THE LAW OF THE JUNGLE !!!!

                                                Welcome to my hearing.               
 

Picture a serious court room drama, but only this time it takes place not in a court room but in the core jungle of the Periyar Tiger reserve where the law of the jungle ‘survival of the fittest and smartest’ decides who lives and who dies. And only here is the judge replaced by a dominant male gaur, the jury by a herd of 10 gaurs, the defendants a herd of 20 sambar deer, the prosecutors a pack of 15 wild dogs and I, the only living observer marooned on an island in the midst of the forest witnessed a jaw dropping spectacle.

                              The step in front was my seat for the court hearing.

The hearing took place one afternoon on the 9^th of April amidst two islands which were separated by the Periyar River in the core area of the Periyar Tiger reserve. I was staying at the Inspection Bungalow, all alone but for a caretaker named Ravi to accompany me, who I must add disappeared after serving me lunch and didn’t return till late evening, long after the court session was done for the day. It all started when I was dropped on the island by the forest personnel by a forest speed boat, armed with a gun man and the guard to help me with my luggage. After dropping off my bags in the guest house, the boat made a quick getaway leaving me all alone, surrounded by wildlife and the beauty of the Periyar River. As there was no electricity in the room and network on my phone to draw my attention, I took my camera and a book titled ‘Seven Clues To The Origin Of Life by A.G Cairns-Smith’ which I must credit with high honors for it is very well written, walked down to the jetty to loose myself in the serenity of the forest. 

At this juncture I would like to describe the court room for it would make it easy for the reader to visualize my ‘one-day’ court hearing experience. At the point where the boat dropped me off at the waters’ edge are a series of steps that run for about 20 meters vertically and stop at the foot of the bungalow. On this day, I sat on one of these steps that bordered the water and for about 100 meters ahead of me stood another island covered with thick vegetation and a series of mountains running across it. A small strip of land connected the two islands. The action took place on the island in front of me which was so close that I could recognize the faces of the animals in front.

                                   Herds of Sambar and Gaur out to quench their thirst.

Life in the forest is ubiquitous. It’s all around you, so much so that one begins to feel its presence even after the voice of the forest has quietened down. While I found myself relishing in the theatrical stage in front of me, a small herd of four sambars walked down from the island in front to quench their thirst from the fresh waters of the Periyar river. It was quite hot with the sun positioning itself vertically above my head as the temperature hovered around 42 degrees Celsius.  Pretty soon a herd of 10 gaurs joined them for a drink. For about 3 hours I watched them eat, drink and bathe while I occasionally submitted myself to the book I was then reading. I didn’t budge an inch for I knew that if I were to make it as a wildlife film maker, patience is a virtue and I’ll need a lot of it. While learning a thing or two about the origin of life, a voice inside me told me to look up and I was instantly a witness to an attempt to murder. What I saw was a huge male gaur running into a small creature which was quarter its size. For a second I was under the impression that the gaurs had broken their ‘herbivore truce’ with the sambars and attempted to kill one of their fawns. To my surprise the runt of a fawn turned out to be an alpha male to a pack of wild dogs. Eight other adult wild dogs burst out of a bush and went after the gaur which was after their leader. The alpha male made a dash for the water hole while he escaped the brunt of the attack through the scruff of his neck while the gaur turned around and charged at the pack that was running into him. Not wanting to be bulldozed by the two ton batteram, the dogs ran in different directions to avoid the mighty giants’ assault and soon joined their leader in the water hole to cool themselves down.

The pack of wild dogs walking towards their alpha male who is cooling himself down in water.

The herd of sambar were clutched together to form one cohesive unit while their gaur comrades did the fighting. Out of the blue an adult wild dog (a conjectured guess that the dog was a female) came out of a bund from behind the gaurs and escorted a caravan of seven pups across the gaur herd and into a patch of thick forest. I was dumbfounded for I had no idea to what was going on. Did the dogs attempt an attack on the sambar? Or was it a mock attack just to draw the attention of the gaurs while the pups passed through the gaur herd unnoticed? Why did the alpha male get so close to the gaur and risk being gored to death? Soon the pack washed themselves in the water and ran into the thick part of the forest where their pups and a bitch awaited their arrival.

                                                The pups lead by an adult member of the pack.

The forest was quiet for several hours and within a matter of seconds it was brimming with life and activity. The insects were out and screeching in full flow, the birds were chirping and I was the only human watching the show. It is quite strange for just about a month ago, I was not able to find the words to describe the snow leopard sighting with so many people around while here I stood with a mouthful of words but no one around to share it with.

                                                          Two Sambar stags engaged in a battle. 

The dogs were gone by now while the sambar and gaur resumed their grazing. The herds seemed to have been woken up by the dogs as every member was now filled with energy and running about like it was play time for children in a school. While two sambars locked their antlers in a head on battle that lasted for three hours (with occasional beaks of 10 to 15 minutes) two gaurs locked their horns with each other engaging themselves in a battle for supremacy that lasted for 30 minutes with the heavier bull over powering his comrade. The sambar herd which was frozen tight when the dogs showed up now seemed to be glimmering with hope, life and an abundance of energy which resulted in a show of strength amidst themselves. 

                                                    Two Gaurs engaged in a battle for supremacy.

After about six hours into the ‘court case’ light started to fade and just as with the Indian judiciary the court was adjourned to another date until further notice. The herds dispersed and everyone left the stage with only me stranded once again all alone on the island, to scream ‘CASE DISMISSED’!!!!!