EXPLORATION TEAM: SUBHASHISH PANJA,

DWAIPAYAN GHOSH AND ARNAB BASU

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Story: Arnab Basu

Photography: Dwaipayan Ghosh & Arnab Basu

Call of Corbett

Exploration Series – 10

© All the Information and Photographs published in this report are the properties of Exploring

Nature and cannot be used for commercial or research purposes without prior permission of the

explorers.

CALL OF CORBETT:

EXPLORATION TEAM: SUBHASHISH PANJA,

DWAIPAYAN GHOSH AND ARNAB BASU

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“Tiger is a large-hearted gentleman with boundless courage and that when he is exterminated—as

exterminated he will be unless public opinion rallies to his support—India will be the poorer,

having lost the finest of her fauna.”

― Jim Corbett, Man-eaters of Kumaon

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Content

Page No. Chapter : 1

Diary of Tiger Trio 4

Annexure – I List of Identified Species 23

Annexure – II

Explorers’ Profile 28

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Chapter – 1: Diary of Tiger Trio

13th and 14th April, 2018: Call of Corbett

Jim Corbett National Park is the oldest national park in India and was established in 1936 as

Hailey National Park to protect the endangered Bengal tiger. It is located in Nainital district of

Uttarakhand and was named after Jim Corbett who played a key role in its establishment. The

park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative. The park has sub-Himalayan belt

geographical and ecological characteristics. An ecotourism destination, it contains 488 different

species of plants and a diverse variety of fauna. The increase in tourist activities, among other

problems, continues to present a serious challenge to the park's ecological balance.

Corbett has been a haunt for tourists and wildlife lovers for a long time. Tourism activity is only

allowed in selected areas of Corbett Tiger Reserve so that people get an opportunity to see its

splendid landscape and the diverse wildlife. In recent years the number of people coming here

has increased dramatically. Presently, every season more than 70,000 visitors come to the park.

Corbett National Park comprises 520.8 km2 (201.1 sq mi) area of hills, riverine belts, marshy

depressions, grasslands and a large lake. The elevation ranges from 1,300 to 4,000 ft (400 to

1,220 m). Winter nights are cold but the days are bright and sunny. It rains from July to

September.

Dense moist deciduous forest mainly consists of

sal, haldu, peepal, rohini and mango trees. Forest

covers almost 73% of the park, 10% of the area

consists of grasslands. It houses around 110 tree

species, 50 species of mammals, 580 bird species

and 25 reptile species.

A total of 488 different species of plants have been

recorded in the park. Tree density inside the

reserve is higher in the areas of Sal forests and

lowest in the Anogeissus-Acacia catechu forests.

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Total tree basal cover is greater in Sal dominated areas of woody vegetation. Healthy

regeneration in sapling and seedling layers is occurring in the Mallotus philippensis, Jamun and

Diospyros tomentosa communities, but in the Sal forests the regeneration of sapling and

seedling is poor.

Some areas of the park were formerly part of the princely state of Tehri Garhwal. The forests

were cleared to make the area less vulnerable to Rohilla invaders. The Raja of Tehri formally

ceded a part of his princely state to the East India Company in return for their assistance in

ousting the Gurkhas from his domain. The Boksas—a tribe from the Terai—settled on the land

and began growing crops, but in the early 1860s they were evicted with the advent of British

rule. Efforts to save the forests of the region began in the 19th century under Major Ramsay, the

British Officer who was in-charge of the area during those times. The first step in the protection

of the area began in 1868 when the British forest department established control over the land

and prohibited cultivation and the operation of cattle stations. In 1879 these forests were

constituted into a reserve forest where restricted felling was permitted.

After considering the immense significance of Cornett Park in Tiger conservation initiative of

India, we, the explorers of Exploring Nature, thought our journey of biodiversity exploration

and information dissemination effort to increase awareness on nature, would remain incomplete,

if we do not pay tribute to the oldest national park of the country.

Hence, we (Subhashish, Dwaipayan and I),

boarded at Ranikhet Express from old Delhi

railway station in the evening of 13th April, 2018.

The train which started at 10:30 PM of 13th,

reached Ramnagar at 5:30 AM of 14th April. Our

guide cum driver, Nabi, who would be part of our

exploration for next seven days was waiting for us

at station with his safari gypsy. However, when we

met this sixty plus year’s old gentleman for the

first time at Ramnagar station, we had no idea,

what was waiting for us in the forest of Uttarakhand, in his company.

After reaching Ramnagar, we proceeded towards Dhikala, on the way we filled our bean bags

with rice. We generally carry our bean bags empty and fill them with the material of our choice

such as beans, rice, buckwheat shells or plastic or styrofoam beads. An obvious advantage of

this is for travel. It keeps the size and weight to a minimum until we need it, the heavier the fill,

the more stable it can be. However, we try to avoid using plastic or Styrofoam as they are non-

biodegradable and not environment friendly. Therefore, we bought rice from a local shop.

We reached at Dhangari gate of the park at 7:30 AM, and after finishing all entry formalities,

verification of permits etc. we arrived at the forest rest house of Gairal zone, where

accommodation for two nights were arranged in the dormitory.

Corbett National Park is divided into the five

ecotourism zones for the proper management of the

tourism activities in the tiger reserve area. These

zones are Dhikala zone, Bijarani zone, Jhirna Zone,

Dhela zone and Durga Devi zone. Dhikala zone keeps

the celebrity status among all the tourist zones of the

Corbett National Park. Being the most celebrated

ecotourism zone of the Corbett National Park, the

Dhikala zone is well endowed with the spectacular

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wildlife which can be a pure bliss for any wildlife lovers. Dhikala forest rest house and Gairal

forest rest house are two such FRH, situated within zone, where visitors can stay for the night

and enjoy the wilderness.

The Gairal Rest House is the best forest house after

the Dhikala rest house in the Dhikala zone. This

place is a precious gem situated cozily in the lap of

nature away from the crowd and chaos of the city. It

is located around the 13 km from Dhangarhi, the

entry gate of Dhikala zone and around 40 km from

the Ramnagar city. The FRH compound is

safeguarded by the solar electric wire to ward away

wild animals to enter the premises. As the Gairal

FRH is located deep in the forest so an amazing

tranquility envelopes the whole surroundings, making it an enchanting place to calm our mind

from all the chaotic thoughts and invigorate it while staying here. Situated on the Ramganga

river bank, the FRH offers an astounding view of the river bank along with a chance to sight

many animals and witness their activities near the river bed. More often than not, the king of the

forest, the tiger gets sighted near the river bank who visits either for drinking water or in search

of its prey. The herds of elephants can also be seen around the river drinking water or bathing

and playing in the water. This place is also a paradise for bird lovers as one can get amazing

birding opportunity nearby the forest home.

