Nepal 30, Stop Press

I’m jumping ahead, but I simply cannot contain myself. Today I saw a Tiger!

I will catch up with the last few days later…this is far too exciting. Durga was busy so I took myself off to Bardia National Park in West Nepal.

For a day an a half I went on a walking Safari. Madness I know but, this is apparently how it’s done. Durga will have forty fits when I tell him, he kept saying you need to make a dynamic risk assessment people have been killed there!!

My guide Balé gave me a stick and explained the rules.

We keep silent. 1, If we meet Rhino, get behind a big tree, if we have to run, we run but not in a straight line, it can turn but not quickly. 2, If we meet elephants we run onto the pebbly area in the river, their feet are soft and they can’t run on it. 3, If we meet a solitary tiger, we stare at it and slowly walk backwards, it will then move away. 4, If we meet a tiger with cubs…………….!!!!!

Regarding the Tiger as long as we are not behaving like prey e.g. bending down to collect grass and we walk purposefully and upright they will avoid us. They are naturally shy creatures.

This park has seen some success in the last few years and a big leap in the tiger population which has brought it into conflict with the local people outside the park.

My first walk was in what they call the buffer zone outside the park and a corridor for animals from India to Nepal. There was lots of evidence of tigers here, foot prints, scratching posts, scat, urine where they spray ( the latter reminds me of smelling salts). There was also lots of signs of elephants and rhino too.

Balé tells me a local man was killed here collecting grasses for his animals. That was very sobering and made me feel very vulnerable. Balé is a bit scathing about the local farmers, he says they do not stay vigilant and keep watch, they work in the grasses alone and he says they are behaving like deer and therefore prey. We did see people collecting grass.

We spent a lot of time by the river, shielded by trees, watching the crossing points. Unfortunately a number of people came down to wash as the sun started to fade so no animals on that day.

The next day we entered the park proper. The park is huge and there are many excursions to take here, by jeep, walking, rafting etc. The area were we travelled on foot, no jeep’s are allowed and again a lot of fresh evidence of all the animals was present.

We marched to a spot by the river, on the way we saw large herd’s of spotted deer and then while sat by the river we were lucky enough to see a jackal quite close picking it’s way along the pebbles. Here we saw more deer including hog deer.

After an hour we walked through grassland next to the river and saw marsh muggers crocodiles sunning themselves on the opposite bank. A bit too close for comfort for my liking. As we headed further into the grass, something moved! …….Something big and fast crashing away (thank goodness) from us. My god my heart was hammering, my hands could barely hold my stick!

We never did find out what it was, I was very tense afterwards as we walked onto a plain area, still no big mamals yet. In the middle of the day the animals snooze so we went up a very rickety watch tower to have our lunch. Then we wandered to another tower overlooking the river and waited in comparative safety.

Deer and Macaques came down to drink, the birds were birds calling. A group of scarlet minivets flew by, the male is scarlet and the female yellow. This male had a harem. Bulbuls squabbled and fought over some kind of fruit. It made me think of Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle book. The whole scene quite hypnotic.

The heat of the day starts to lessen and then, a deer cries an alarm call. The macaques echo the alarm, Balé makes a sign and we start scanning for tiger. I’m looking up river and he is looking down, then I see something and start a whispered stutter ‘Th th there’. Out of the grass walks a tiger! Balé pushes me down so I’m well below the parapet.

The tiger sits on the sand for about ten minutes in the sun. I can see her clearly through the binoculars, her markings, the white spots on the back of her ears, and her teeth when she yawns. It’s a really awesome moment!

The tiger gets up and wanders along the bank and down to the river for a drink and then disappears into the grass!

Then down river wanders a Rhino too!

What more can I say, I’m the luckiest person in the world right now!