest to spot within Corbett...
..perhaps why they are the favourite prey of Panthera Tigiris.
Wooden bridges such as these enable gyspies to get from one side of the river bank to the other. All gates at the Reserve (except Jhirna) are closed during the monsoon (June-November)
The male spotted deer usually have antlers - you can see one on the far left of this picture.
This yellow/orange chested bird is the Hodgson's Bushchat - a pretty common bird at Corbett.
More of the Bushchat
A langur and a male spotted deer. Langurs usually give a high-pitched alarm call on spotting a predator - tigers and leopards. If they are found on the ground, however, the tigers are probably not around!
These camp elephants are being taken for their bath.
A langur feeding on the tree.
A male sambar.
It was on one of these river banks that we spotted two Otters (a pretty rare sighting!). One of them had caught a fish and as it ran along the river bank, the other Otter started chasing and playing with it.
Two Sambar deers wading through the cold waters of the Ramganga.
This was definitely one of the most peaceful and picturesque scenes at Corbett. While one pair of Sambar deer is wading through the water on the far left, another pair watches us sitting on the bank.
OK. OK. I have about 20 pictures of this!
This was taken on our way to Kanda - one of the last points at Corbett where there is a forest rest house.
An old map of Corbett at the Kanda Rest House
On our way back from Kanda, we suddenly heard and spotted elephants. I had high hopes of seeing wild elephant herds at Corbett till Kayyum (our guide/driver) told us that they all migrate to Haridwar for the winter. We were lucky to spot 3 mother/calf pairs at Corbett however one late afternoon.
This mother elephant emerged from the tall grasses after we waited for around 10-15 minutes.
She had of course heard us and therefore protectively led her baby away from the place where our gypsy stood.
There she goes! I had waited years to see this very sight and then i saw 2 such crossings. What a day it was!
The male sambar was still on the banks when we got back. Obviously our very elusive tiger had not visited this spot for a drink.
First it was otters, then elephants, then a leopard! This one had eaten a langur a while before we arrived on the spot and was resting after the feast.
We were very lucky - the leopard (a he - as we learned later) was at a comfortable enough distance from the road. Although we had been spotted, he was happy enough to continue lounging on the tree, giving us a glance once in a while.
Yup, the leopard was looking right at us. Thanks to the binoculars, i saw its two front canines when it yawned.
Can you see the leopard spots? The binoculars did not help too much this time around.
Leopards usually take their kill high up on the tree to avoid the other big predators looking for a free meal - lions in Africa, tigers in India. Isn't that amazing? Imagine lugging up something that weighs as much as you!
Our last morning ride at Dhikala.
Sunlight filtering through the tall trees...right out of a book!
Centre of the picture - can you see something peeping at us? Thats the yellow throated marten. Find a better picture here http://www.indianaturewatch.net/displayimage.php?id=48450
We saw these bear paw marks on our last day at Dhikala. Bears are even more elusive than tigers and spottings are rare.
More of the very fresh bear paw marks.
And finally...the Panthera Tigris. Can you spot the little blur on the upper right side of the road (centre of the picture)? Thats the tiger. We were also so excited at finally seeing the tiger that none of us got a good picture. This was pretty unexpected since we were outside the Reserve at Sitavani. It was a huge adolescent male that then disappeared into the night. "The Tiger is a large-hearted gentleman" wrote Hunter-turned-Conservationist Jim Corbett. Large-hearted gentleman or not, he sure knows he owns the place. That unhurried and elegant walk! I am now a bigger fan of Panthera tigris tigris than ever before. Once you have seen a tiger, you just want to see more and more!
The board that greets visitors at Bijrani.
Pug marks of a baby tiger. Trackers differentiate between a male and female tigers by the pug marks - females tend to have longer toes than males
Sunrise at the Dhikala camp. Since the forests at Dhikala are pretty dry, tigers and other animals cross the roads quite close to the Camp for a drink from the Kosi river in the early mornings and the evenings. After 4.30 pm, alarm calls are a constant background sound at Dhikala.
Changeable Hawk Eagle.
The Bushchat sort of became my favourite bird at Corbett because it was so easy to recognize and spot!
Just behind the tree, on the far left of the picture is the male tusker.