After reaching the FRH, we were welcome by frequent warning call of barking deer from the deep

inside of forest, confirming movement of big cat or at least carnivores nearby.

After keeping our rucksacks in the reception, and

grabbing a quick breakfast we started our first safari of

the series. We entered main forest through Gairal zone

and continued till FRH of Dhikala zone. Morning safari

ended at 10:30 AM. After that there were 4 hours of

rest and lunch break. Afternoon safari started at 2:30

PM, now in reverse direction, i.e., from Dhikala to

Gairal, which continued till 6:30 PM.

The most exciting part of the afternoon safari was getting chased by elephants, and our first

exposure to Nabi’s philosophy of jungle survival, “This is forest, and anything could happen at

any time!” Till end of this series, he would put us in such “threat to survival” situation and

repeat this statement in number of occasions.

At around 3:30 PM, near Rongigarh area of the forest, we

saw two adult female elephants with a calf. They were

coming from the Ramnagar river side. Once our gypsy got

close to them. The matriarch looked at us and raised her

trunk – that was the first level of warning by an elephant –

people who are trained in jungle survival and understand

animal’s warning sign – can understand this behaviour of

elephant.

We cautioned Nabi, but he uttered his survival philosophy

and kept moving on towards them. She shook her head and flapped her ears – second level of

warning. The next level would be nothing but chasing, and that’s what exactly happened when

we ceased to stop. The matriarch started chasing towards us, and now we had no option but

retreating. Parade of elephants with cub, are always dangerous as they are extremely concerned

about their calves’ safety and don’t like any other animals or human to come close.

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Once we started moving back, the herds started moving in opposite direction into bushes. As we

were stopped and observing the movement from a distance, we saw an adult tusker (male

elephant) appeared from the river side and started following the herds.

Again we started following them, after sometime, the

other female in the group noticed us. Now it’s her turn

to warn us. She raised trunk and started flapping ears.

This time we didn’t let it reach at next level,

unanimously we decided to leave the place keeping the

herds undisturbed. That was a typical behaviour

pattern of elephants. All the female members are

equally concerned about the safety of youngest member

of the family.

While coming back to our FRH in Gairal, we spotted a marsh crocodile basking on the river bed

of Ramganga.

Species spotted on Day One:

Mammals: Rhesus Macaque, Terhai Langoor, Spotted deer, Sambar deer, Grey Mangoose,

Elephants, Muntjack (barking deer), and Wild Boar.

Birds: Large billed crow, Common kingfisher, White breasted kingfisher, brown headed barbet,

Streak throated woodpecker, Grey wagtail, Magpie robin, White browed wagtail, River lapwing,

Jungle babbler, Common Myna, Indian pea fowl, Green bee-eater, Red jungle fowl, Himalayan

Griffon, Egyptian vulture, Brahminy Kite, Serpent Eagle, Plum headed parakeet, Indian roller,

Red whiskered bulbul, Black drongo, Paradise Fly catcher (white, female and juvenile).

Reptiles: Marsh Crocodile

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15th April, 2018: Conflict over dominance

We started our second day’s safari at 6:00 AM from Gairal FRH and at around 7:30 AM near

Dhikala grass land, we observed another fascinating behaviour pattern of Asiatic elephant in

wild.

Imagine the great grandmother of a traditional Indian family always picking which restaurants

the sisters, aunts, and mother will go to while the teenage brother leaves the family and joins a

group of other men…In context of elephant family, the adult male elephants leave their herd and

form a separate bachelor herd. We encountered a similar bachelor herd in the morning of 15th

April at Dhikala grassland.

Like many animals, elephants form a hierarchy within their social structure, thereby reducing

conflict over resources (such as food, water, and space). In elephants, a matriarch (the oldest

and wisest female) leads her bond group of related females to find food and water and to avoid

predators. If the herd becomes too large for the available food or water supply, some of the

females might split off from the herd and form their own groups, each headed by an older

relative. In this way, we know that elephants live in fission-fusion societies. However, scientists

are still investigating the complexities of elephant social structure.

Dominance in males is a little different than that in females, or cows. Males, or bulls, form

bachelor herds when they reach sexual maturity.

For example, while the dominant cow is the herd

leader, the dominant bull is usually the individual

that mates with the most females and beats out

other males in contests of strength. Interestingly,

dominant bulls who are in musth tend to remain

in musth (and maintain a higher production of

testosterone) longer than younger, less dominant

bulls.

In the Dhikala grassland, we observed conflict

between three tuskers over dominance for quite a

good duration. We saw the biggest among them

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were not allowing the smallest one to be part of the herds. Initially we thought the smallest one

is not related to other two, so they are resisting him in joining the group. The smallest one was

trying to climb over a ridge, near a dry river body at the grassland. But the biggest one was

resisting him in doing so. He was shaking his head vigorously to express his unpleasantness.

After a while they challenged each other and with a huge trumpet they locked their trunks and

started pushing each other. The smallest one gave up after some time, but didn’t leave the

group. All three of them started moving together, and started disappearing in distant grassland.

After few minutes, again we heard trumpet, and all

three of them reappeared. Now the medium sized

tusker, started pushing the smallest one. Again two of

them got engaged and started pushing each other. The

biggest one joined them after a while, and both of them

started pushing the smallest one. It continued for some

time, eventually the smallest one submitted. Then they

started moving together and got disappeared in bushes.

We suspected it was a conflict between them to

establish dominance over the bachelor herds.

The sun of early summer in the forest of Uttara Khand started become brighter as day

progressed, we left that grass land and after moving few kilometres, we saw couple of gypsies

were waiting near a water body. People on the gypsies were whispering ‘tiger’. This word in a

forest has different significance for the tourists, photographers, and forest guide and gypsy

drivers – and becomes more nerve-racking, when you know this is forest of Corbett Park. Bengal

tigers, although plentiful, are not easily spotted due to the abundance of foliage - camouflage - in

the reserve. Thick jungle, the Ramganga river and plentiful prey make this reserve an ideal

habitat for tigers who are opportunistic feeders and prey upon a range of animals. The tigers in

the park have been known to kill much larger animals such as buffalo and even elephant for

food. The tigers prey upon the larger animals in rare cases of food shortage. There have been

incidents of tigers attacking domestic animals in times of shortage of prey.

