Assam with its fabulous wildlife has always been on our bucket list, but seemed an impossible pipe dream for us academicians as most wildlife parks close in May. Keen to try our luck in late April, we landed in Guwahati and were soon speeding towards Manas National Park, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site, Project Tiger and Project Elephant Reserve situated in the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas.
We saw herds of chital , swamp deer and hog deer in the marshy grasslands, while peacocks, their tail feathers shimmering in the sweltering sunshine, vied with coppery chestnut brown coucals to get our attention. A beautiful three-toned Indian giant squirrel watched us warily. Suddenly, a lithe leopard crossed in front of us, sending shocks of excitement down our spines. This elusive and beautiful animal crouched in the grass to look at us before it melted into the fern-carpeted forest filled with multi-coloured orchids.
Herds of wild water buffalo, their majestic horns formidable, stepped out of water bodies, while frisky, handsome-looking capped langurs watched our progress through the rutted roads. The capped langur is listed as vulnerable under the list of Threatened Species of the IUCN. As we watched a well-camouflaged jungle squirrel cautiously climb down a tree, an elegant red jungle fowl accompanied by his drab spouse emerged from the thickets. An emerald dove searched the mud puddles for seeds, while a pair of hog deer was trying to establish hierarchy by rubbing antlers.
The park was said to be the hunting reserve of the Raja of Gauripur and the royals of Cooch Behar. Dawn comes early in Assam, and by 4.30 am the chirping of birds heralds a new day. The zoologists in our midst excitedly identified red-vented bulbuls, Indian silverbills, sunbirds, magpie-robins, red collared doves, black-hooded orioles, chestnut-headed bee-eaters, fulvous-breasted and stripe-breasted woodpeckers, and the oriental white-eye.
We reached the pebble-strewn banks of the serene Manas, a tributary of the Brahmaputra which splices the international border between Bhutan and India. Surveying the spectacular scenery from the Indian side, even as we dipped our toes in its cold waters, was exhilarating, to say the least.
Our trip to Nameri National Park was uneventful, as we drove through village shanties sampling a variety of plump, sweet bananas with seeds and saw open-billed and woolly-necked storks, kites, egrets and a citrine wagtail. Most of the houses in rural Assam are built on stilts to withstand floods and earthquakes. The base area is used as a shed for animals. In the Pygmy Hog Foundation, we witnessed a diminutive pair of this rare species digging a nest in the soil amidst the grasses.
We stayed in tented accommodation at the Angling Club run by the Assam Bhorelli Angling and Conservation Association. The place has eco-friendly dustbins, tree guards and lamp shades made of cane and bamboo. We drifted off to sleep in our tents, listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops, the lullaby of the Indian cuckoo, the croaking of frogs and the shrill chirping of crickets. Woken up at 5am by the eerie sound of heavy flapping, we went out bleary-eyed to investigate: looking up, we saw a magnificent great Indian hornbill flying clumsily across to perch on another tree.
River-rafting downstream in a rubber dinghy on the Jia Bhorolli river was a thrilling experience. Though disappointed over the cancellation of trekking due to heavy rains uphill, our enthusiasm did not die down as we crossed into Arunachal Pradesh to experience the local culture, and visit the Orchid Park.
Kaziranga was our last stopover. We were happy to spot a number of one-horned rhinoceros, the keystone species of this famous park, and herds of elephants. We also visited the Kaziranga National Orchid and Biodiversity Park and the in-house museum showcasing the rich culture of Assam.
An early morning elephant ride in the western range of Kaziranga took us through tall elephant grass to view the one-horned rhinos in large numbers.
On our way back from the jeep safari, we were caught in a dust storm as we drove reluctantly towards Guwahati and civilisation, rejuvenated by Nature’s grandeur.
(With inputs from Lilian Jasper, Mary Pearl, Vanitha Williams, Catherine Correya and Sharon Ruvitha)
