This was the second time we visited Parambikulam Tiger Reserve this year, it was December 2014. We celebrated our New Year there amidst Tiger Sightings and Early morning bird calls waking us up.
There are several types of accommodation and the show is run by Forest Development Agency, which benefits the Tribals living in Parambikulam. The agency has taken up measures in providing various amenities for the Tribals and has keen interest in their Development. The Agency runs a community based Eco Tourism. The service rendered by them are commendable and the food is excellent. The guests are well taken care and we can see the keen interest they have on Wildlife and their preservation. One can visit the site http://www.parambikulam.org or call Cell No 9442201690 and make reservations at Parambikulam Tiger Reserve Please remember that the Reserve is a liquor free zone. The very fact that we visit the Reserve and stay there, provides the Tribals a job and keeps them busy. The Green shop sells among other things, items made by the Tribal women like caps, pen stands etc.,which are very attractive. They have very nice T shirts and over coats on display.
The Tiger Reserve was busy with guests as it was holiday season and all the accommodations were full.
We reached on 30th December, by noon as usual, had good lunch, rested and waited for the game drive in the afternoon. The mini bus was full of guests as all the accommodation were full. We saw nothing much in the game drive except for some Indian Gaur and sambar deer. We went for the Rafting and reached Parambikulam, where we saw a Fish eagle by the dam.
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| Fish Eagle |
On the way back, during night drive, we were not that lucky to see any wildlife, except for some Indian Gaur and sambar deer. We came back had good dinner and went to bed early. Next day morning we chose to do trekking early instead of bird watching etc.,
We were lucky to manage a different route and not the routine beaten track. We had a couple of guides with us and took a longer route, the guide was confident of locating tigers on the way. They had heard the tiger roaring the previous day in that direction.
We came across the Elephant carcass we saw last time. We could only see the skull of the elephant, and other bones around, everything else had disappeared, eaten up by scavengers and the insects.
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Remains of the Elephant Carcass-only the skull remaining
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| The river bed where we saw Tiger Pugmarks |
We had gone a long way, may be an hour and a half and saw nothing on the way. After reaching a river bed, we saw some tiger pug marks criss crossing the river bed, but no tiger to be seen. We were thrilled to see the pug marks that too very recent ones and expected to see the tiger anytime.
With butterflies in the stomach, expecting to see the Tiger in close range, We followed a track and after some time saw tiger pug marks again in the same direction. This time there were a few of them. The guides explained that a family of 5 tigers were around and the pugmarks were of those tigers. We were repeatedly cautioned not to make any noise, not even to stamp on dried leaves, as the noise will alert the tigers if they are around.
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| Two tiger cubs of the family of five |
We trekked for another km may be and reached a vayal, an open space, grass land. These grass lands are the hunting grounds for the tigers. We rested for a few minutes, a bit disappointed as well as we had come to almost end of the trek and we had sighted nothing, not even a Gaur or a sambar deer. We were in one corner of the vayal, on a little elevated ground surrounded by the trees. As we were watching the vayal, suddenly a sambar deer bellowed and ran into the grassland followed by a few more. We could see they were panicky and the guides immediately cautioned us to be quiet and observe, as they expected a tiger or a Leopard to follow the them.
As expected, a tiger walked out from behind the woods, majestically, following the deer. As we were watching the tiger, another one also walked out, and then another and then another. They were all moving up and down the grassland, and we were a bit confused as to how many were there. They were a bit far from us and we could enjoy the sightings thru the binocs. The tigers were quite far for the cameras. We saw all the five tigers of the family. There were 3 cubs, about one and a half years old, almost the size of a fully grown adult.
We could identify the cubs only when they started to be playful and running and jumping over one another. It was a sighting of a life time, that we had, for all these years we visited Parambikulam.
The next day afternoon we went for the game drive and saw a family of Elephants on the road, when we were coming back from Parambikulam to the tent. All the elephants moved to the side of the road except for one male. He stood on the road and refused to move. We waited for about 5 minutes and the driver raved the engine, so that he will move. He still stood there doing nothing, just playing with the grass at the edge of the road. Eventually when all the elephants had moved away to safety,he moved out and let us go.
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