After few minutes of waiting we spotted a female

tiger, the tawny coat nicely camouflaged in

matching sub Himalayan foliage, appeared in dense

bushes and slowly moving into further deep in the

forest. This was our first tiger sighting in Corbett

Park after our previous encounter with the gorgeous

animal in the forest of Tadoba – Andhari in

Maharashtra.

At 10:00 AM, we concluded our morning safari and

arrived at Dhikala FRH for breakfast and rest for

next 4 hours. After that we started our afternoon safari at 2:30 PM, again from Dhikala to Gairal.

When we were driving through Thandi Sarak, we spotted one female elephant with calf. When we

were deciding to follow them, we heard sounds of breaking of branches from our left side.

It was not good idea to have elephant at both front and behind of gypsy. In the case of chasing,

we would not have any escape route. Therefore, we reversed our gypsy and waited at a distance

from where we can keep eyes on the sources of the sound. Soon after two elephants were

appeared at uphill, they were climbing down while braking branches. We let them go and then

turned towards Kalichar. Nabi told us, Thandisarak is known for elephant movement. Because of

tree coverage the place always remains cool, and elephants prefer this part of forest for

movement. That is another reason, why less number of tourist gypsies use this path in forest.

We were thinking, in spite of knowing that fact, why he had brought us there.

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When we asked this question to him, he replied, “This is forest, and anything could happen at

any time!”

After 4-5 km of driving, we spotted a parade of

elephants were walking slowly, in a single file,

towards water body of Kalichar. At least 20

elephants were there including – male, female and

calves. One male was at the front, calves were in

the middle, surrounded by female or cow

elephants, and the matriarch at the end. This is a

typical formation of a parade of elephants in

movement. Disney wasn’t lying in The Jungle Book

– elephants actually do walk in single file when

they are on the move, for instance while in search

of food and water. The calves will sometimes hold

on to their mother’s tails with their trunks to keep up, while other female elephants surround

them to protect them from danger.

Elephant families have a matriarchal head, meaning that an older, experienced lady elephant

leads the herd. A family usually consist of a mother, her sisters, daughters their babies (calves).

Occasionally, non-related elephants join to form families. Female family units range from three

to twenty five elephants. Sometimes herds of female elephants combine with groups of bull

elephants to form larger clans. Herd aggregations of 500 to 1000 elephants have been recorded

around watering holes and other sources of food and water. Herd aggregation has also been

documented in areas where poaching is rampant.

The parade was going for drinking and bathing.

Within few minutes another parade was appeared

from the river side, coming back after finishing

their bathing and drinking. The leading male of

the retreating parade stopped, the whole parade

followed him. He raised his trunk towards the

approaching parade. In a moment the

approaching parade changed their course and

took a different route to reach water body. None of

the parade wanted to bump into each other for

unnecessary commotion and conflict. Amazing

display of discipline and mutual respect in wild.

There was also a possibility that two herds were interrelated. Although they tend to be close, an

elephant family can split. This decision is influenced by ecological factors, such as the

availability of food and water in the area, and social factors, such as how well the elephants get

on, the size of the group or the death of a matriarch. As such, different herds living over vast

terrain can be interrelated. These ‘bond groups’ keep in touch with each other through rumbling

calls and usually stay within a mile of each other. We believe, in the vast grassland of Dhikala,

there should be existence of few interrelated herds there.

We followed the parade which was approaching water body and observed their bathing activities

from a distance. We witnessed how female members of the group were taking care of calves.

Pushing them to water and submerging them, so that they can get their whole body washed and

cooled. Pulling them out of water, when the herds were leaving. Babysitting is an important

aspect of elephant behaviour. Female elephants (cows) help look after each other’s calves.

Babysitting other female’s calves is important for elephant development; young females learn

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how to look after the young, and the calves are shown how it’s done. The survival rate of a calf

greatly increases when more females are present and willing take care of it.

Bathing together is another typical behavioural

pattern of elephant, which shows strong family ties.

They love to have river bath, the trunks are used

like a hose to spray water across the body. To help

protect the skin from parasites and biting insects,

elephants wallow in mud or spray dust on their wet

skin. Once the mud and dust dry, elephants

scratch their body with rock or trees to remove

parasites. Elephant family have great fun in the

river.

While leaving the place, we saw another parade

were walking towards the water body.

While leaving the forest for the day, we found one huge tusker was taking bath alone in water,

near the place where we saw marsh crocodile

on first day. He saw us too, raised his trunk

and soon after left the water, climbed uphill

and started walking towards nearby grass

land. Clearly we interfered in his privacy. We

waited there for some time and watched his

movement. He was a full grown adult and his

male reproductive organ suggested that he was

in musth and ready for mating. Most likely, he

was going to join a female herds, as we saw a

group of cow elephants and another tusker too,

in distant forest. The previous one joined them.

When we were about to exit, at around 6:00 PM, there was sudden intermittent warning call of

burking deer and pea fowl. The elephants were also found little restless and started trumpeting.

Presence of tiger was suspected. But it was time to leave forest.

Later in the evening, at around 7:30 PM, when we were at our dormitory in Gairal zone, frequent

warning call of burking deer was heard from close by forest and that continued for at least 10

minutes. That was our last night in Gairal FRH. Later in the morning Dwaipayan said, he woke

up at 3:30 AM, and heard desperate warning calls from forest.

That time we didn’t know what surprises were waiting for us in our next day’s morning safari.

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New Species spotted on Day Two:

Birds: Tawny fish owl, Blue headed barbet, Brahminy starling, Bush chat, Grey headed fish

eagle, Red vented bulbul, Rock pigeon, Collard dove, Spotted dove, Indian grey hornbill, Red

wattled lapwing, Crested king fisher, Rose ringed parakeet, Paddy field pipit, Crested lark, Grey

headed wood pecker

Mammals: Indian Fox, Bengal Tiger (female)

16th April, 2018: The day of surprises

16th April, morning we packed our rucksacks and loaded in gypsy, as we had to leave Gairal FRH

and the night accommodation was booked in Dhikala FRH. Around, 6:00 AM, we started our

day’s safari. The normal or commonly used route to enter forest from the FRH, was turning right

from the solar powered electric fence. But Nabi wanted to try something different and turned left.

This is another speciality of Nabi, he doesn’t want to follow the conventional route of eco-

tourism, marked for tourists. That sometime increases the risk along with the thrill factor

associated with exploration.

