4 chital, 2 barking deer, a wild boar and an eagle.

Once a year about 300 till 350 people sign in to help counting the animals in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. There are about 100 people located in every range. These ranges are Tadoba, Kolsa and Moharli.

So this year I signed in (and will be in the Indian Daily, Newspaper). I thought only NGO’s (Non Government Organisations) were aloud to join, but the case is also many private persons join. They don’t only come from Chandrapur or Nagpur, also people from Mumbai are present. That is 17 hours by train to count from 12 noon till 6 am and then go back again for 17 hours.

Normally the count is at the beginning of May, but due to heavy rainfall this year they had to postpone to the 31st, because that was the first full moon after the 2nd of May, and also the last occasion before the monsoon will start.

So the 31st of May was the big day. We were dropped of on a watch tower somewhere in the Tadoba range. A nice spot, with a pond and therefore the chance on seeing many animals is bigger. I sat there with one lady from Chandrapur –teacher in environmental studies- and a guide from the Maharashtra Forest Department. The 1st hour we saw 4 chital and 1 wild boar, but he didin’t count. The 2nd hour 1 barking deer and 1 eagle, but there are too many birds, so they don’t count either, and the 3rd hour again a barking deer.

view from watch tower. drinking water 2 bandar, behind (you need good eyes :), a barking deer

While starting our 4th hour, waiting eagerly for something more spectacular to happen than bandars (monkey) jumping in and out of the trees, playing hide and seek or tack, the weather decided to change from nice and sunny in quite humid, cloudy and illuminating at times joined by a big bang. Big drops found that it was time to drop down at us, and to avoid being soaked to the bone, we sought shelter in a Hindu temple. (I have now learned that the meaning of orange is devotion). This pre-monsoon weather liked hanging around for a big part of the evening and the count had, yet again, come to an early end. No nice night on the watch tower in the moonlight counting many animals and hoping for bears, tigers and leopards to pass by. Shame…

People, don't forget to check the link to My webalbum. Posting pictures goes much faster that way, so I will update in that album every now and then.