Melghat!

Baby Rhesus Macaque by the roadside. He begged for food for a while, making a cute noise at us and even standing up on his hind legs. Truck drivers and other people have got monkeys into the terrible habit of hanging around in the road for handouts. Many get killed in car accidents thanks to this stupidity. What a pity Indians think it kind to give unnecessary snacks to so many creatures. It would be kinder to leave most of them alone.





Above: In the forest



Above: Gajanan, who along with Pradeep conducts the education programme of NCSA in the 39 villages of Melghat's Multiple Use area. This is next to the Sipna river at Semadoh.



Above: Chital



Above: Snake skin

Below: Fallen Mahua flowers. These are used by tribals to make a liquor of the same name. It's ironical that there happened to be a matchstick lying next to the flowers. Villagers often start fires under Mahua and Tendu trees, to "clear" the ground before the flowers and leaves fall. They often "clear" large sections of the forest as well.



I made my first trip to Melghat Tiger Reserve earlier this week. It was a very brief trip, just one and a half days, but there was a lot of new information I tried to absorb in that short time and I am trying to let it all settle into my head!

This was the only SF/NCSA project area I had never visited. So I decided to make a quick visit after going to Pench for some follow-up work (more on that later). It's always a privilege to talk to SF President/founder Kishor Rithe, and I was lucky to have his company for the whole trip. As always I plagued him with hundreds of questions which he answered very patiently. This is such a vast region and the issues impacting the tiger are so varied and complex that my questions will probably never end, but I am certainly a lot clearer in my mind about lots of things - exactly how reforestation is being done at Akot (south of Melghat Tiger Reserve), how barren land is made fertile, agro-forestry, forest legislation from the 1870s till the present day.

The first part of the trip was spent exploring the Community Resource Centre belonging to NCSA. I'll put those pictures in another post. In the evening I accompanied the Duda education van to a village called Chikli. The next morning was spent exploring the tourist zone of the Reserve. This series of images are of the forest and wildlife.

"Sahab Hum mar jayenge"

After coming back to Harisal I along with Rohan Mukerjee (MBA intern)and Saurabh Shanu ( ICFAI intern )went for Socio-Economic survey in the nearby villages.Survey include general information about family, agriculture,other sources of income etc.

"Taraubanda" was the first one. A big village by Melghat standards with population of around 1200. It was located on a plateau. It has water pipe line and electricity line though only nine houses had electricity connection.

While doing survey Rohan and me inquired villagers about Resettlement scheme undertaken by Govt to relocate these villages in Plains under Project Tiger. We were quite taken aback when we asked a villager What does he feel about reservation and would he like to get resettled? And he said “ Sahab Hum mar jayenge”. It set both of us thinking. These villagers has spent their whole lives there and now we want to resettle them. They had been and are living in perfect harmony with jungles. The animals in the jungles had been sharing space with these villagers. But then there is other side which concerns with protecting tigers and other wild animals. There are very few of them in Natural Environment and there is urgent need to protect them before even they become victim of human greed.

( above- with villagers in Tarubanda village )



Next i want to “Chikli" . There were same sentiments expressed by people. A woman even asked me to get out of village thinking that i was a government official.

Doing door to door surveys in these villages provided me new insight into problems these people were facing. People don’t have ration card. Irregularities in NREGA. People getting work only for 15-30 days instead of 100. Also work was provided in rainy season when they wee busy with agricultural activities and not in summers. Electricity is a luxury there which not many people can afford. No reimbursement for crop loss which is as high as 50% in many cases. And many more...

While returning to Harisal we saw a herd of around 30 deer. But ran away as soon as they saw us. These surveys left many question unanswered. More about that later...

(below- rohan taking a shot )

Mobile Health Unit schedule for May and June 2009

This is the schedule for the free medical camps to be conducted in May and the first half of June. Those interested in volunteering, please email ncsa.india@gmail.com


09 May 2009 - 11 May 2009 Saturday - Monday Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
3 Days Camp

16 May2009 - 19 May 2009 Saturday - Tuesday Melghat Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
4 Days Camp

23 May 2009 - 26 May 2009 Saturday - Tuesday Bori-Satpura Tiger Reserve (M.P.)
4 Days Camp

30 May 2009 - 02 Jun 2009 Saturday - Monday Priyadarshini Pench Tiger Reserve (M.P.) 3 Days Camp

06 June 2009 - 09 June 2009 Saturday - Tuesday Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra) 4 Days Camp

13 Jun 2009 - 15 Jun 2009 Saturday - Monday Pench Tiger Reserve (Maharashtra)
3 Days Camp

My life-changing tigress

This is the most beautiful tiger I've ever seen. My photographs don't do her justice at all.

She crossed the path about fifty feet away from our gypsy, in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve last year. Around 9 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

Even after centuries of civilization, the aura of the top predator can still turn us into jelly. The one word that kept coming to mind as she passed was "flawless."

All too soon she disappeared back into the forest...leaving us gaping and speechless.

Once we got our speech - and our breath! - back, we could talk of nothing else all day. Seeing that tigress was a high point in my life, and for my friends too. In fact she was also a turning point for me, because she made me decide to work for tiger conservation.

I've never seen her again, on subsequent trips to Tadoba. But I keep looking.

And I'm eternally grateful for those few fleeting moments when her world overlapped with mine.

Long road ahead

The tiger Bhola pads along a path in Kanha National Park. He is one of the 1300 - 1500 Royal Bengal Tigers left in India, according to the Wildlife Institute of India's 2007 census. That's less than half the number previously estimated.

Bhola means "innocent." And that's what the tiger is, an innocent victim of human greed and error. Only we humans can save him - if we really, sincerely care enough. This is our last chance.

This picture was taken by Satpuda Foundation President, Kishor Rithe.