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After 200-300 meters on that route, we saw something

was sitting on the road, its back was towards us and it

facing to the direction of our course. Therefore, it didn’t

see us, initially it looked like a rabbit, as two ear like

shape were visible on its head. But colour and size was

not clear, as it was just first dawn of the day. Whatever

it was, we stopped. In few moments we realized it was

a tiger sitting on forest road, probably waiting for the

prey. As we exclaimed, it noticed us, and stood up

suddenly and ran into deep forest adjacent to that

road. We could see a full grown adult female tiger. We

took her in surprise as well, so she was bit scared. We decided to stay there for some time. After

waiting for good 5-6 minutes, we started hearing strong warning call of barking deer, jungle

fowls joined that call soon after. All these confirmed, the tiger was still nearby and on move.

Eventually the tiger appeared from our left side part of the forest, where she entered a while ago.

The female tiger came out in the clear area, looked at

us and started observing us. We were observing her

too, through our camera lenses, and our right index

fingers were busy in clicking shutters. She was just

100 meters away from us. She lowered her upper

body a bit, slightly leaned towards us, for a moment

we thought she was going to chase. But then she

changed her mind probably, crossed the road and

went to other side of the forest. There were still

vigorous warning calls from both side of the forest.

There were quite a few spotted deer roaming around.

We could sense, the tiger was hungry and preparing

for kill. If we could stay there for some time, probably we could witness and capture that breath-

taking moment in our cameras. But, at the same time we thought, that would be creating

disturbances in her morning forest work and interfering in the natural phenomenon of her

survival process. Nabi also appreciated that thoughts and we left that place leaving the prey and

predator in the lap of nature, for their natural faith.

After this, we went to Jharana Jhari, and after a kilometre of journey, we found our road was

blocked. We found one Rohini (Mallotus philippensis) tree was uprooted and blocked the path.

Couple of other gypsies were also waiting there.

Apparently, the tree was uprooted by an elephant, sign of

elephant de buckling and also fresh elephant poop were all-over

there. Nabi got down form the car, so did us. It is not allowed for

tourists to get down in forest, unless it is a designated stoppage

area. But that was an emergency situation. Nabi, asked other

drivers to help in clearing the branches. Few other tourists also

came forward to help. Now, we were on our feet on forest, three

gypsies, parked at one side of the path and then the huge

uprooted Rohini tree with all branches. We were somewhere

between the gypsies and the tree. The other side of the path was

open, which was connect to Dhangarhi gate of the park. Now, if

the elephant in question, which apparently uprooted the tree,

appeared again from that side, we didn’t have any escape route.

Another guide of the park, Kaleem, pointed out this situation and

also instantly came up with the solution. Which was nothing but

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climbing the steep uphill, from which the tree fell.

What an excellent survival idea, we tried to visualize, a wild

elephant behind us, and we were trying to climb an uphill

slope, covered with thorny bushes, with camera and lenses in

hand!

Nabi again created another adventure opportunity for us.

Anyway, we tried clearing loose leaves and branches and cut

the thick one. But it was not easy task, as we didn’t have

adequate tools for that job. We took out chain saw and Swiss

knife from our survival kit. But cutting thick girth of a Rohini

tree trunk with such tools, was a childish idea.

Most of us were agreed, it was not possible to cut the whole tree to clear the path, with available

tools. It would be rather wise to wait for the forest department lumberjack, who were anyway

had been informed by then. But, Nabi was in disagreement as he had a teaspoon size of faith on

department. He kept motivated and encouraged everybody to continue the tree cutting job,

before department people had arrived.

We had famous fashion and fine art photographer Mr. Akash

(or Akashendu) Das, available with us, as part of the tourist

group, who is also a nature and wildlife photographer by

hobby and works for National Geography as freelancer.

Apparently, Nabi and Mr. Das had been in similar situation

before on a state highway. Although not in forest, but the

situation was more alarming, as they were on road and a

tornado was approaching. Nabi claimed, he and Mr. Das cut

a tree, much thicker than the tree in question in Corbett

Park, and they just used Mr. Das’s swiss knife to finish the

job. Mr. Das indeed was carrying a swiss knife with him,

which he took out during conversation with an attempt to

cut the Rohini tree. But, the knife didn’t appear impressive

enough, in fact it was hardly better than the one we were

carrying in our survival kit. Mr. Das, himself sounded less

confident, and not as sure as Nabi was, as far as the size of

girth of the tree on state highway was concerned, which they

cut in previous occasion. However, looking at his enthusiasm

and confidence, no body objected Nabi. After all, he was the

senior most and most experienced forester present there. Hence, tree cutting job continued for

some time, yielded in braking of chain saw, but not before we successfully removed one thick

branch of the tree.

After the chain saw was broken, we ceased our activity and started

waiting for the lumberjack and officials of forest department. But Mr.

Akash Das, continued his effort with his swiss knife, and kept saying the

swiss knife he used in previous case was better than the current one. As if

his whole objective was, not to cut the tree, but to prove that previous

swiss knife was the better one.

This whole drama was going on for more than two hours, and ended when

department people arrived, and cut the tree and removed it by a tractor.

After that, there was not much left in our morning safari and we headed

towards Dhikala FRH, where our night accommodation was arranged in a log hut dormitory.

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Dhikala forest Lodge is located in the core area of Corbett

national park, it is enclosed by the effective solar fence to

keep wild animals away. Dhikala FRH in the Dhikala zone

has the maximum amount of facilities for the guests

which includes canteen, jeep and elephant safaris, trained

guides etc. the FRH is one big stretch of flat land on the

edge of a ridge facing the Rāmgangā reservoir and

therefore a great place to view wildlife from a safe place.

Amongst the choice of rooms Hutment is on the extreme

end of the FRH land and very secluded with an extremely

good view, cabins in the centre and

the new FRH on the entry side which has a parking lot in front. All of them

have attached bathrooms and fairly well kept with the limited resources the

staff has access to. Dormitory is right behind everything with a common

bathroom facility built under a thatched roof about 20 meters away from the

Dorm. The two Dorms are side by side in one log hut and are very small.

There is just about enough space in the middle for two people to stand and

surrounded by four 3-tier railway sleeper like bunk beds.

Our afternoon safari of the day started at 3:30 PM, towards Kamal

Patti and then we turned towards Chuha Pani. Elephant population

is very high in this part of the park, and also infamous for elephant

attack. At around 4:00 PM, on Sambar road, a herd of elephants

with female and calves were spotted. They were found crossing a

water body.

