Author: Ravi Kailas (ficustours@gmail.com)
Dates
1st to 5th February 2024
Participants
Client: Hugh Lansdown (For a trip report from Hugh Lansdown and for much other interesting content please follow this link which leads to his informative website with quality wildlife images and reports from across the globe)
Naturalist: Ravi Kailas
Locations Visited
Kabini (Nagarhole Tiger Reserve); Bandipur Tiger Reserve; Valparai (Anamalai Tiger Reserve); Thekkady (Periyar Tiger Reserve)
This is a report on the guided portion of the trip in Valparai and Thekkady, after Hugh, who is working on a book for children on the wildlife of India and Sri Lanka, spent three nights at the megafauna rich landscape of Kabini and Bandipur, recording Tiger, Leopard (including one on a hunt, at mid-day, and this while transiting between Bandipur and Valparai!) and Black-footed Grey Langur, among other large mammals. The remainder of the visit to the endemism rich mid-elevation forests of the Southern Western Ghats, produced a variety of local specialities and rarities, including Lion-tailed Macaque, Nilgiri Langur, Jungle Striped Squirrel, Wayanad Laughingthrush, Great Pied and Malabar Grey Hornbills, Malabar Trogon, White-bellied Treepie and a species of dancing frog of the genus Micrixalus. Amidst ‘recording species’, we had moments of appreciating the beauty of the mountains, streams and forests of the Western Ghats. It was a pleasure to host Hugh, a gentleman, whose experience travelling to far flung corners of the world, and knowledge of the local biodiversity, made for enriching, enjoyable conversations.
Detailed Report
Days 1 & 2, Valparai: I met Hugh close to the foothills of the Anamalai hills, as he was transiting between Bandipur and Valparai. We soon made our way up into the endemism rich southern Western Ghats, duly rationed with peanut and sesame seed candy. Our two nights in Valparai was a mixed bag. While we had great views of Lion-tailed Macaque – especially with a troop devouring Jackfruit, by the roadside, Nilgiri Langur, Jungle Striped and Indian Giant Flying Squirrels (aplenty in the plantation forests adjoining at Puduthottam and Monica Estates), the former three endemic to the Western Ghats, we did miss seeing Nilgiri Tahr (a regular, which would have shown with concerted effort), Brown Palm Civet and Brown Mongoose (a relative rarity, with typically random views in this landscape). Other mammals from this plantation-rainforest matrix, included Stripe-necked Mongoose, Indian Giant Squirrel, Red Muntjac, Gaur and Asiatic Elephant. We had modest success with birdlife, including of Legge’s Hawk and Black Eagles, Malabar and White-cheeked Barbets, Rufous Babbler, Rusty-tailed Flycatcher, Malabar Grey and Great Pied Hornbills, Mountain Imperial Pigeon, Nilgiri Flowerpecker, Flame-throated Bulbul, Crimson-backed Sunbird, Common Rosefinch and Orange Minivet. There were Keeled Grass Skink and the Western Ghats Flying Lizard on one warm morning, and a handful of butterflies and moths, a variety insects and spiders on display – but none of these in the great abundance or diversity that is typically found in this location outside of the dry season.
Days 3 & 4, Periyar Tiger Reserve: Our next (and already final stop), was at Thekkady, the popular tourism zone of Periyar, encompassing moist deciduous, semi-evergreen and riverine forest, and its inhabitants, as is typical for the mid-elevation Southern Western Ghats. Thekkady offers the unique opportunity for guided walks, within a tiger reserve, both and night and day, as well as the traditional wildlife safari on large boats. Our only night effort (7p to 10p), starting at the forest check-post, produced very little (past experiences have produced much better results), barring a solitary Indian Giant Flying Squirrel and innumerable Sambar Deer. This was a combination of disinterest from the local guide, employed under a commendable conservation scheme to rehabilitate former poachers through ecotourism, a somewhat impatient group and very high water levels in the reservoir, around which the efforts are focussed. The walks (one exploring the semi-evergreen forest close the boating point and the other walking up a slope covered in bamboo thickets and crisscrossed with jungle streams), both in the morning (7a to 9.30a) however, were excellent (including for the quality of knowledgeable local guides), with a healthy mix of mammals (Elephant, Nilgiri Langur, Jungle Striped Squirrel, Nilgiri Langur and Dusky Leaf-nosed Bat), birds (Legge’s Hawk Eagle, Wayanad Laughingthrush, White-bellied Treepie, Malabar Parakeet, Malabar Trogon and Malabar Grey Hornbill among the highlights) and microfauna (a gecko from the genus Cnemaspis, a species of Dancing Frog from the genus Micrixalus, a species of Cricket Frog Minerverayae species? and a variety of spiders and insects). We also ambled along the forest road leading from the check-post to the boating point at various points of the day and were rewarded with good views of Nilgiri Langur, Indian Giant Squirrel and healthy birdlife. We had low expectations for the boat ride (3.30p to 5p), especially crowded on a Sunday afternoon, and given the high water levels in the reservoir, and while the ride produced Elephant, Stripe-necked Mongoose, Sambar, River Tern and Woolly-necked Storks, we were hoping for Dhole, for which the boat ride presents the best opportunity on sighting, in this landscape. We also decided to hang back in our hotel (located within the forest) on the second night, in hope of finding Indian Crested Porcupine and were duly rewarded by a trio that turned up (not quite on the appointed time as suggested by the security guard though) for some free food around the settlement.
List of Mammals Seen
Stripe-necked Mongoose (Urva vitticolla)
Small Indian civet (Viverricula indica)
Asian Elephant (Elephas maximus)
Gaur (Bos gaurus)
Wild Boar (Sus scrofa)
Northern Red Muntjac (Muntiacus vaginalis)
Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor)
Indian Crested Porcupine (Hystrix indica)
Black-naped Hare (Lepus nigricollis)
Indian Giant Flying Squirrel (Petaurista philippensis)
Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica)
Jungle Striped Squirrel (Funambulus tristriatus)
Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata)
Nilgiri Langur (Semnopithecus johnii)
Lion-tailed Macaque (Macaca silenus)
Dusky leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros ater)
Highlight Birds Seen
Wayanad Laughingthrush Pterorhinus delesserti
Rufous Babbler Argya subrufa
Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus
Great Pied Hornbill Buceros bicornis
Flame-throated Bulbul Rubigula gularis
Legge’s Hawk Eagle Nisaetus kelaarti
Black Eagle Ictinaetus malaiensis
Malabar Trogon Harpactes fasciatus
Malabar Barbet Psilopogon malabaricus
Malabar Parakeet Psittacula columboides
White-bellied Treepie Dendrocitta leucogastra
Malabar Whistling Thrush Myophonus horsfieldii
Orange Minivet Pericrocotus flammeus
Malabar Imperial Pigeon Ducula cuprea
Logistics etc.
We stayed at the Monica Garden Bungalow in Valparai (set amidst a patch of woodland) and Aranya Nivas, located close to the boating point, within the Periyar Tiger Reserve. Skyway International Travels arranged the taxi and the excellent Prakash who adroitly spotted animals, while still managing to keep an eye on the road.
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