10 Things To Do In Coorg - Reason 2

 2. The Creatures of the Snake's Stream
 
As we crossed the check post at around 10.30 AM, we asked our driver to drive slowly inside the park and we started looking around for the creatures of the jungle. On reaching the Murkal Elephant Camp Gouri asked the driver to stop for sometime as she wanted to click a few images of the camp elephants. I think the frustration of not even finding a single chital on the way made her do so. After clicking a few images of the camp elephants we moved ahead when Chimpu sitting next to the driver turns around and asked, "Are there any tigers in this jungle?".
As soon as I replied saying "Yes, there are a few remaining but there is no chance of spotting one at this hour", Karthik sitting at the back, moved forward, pointed his finger outside and said "Hey tiger, hey a tiger!!!".
We asked our driver to stop and he took some time to react and stopped the vehicle a little further than expected. All of us started looking out of the window in search of the stripes when I confidently said, "It must be a spotted deer, it happens many a times when we keep thinking of a tiger, everything we see, looks like a tiger". My words of wisdom fell on deaf ear when Gouri said "Look the tiger is sitting right there".
We asked the driver to go back a few meters to which he replied "Beda saar, huli bandu parchuthe" ("No sir, the tiger will attack"). On listening to the driver's words especially after that intellectual remarks of mine some time back, the excited crowd inside the vehicle got so angry that they started screaming at the driver to go back. Amidst all this commotion, we see the innocent pair of twinkling eyes rise up slowly, stare at us and decides to disappear in the thick lantana cover.
It all happened so fast, that none of us could believe our eyes, a tiger cub was sitting by the roadside at 11 AM with hundreds of vehicles passing by. The jungle surprises you when you least expect it and in my case it also made a fool of me by doing the exact opposite of what ever I said.

Nagarahole which literally means "Snake's Stream" named so because of its winding flow through the jungle infusing life into its denizens the chital, sambar, munjtac, mongoose, wild boar, gaur, elephant, leopard, tiger and many other creatures creeping, crawling, running or flying along with it. The denizens will surely keep you excited about their sudden sighting at the most unpredictable curve.

Kabini backwaters in Nagarhole is the best place in the world to witness the largest congregation of Asiatic Elephants. This place is also known for its regular sightings of the spotted beauty, the leopard.

Remember, on entering the jungle - drive slow, maintain silence, do not litter, do not feed, no music, do not get off the vehicle and respect wildlife, the Creatures of the Snake's Stream will never disappoint you.

To be continued...