Our day was ended with another incident of elephant chase at

Thandi sarak. A herd of four elephant was crossing road, there was another gypsy ahead of us,

and all of a sudden that one speeded up and crossed the herd, which caused annoyance for the

leading female of the herd. As a result, she chased our gypsy and we had to reverse and run

away from the place.

New Species Spotted on Day Three:

Birds: Common rose finch (male and female), Pied bush chat, Sriated prinia, Palm swift.

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17th April, 2018: The drama in the park

17th April, we started our safari from the log hut of Dhikla zone at 6:00 AM, towards Jharna

Jhari, and then to Fulaichar. On the way we spotted two elephants on both side of the road. As

we wanted to cross that stretch quickly, we speeded up and then took a turn. While taking turn,

at the curve of the road we were almost head on with another female elephant. The safety

protocol of the forest is, whenever you are close to elephant, never stop the gypsy, run fast and

cross the animal quickly. So did we, charged the elephant back and escaped. The elephant got

scared made a trumpet and ran into bushes. We saw she rushed to a herd of adult female

elephant. The adults looked at us, we were expecting a chase, but nothing such happened and

we escaped.

At 7:50 AM, we reached at Ringora, spotted a huge lone

tusker. Moment he saw us, started walking towards us.

We were observing him, holding our breath, he increased

his speed, looked like going to charge us. We moved from

that place, the tusker was turned back and started

walking in opposite direction. He was still not

comfortable, repeatedly raising his trunk. Probably

smelling something, that was not safe or secure for him,

probably smelling presence of a predator. He trumpet

couple of times, another tusker was spotted coming from

other side. After some time, both disappeared deep inside forest.

Around 10:30 we came back to our log hut to finish breakfast. We packed our bags and other

belongings and left Dhikala zone. For next three nights we would stay in Bijrani zone. To leave

the Dhikala zone we had to reach Dhangari gate first and then from there to Amdanda gate,

which was close to Ramnagar railway station. Our accommodation was arranged in the Forest

Rest House of Bijrani gate. It took more than an hour to reach there.

Among the six safari zones, Bijrani zone is considered as the best zone after the Dhikala zone to

spot the tiger. The picturesque landscape of this zone, which consists of large grass fields known

Page | 17

as Chaurs and dense Sal forest, plenty of waterholes and river streams is no less enchanting

than the Dhikala zone. The chances of tiger spotting in this zone are almost similar to the

Dhikala zone and the tiger sighting is reported often by the safari tourists. Along with the big

cats like Bengal tigers and leopards, several types other animals like wild elephants, black bears

as well as different types of deer and antelopes namely Chital, Sambar, Hog Deer are found in

this zone. Also a perfect place for the birding, there are around 600 species of resident and

migratory birds are seen here.

Aamdanda gate is the entrance to the Bijrani zone, which

is located at the distance of around 1 km from the

Ramnagar city. There is a buffer zone of 5 km after

entering the gate, which you have to cross to get into the

core zone. There are two forest rest houses located in this

zone and are available for tourists to stay here after

making a booking for the night stay. One is the Bijrani

forest rest house and the other is Malani forest rest

house. The day safari is not allowed to stay here for the

night, but the day safari can enjoy the elephant ride from

here. The elephant safari is only available in the Bijrani

and Dhikala zones and is subject to availability as there are limited numbers of elephants used

for the safari ride.

Our safari in Bijari zone started at 3:00 PM. Nabi got an intelligence that one tigress was spotted

at a particular point of forest. We rushed towards forest, and started waiting at that point, where

she was seen in morning. We waited there for an hour. After some time one gypsy came back

and informed us that an old tigress was spotted lying on the ground near Chital more.

When we reached there, at least 5 gypsies were already there, and more and more were coming.

Within a minute, an absolute chaotic situation got created, around 30 gypsies were there, and

tourists in all gypsies were in competition on who will reach to a convenient spot, from where

they can see the animal properly. The impatient tourists, were desperate to see the tigers and

take photos of her, as if they got a lifetime opportunity, and made the situation in complete sixes

and sevens.

They were ready to do anything from pushing each other,

jumping from one gypsy to another, walking or running on

forest ground to reach close to the tigers, even if that risked

their lives. Probably they forgot, they were in wild forest and

dealing with wild animals, not in zoological garden, where

animals were in captivity. The superiority feeling and ego of

being human were in display shamelessly. The thoughts of

non-human being cannot cause any harm to human being,

were started becoming prominent, and if there had been a

counter attack by the animal, whose peace was getting

destroyed and patience was in trial, then that would have

been the fault of the animal herself, in the law of human

court. As a consequence punishment would have given to

her by the so called superior species of this plant.

Anyway, nothing happened from her side. She was

completely indifferent and enjoying her afternoon nap on

light sunlight. Apparently, she was old and injured, and

couldn’t hunt for some days, which made her week and

slow. However, there was a potential that such situation might turn her into a man eater.

Page | 18

Tiger attacks are an extreme form of human–wildlife conflict which occur for various reasons

and have claimed more human lives than attacks by any of the other big cats. The most

comprehensive study of deaths due to tiger attacks estimates that at least 373,000 people died

due to tiger attacks between 1800 and 2009, the majority of these attacks occurring in South

and Southeast Asia. Over the last five centuries, an estimated 1 million people have been eaten

by tigers. In Southeast Asia, attacks gradually declined after peaking in the nineteenth century,

but attacks in South Asia have remained high, particularly in the Sundarbans.

Near Corbett Park and surrounding areas of the park in state of Uttara Khand, every year there

were lot of news of tiger attack get reported.

On 17th March, 2017, two persons were killed and a boy was injured by a tiger in the Ramnagar

area of the Corbett tiger landscape in the morning. The forest department personnel reached the

site of the incident after some efforts were successful in immobilising and caging the male tiger

aged about five years. According to information received, Muradabad (Uttar Pradesh) native

Ramdas and his family work as labourers in the Dabka river in the Terai area of Kumaon in

Uttarakhand. On Thursday morning during a break in the quarrying activity on the riverbed, at

about 8 AM Ramdas and his wife Bhagwati Devi went to the woods of Dabka in Belpadao range

of Terai west forest division to collect firewood. His son Sachin and other persons had also gone

along with them into the jungle. It is reported that when all the persons were coming out of the

woods with collected firewood, a tiger attacked the group near the Dabka river. The big cat lifted

Bhagwati Devi and carried her into the woods as the shocked persons accompanying her started

to shout and raise the alarm. Instead of scaring the tiger away, the noise had the reverse effect

as the tiger returned to the spot and attacked the group of persons injuring Sachin.

Statistics released in 2017 by India’s environment ministry reveal that 1,144 people were killed

between April 2014 and May 2017. That figure breaks down to 426 human deaths in 2014-15,

and 446 the following year. The ministry released only a partial count for 2016-17, with 259

people killed by elephants up to February of this year, and 27 killed by tigers through May.

India’s population of 1.3bn is still growing, and as it does it is increasingly encroaching into the

country’s traditional wild spaces and animal sanctuaries, where people compete with wildlife for

food and other resources. The growth of human settlements is often seen as economic

development. But for some who are living on the edge of wildlife borders, this development can

come at a high cost.

We have taken away spaces from wild lives, and now we are visiting national parks, what does

not provide enough space to them, to show our so called love for nature and wild lives. At least

we should know how nature and wild lives expect us to behave when we are at their space.

Unfortunately, it seemed the tourists in Bijari zone, on that afternoon, were ignorant about

behavioural requirements in wild forest and didn’t know how to respect wild animals and nature.

Therefore, they started behaving violent, as if their million dollars are in stake and needed to be

recovered by seeing the tiger. In all these doldrums, one tourist jumped on our gypsy and

damaged the bonnet of it. Nabi got furious and then decided to leave the forest immediately, but

not before verbally thrashing that mature adult man in front of a full house tourists and forest

guides.

Hundreds tourists, drivers and forest guides on that afternoon showed, we human being are only

concerned about our own amusement, and have least respect and empathy for nature and wild

lives.

New Species spotted on Day Four:

Birds: White crested laughing thrush, Blue whistling thrush, Blue tailed bee-eater, Crested

Hawk eagle (male, female and juvenile), Intermediate egret, Brown fish owl.

Page | 19

18th April, 2018: The Company of Nabi

The last afternoon’s experience had shaken us no doubt, Nabi was visibly

upset, but he told us, it was not just because of tourists’ behaviour. He

was also feeling bad for abusing that gentleman (who jumped onto our

gypsy) in front of his family members and other tourists and guides in the

forest. He decided, it would be better to see some of the relatively

unexplored part of the forest, rather than going to general route, where all

tourist gypsies go. Probably that was another way to avoid unruly tourists

in forest.

We noticed some pug marks of tiger

and started following that and

reached up to Ringori. Afternoon

safari started at 3:00 PM, we went to waterhole number 6

and 8, then Fire Line and then up to Malani FRH. Whole

path was covered by dry sal tree leaves, suggesting hardly

any gypsy movement happens there. On one side there was

sharp and thorny uphill and on other side, steep sloped

ditch. Almost impossible to reverse gypsy. In case any

encounter with elephant, the only means of escape would

be leaving the vehicle and climbing through uphill. That

was apparently the most dangerous route of the forest.

Single road, only one gypsy can somehow pass through.

Elephant movement, especially lone tuskers who left herds,

was quite common on that route. The sign of elephant

debuckling was observed many times en route.

While continuing driving through that place, when we were

counting every moments to end the route. After reaching a particular point, Nabi told another

chilling story related to that place. He told us how two forest department staffs were killed by a

male tiger. They couldn’t escape as their path was blocked by a tusker. We asked Nabi, if we

were in such situation, what we would do. He said, as usual: “This is forest, anything can

happen!” At around 5:10 PM, when we were near water hole number 4, we heard strong warning

call of barking deer. But nothing more than that.

While coming out of the forest we witnessed two amazing natural phenomena – killing attempt of

a Bengal Monitor and hunting of Indian Earth Boa by a Crested Serpent Eagle.

The Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis) or

common Indian monitor, is a monitor lizard found

widely distributed over the Indian Subcontinent, as

well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. This

large lizard is mainly terrestrial, and its length can

range from about 61 to 175 cm from the tip of the

snout to the end of the tail. Young monitors may

be more arboreal, but adults mainly hunt on the

ground, preying mainly on arthropods, but also

taking small terrestrial vertebrates, ground birds,

eggs and fish. Although large monitors have few

predators apart from humans who hunt them for

meat, younger individuals are hunted by many predators. Bengal monitors are usually solitary

and usually found on the ground, although the young are often seen on trees. Bengal monitors

Page | 20

tend to remain active the whole day with different activities such as feeding. Large adults may

ascend vertical tree trunks, where they sometimes stalk and capture roosting bats. Their normal

prey consists of beetles, grubs, orthopterans, scorpions, snails, ants and other invertebrates.

Vertebrate prey are comparatively rare, and includes frogs, fish, lizards, snakes and rodents.

Bengal monitors are also scavengers. They sometimes feed on dead animals. In areas where

livestock are common, they often visit dung, where they forage for beetles and other insects.

During morning safari, when we were entering forest, we

saw one Crested Serpent Eagle, swooped into ground

and then started walking slowly. We suspected probably it

spotted a snake. Nabi, also reiterated our suspicion by

pointing out the bushes where the eagle landed, and

saying that such bushes are known for habitats of

snakes.

Crested Serpent-Eagle hunts from a high perch at

clearings’ edges. It watches for prey, motionless during

long moments at tree top, with flat crest. When a prey is

located, it drops almost vertically, and it catches

arboreal snakes, reptiles, small birds and mammals. It

takes its preys on the ground, and also takes dead

snakes when it finds one.

End of the morning safari, when we were coming out we

saw another eagle dropped vertically in similar fashion

into a bush and then again took off rapidly, and when it

took off, we saw one Indian Sand Boa was hanging from

its strong grip of claws. It landed on a tree and sat there

for some time, and when it saw us again flew away to

another distant tree and sat there for some time. We could still see the bird of prey for few more

time.

Crested Serpent-Eagle is able to twist and turn easily, while chasing prey at high speed among

trees. It is often seen soaring over treetops in the morning, enjoying warm thermals for rising in

the air. It is a very good flier. When it soars, broad wings are held in shallow V.

New Species spotted on Day Five:

Birds: Lesser flame back woodpecker

Reptiles: Bengal Monitor, Indian Sand Boa

Page | 21

19th and 20th April, 2018: The Oldest Tigress of Bijrani

19th April, we started our safari at 6:00 AM, we went to Ringora again, via Jal Pahari. There was

a rumour that a young female tiger is roaming in forest and was also sighted by few tourist

vehicles. It was speculated that the young female was after the territorial dominance over

another oldest tigress of Bijrani zone. Nabi told us, there could be a possibility of sighting the

young tigress in Ringora.

At around 7:30 AM, strong call of burking deer was heard, we waited there for some time and

then moved towards chital road, which was the territory of oldest tigress. At 8:00 AM, near Nalah

of chital road, the old tigress was found walking on road and gradually going inside of forest.

Females are likely to stay within fairly close proximity to their mother, despite not necessarily

having a relationship with her in the

future, while males are likely to go

further away. Therefore, there was also

a speculation that the young female

was actually daughter of the oldest

one, whom we saw at chital road.

A female tiger reaches sexual maturity

at between three and four years old,

and will likely have her first litter then.

Males are about a year older than their

female counterparts when they reach

sexual maturity; that is, between four

and five years old. Females usually

wait about 2.5 years between

Page | 22

pregnancies. However, if she loses a litter, she can produce another one within five months.

The oldest tigress was found very weak and slow in movement. Her skin was loosen and darken.

Naturally, tigers live longer when they are in captivity, since they are not under threat from

poachers, starvation or fires. They receive protection and medical assistance as and when

necessary. Therefore, tigers in captivity have been known to live for about 26 years. Those in the

wild must fight a hard fight to survive. For this reason, their life is shorter, at an average of 10

years.

At around 9:15 AM, near water hole number 6, at machan chowk, we heard few calls of spotted

deer. In afternoon, safari started at 3:00 PM, we went towards badi fire line. At 3:30 PM, again

we hard few warning calls of macaque. One great Indian horn bill was also seen. Then we moved

towards Ringora again. At 5:40 PM, warning call of jungle fowl was heard. We also saw one black

stork and one soft shell turtle. That was the end of safari on the day which was marked by death

anniversary of Jim Edward Corbett.

20th April, morning was over casted and there was little drizzling as well. At 6:00 AM we went to

Jalpahari and then to Ringora as our last attempt to spot the young tigress. We saw pug marks

and also heard light warning calls of sambar. We left forest at 10:00 AM and then after an hour

or two we checked out from Bijrani FRH and headed towards Ramnagar to end our exploration.

New Species spotted on Day Six and Seven:

Birds: Honey Buzzard, Red Avadavat (female and juvenile), Changeable Hawk eagle, Black

shouldered kite, Pied Bush chat, Siberian stone chat, Great Indian Hornbill, Black Stork,

Eurasian Thick Knee with nestlings.

Reptiles: Soft Shell Turtle, Earth Boa

Page | 23

Annexure – I: List of Identified Species

Sl.

No. Name of Species Scientific Name IUCN Status Photograph

Mammals

1 Rhesus Macaque Macaca mulatta Least Concern

2

Terhai Langur

Semnopithecus entellus Least Concern

3 Spotted Deer Axis axis Least Concern

4 Grey Mongoose

Herpestes edwardsii Least Concern

5

Asian Elephants

Elephas maximus Endangered A2c ver 3.1

6

Northern Red Muntjack (barking Deer)

Muntiacus vaginalis Least Concern

7

Wild Boar

Sus scrofa Least Concern

8

Sambar

Rusa unicolor Vulnerable

A2cd+3cd+4cd ver 3.1

9

Bengal Tiger

Panthera tigris Endangered

A2abcd; C1 ver 3.1

10 Indian Fox Vulpes bengalensis Least Concern

Page | 24

11

Golden Jackal

Canis aureus Least Concern

Birds

1 Large billed crow Corvus macrorhynchos Least Concern

2 Common kingfisher Alcedo atthis Least Concern

3 White breasted Kingfisher

Halcyon smyrnensis Least Concern

4 Brown headed barbet Psilopogon zeylanicus Least Concern

5

Streak throated woodpecker

Picus xanthopygaeus Least Concern

6 Grey wagtail Motacilla cinerea Least Concern

7 Oriental Magpie robin Copsychus saularis Least Concern

8 White browed wagtail Motacilla

maderaspatensis Least Concern

9 River lapwing

Vanellus duvaucelii Near

Threatened ver 3.1

10 Jungle babbler Turdoides striata Least Concern

11 Common Myna Acridotheres tristis Least Concern

12 Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus Least Concern

13 Green bee-eater Merops orientalis Least Concern

14 Red junglefowl Gallus gallus Least Concern

15

Himalayan Griffon

Gyps himalayensis Near

Threatened ver 3.1

16

Egyptian Vulture

Neophron percnopterus Endangered

A2bcde+3bcde ver 3.1

17 Brahminy kite

Haliastur indus Least Concern

ver 3.1

18

Serpent eagle

Spilornis cheela Least Concern

ver 3.1

19 Plum headed parakeet

Psittacula cyanocephala Least Concern

ver 3.1

20 Indian roller Coracias benghalensis Least Concern

Page | 25

ver 3.1

21 Red whiskered bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus Least Concern

22 Black Drongo Dicrurus macrocercus Least Concern

23

Paradise flycatcher (white), female and juvenile

Terpsiphone paradisi Least Concern

24 Tawny fish owl Ketupa flavipes Least Concern

25 Blue headed barbet

Eubucco glaucogularis Near

Threatened ver 3.1

26 Brahminy starling Sturnia pagodarum Least Concern

27

Pied Bush chat

Saxicola caprata Least Concern

28 Grey headed fish eagle

Icthyophaga ichthyaetus Near

Threatened ver 3.1

29 Red vented bulbul Pycnonotus cafer Least Concern

30 Rock pigeon Rock pigeon Least Concern

31 Eurasian Collard dove Streptopelia decaocto Least Concern

32 Spotted dove Spilopelia chinensis Least Concern

33

Indian grey hornbill

Ocyceros birostris Least Concern

34 Red wattle lapwing

35 River lapwing

Vanellus duvaucelii Near Threatened (IUCN

3.1

36 Crested kingfisher Megaceryle lugubris Least Concern

37 Paddyfield pipit Anthus rufulus Least Concern

38 Crested lark Galerida cristata Least Concern

39 Grey headed woodpecker

Dendropicos spodocephalus

Least Concern

40 Rose ringed parakeet Psittacula krameri Least Concern

41

Common rose finch

42

Striated prinia

Prinia crinigera Least Concern

43 Asian Palm swift Cypsiurus balasiensis Least Concern

44 White crested laughing thrush

Garrulax leucolophus Least Concern

Page | 26

45

Blue tailed bee-eater

Merops philippinus Least Concern

46

Crested hawk eagle (juvenile)

Nisaetus cirrhatus Least Concern

47 Intermediate egret Ardea intermedia Least Concern

48

Brown fish owl

Ketupa zeylonensis Least Concern

49 Lesser flame back woodpecker

50

Eurasian thick-knee with nestlings

Burhinus oedicnemus Least Concern

51

Oriental Honey Buzzard

Pernis ptilorhynchus Least Concern

52 Red Avadavat (female and juvenile

Amandava amandava Least Concern

53

Pied Kingfisher

Ceryle rudis Least Concern

54

Great Indian hornbill

Buceros bicornis Near

Threatened (IUCN 3.1)[

Page | 27

55

Black stork

Ciconia nigra Least Concern

Reptiles

1 Earth Boa

2 Bengal Monitor Varanus bengalensis Least Concern

3 Soft shelled turtle Nilssonia hurum Vulnerable

A1cd+2d ver 2.3

4 Marsh crocodile Crocodylus palustris Vulnerable

A2cd ver 3.1

Amphibian

1 None

Insects

1 None

Page | 28

Annexure – II: Explorers’ Profile

Dwaipayan Ghosh, Founder Member of Exploring Nature

Born in Kolkata on 27th September, 1978 and currently based out of

Guwahati, Assam.

An Electrical Engineer by profession and holds B. Tech in Electrical

Engineering from 2004 batch of University of Kalyani.

Has been working for Construction, Renovation & Modernisation of EHV

Electrical Sub-Stations; Erection, Testing and Commissioning of Power

Transformers and Equipment (Like Transformer, Circuit Breaker, Current

Transformer, Potential Transformer, Isolator, Control & Relay Panels etc.) for

last twelve years.

Worked for Sapurjee Palonjee; ALSTOM T&D India Limited (Systems

Business); Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. (Electrical Contract Division); and

Utility Powertech Ltd. (A Joint Venture Of Reliance Energy Ltd. & NTPC) etc.

Currently working as Manager – Execution in Genus Power Infrastructure

Limited (ECC Division).

Holds Certificates in Nature and Wildlife from Wildlife Campus, South Africa (Affiliated to Field Guides Association

of South Africa) on Wildlife Management; Anti-Poaching; Animals Tracks & Signs; Trails Guiding; Birding by

Habitat; Snakes & Reptiles of Lowveld and Digital Wildlife Photography.

Participated in about 24 biodiversity expeditions, which include Corbett National Park, Uttara Khand; Palkot Sloth

Bear Sanctuary, Jharkhand;Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserves, Maharshtra; Jawai Dam and its surroundings,

Rajasthan;Tiger Reserves of Satpura, Pench and Kanha (Madhya Pradesh); Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

(Karnataka); Nagarhole National Park (Karnataka); Bandipur National Park (Karnataka); Eravikulam National Park

(Kerala) and Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala); Kaziranga National Park (Assam); Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary (Assam);

Clouded Leopard National Park/Sipahijala Wildlife Sanctuary (Tripura); Trishna Wildlife Sanctuary (Tripura);

Bandhabgarh National Park (Madhya Pradesh); Sundarban Tiger Reserve (West Bengal); Gorumara National Park

(West Bengal); Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary (West Bengal); Mahananda Wildlife Sanctuary (West Bengal);

Rollapadu Wildlife Sanctuary (Andhra Pradesh); Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park (Telangana) – for

Butterfly Photography; Gir National Park (Gujarat); Wild Ass Sanctuary (Gujrat); and Urban and Sub-Urban Bird

Photography in West Bengal, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh etc.

Page | 29

Arnab Basu, Member of Exploring Nature

Born in Kolkata on 17th June, 1978 and currently based out

of Bengaluru.

A Sustainability Consultant by profession and holds

B.Sc with major in Botany and Zoology from 2000 batch of

University of Calcutta; MBA in Environment Management from

2004 batch of Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business

Management (IISWBM), Kolkata; Diploma in Chemical

Engineering and Industrial Safety.

Has about 15 years of experience in overall

management and supervision of Sustainability, Safety

Transformation, Industrial and Construction Environment,

Occupational Health & Safety and Quality Systems;

compliance assessment, assurance, verification and evaluation

of EHS legal requirements and Corporate EHS management

system; implementation, evaluation and assurance of

Corporate Sustainability Reporting and GHG accounting; training and consultancy for

Quality, Health, Safety, Social Accountability and Environmental Management Systems.

Worked with National and multinational EHS consultancy farm like EQMS, Deloitte etc,

currently working as Principal Consultant in ERM.

Participated in about 16 biodiversity expeditions, which include Corbett National Park,

Uttara Khand; Palkot Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Jharkhand; Speyside and Cairngorm

National Park, Scotland, UK; Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharshtra; Gunug Leuser

National Park, North Sumatra, Indonesia;Tiger Reserves of Satpura, Pench and Kanha

(Madhya Pradesh); Kruger National Park in South Africa, Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary

(Karnataka); Nagarhole National Park (Karnataka); Bandipur National Park (Karnataka);

Eravikulam National Park (Kerala) and Periyar Tiger Reserve (Kerala); Pobitora Wildlife

Sanctuary (Assam); Gir National Park (Gujrat); Wild Ass Sanctuary (Gujrat); and

Biodiversity study of Ghatshila and Jhargram (West Bengal), Araku Valley and Vizag Port

(Andhra Pradesh), Forest of Bankura and Midnapore (West Bengal) etc.

Conducted assessment of urban and sub urban biodiversity at Kolkata, Salt Lake

Wetland, South Bengal (West Bengal).

Conducted Study on Joint Forest Management and Wild Life in South West Bengal under

the supervision of Department of Forest, Govt. of West Bengal and under the joint

guidance of Environment Management department of IISWBM and National Afforestation

and Eco-development Board, Govt. of India.

Page | 30

Subhashish Panja, Member of Exploring Nature

Born in Kolkata on 1st December, 1977 and currently based

out of Mumbai.

An engineer by profession holding Diploma in Mechanical

Engineering

Currently working as Procurement Specialist in energy

sector with an US MNC in Mumbai

Has been working in energy sector for about 15 years now in

various capacities including Gas Turbine Maintenance, Power Plant

Operations, Supply Chain and Contract Management.

An enthusiast in wildlife expeditions.

Participated in tours to Corbett National Park, Uttara Khand; Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, Maharshtra;

Sundarban, Bauxa Forests etc.