The second SES expedition to help
survey the elephant population of SW India met at Heathrow Airport at 5 am on
20th May 2000 to begin a 16-day trip that was to prove a resounding success. The
10-strong team was led by Dr Adrian Lister and Malcolm Proctor, with Sue
Hilliard as scientific assistant and Dr Garry Savin as expedition doctor.
From Bombay we flew to Bangalore, and thence a few hours overland to the
Biligiri Wildlife Sanctuary, our home for the next three nights. Up and out at 6
am the following morning, we had our first taste of the jungle and almost
immediate elephant sightings. After brunch, Dr Raman Sukumar gave a long
briefing session on how to classify and record elephants. 'Classifying' means
sexing them, gauging their age to within 5 years or so, and noting any
identifying marks such as ear tears and tusk shape. Worried looks on the faces
of some expeditioners gradually dispelled over the next few days as they
progressively became expert at the task. In two days at Biligiri alone we
recorded well over 100 wild elephants - more than twice as many as in 1998.
On the 24th we left Biligiri to drive to our main camp, just outside Nagarahole
National Park in the foothills of the Western Ghats. 'Camp' was the Kabini
Lodge, a former Maharaja's hunting lodge on the banks of the Kabini River, run
for 20 years by the octogenarian Col. John Wakefield, whose tales ranged from
encounters with 'Elephant Bill' to making a wildlife film with Goldie Hawn. The
Kabini River and its surrounding grasslands and monsoon forests are close to
paradise for anyone with even a passing interest in wildlife. Amid stunning
scenery, we made two long sorties in open-top jeeps each day, seeing (as well as
countless elephants) packs of wild dogs, sambar, spotted and barking deer, gaur
(giant wild cattle), giant squirrels, langur and macaque monkeys, mongooses,
many other mammals, and abundant and varied bird life (Garry's bird count
totalled 99 - he is still recovering from the disappointment of missing his
target of 100). Our very first evening at Kabini provided what was for me one of
those images I shall never forget. Taking a boat up river to get a feel for the
area, we witnessed on our way home the sight of thousands of fruit bats
converging into a seemingly endless stream as they flew into an orange-pink
sunset.
In total, over 9 days, we recorded more than 1200 elephant sightings. These were
of two kinds - either adult tuskers (bulls) alone or in small groups, or else
the larger family groups of females and their young. Recording the elephants was
never uneventful - we might witness a calf suckling, two bulls fighting, or
groups of elephants frolicking in the water. A huge, majestic bull in musth
might suddenly emerge from the forest, scattering younger bulls and sniffing all
available females with his trunk to see if any were in oestrus. However, despite
several very promising 5-foot erections which had us scrambling for our cameras,
we never witnessed a mating.
Expedition members felt privileged to be working under the tutelage of the
world's leading expert in Asian elephants - Dr Raman Sukumar - and his extremely
knowledgeable (as well as friendly) team of Madhu, Vidia and Arun. Every
afternoon, while others were snoozing in hammocks or catching up with the latest
Jeffrey Archer, Sue and Vidia would set up a table and pore over the previous
day's sighting sheets, looking for 'matches' where the same animals had been
seen again, or perhaps finding associations between groups. This work is
continuing after our return - with the aid of more than 50 rolls of film
capturing elephant portraits, their times and dates carefully recorded so they
can be matched to the observation sheets. It is already clear from our work that
this is one of the healthiest Asian elephant populations in the subcontinent,
with an adult male for every 4 or 5 adult females, and plenty of births each
year. In other parts of India, poaching has reduced the male/female ratio to
1:20 or even 1:100.
As a break from elephant counting, a very memorable day was laid on by Madhu,
who took us higher into the hills (4200 ft) to visit a coffee plantation with
stunning views over the jungle. We were received most graciously by the
plantation manager and his wife in their art deco residence, and served what was
unquestionably the best cup of coffee of the trip (not difficult). Then we were
given a tour of the plantation, where coffee plants intermingle with avocado,
pepper, jackfruit and other trees, and shown how elephants (which visit almost
every evening) are discouraged with deep trenches and electric fences.
After an outstanding farewell party at which we were forced to consume all
remaining alcohol (following a spoof report that any remaining would be
confiscated at the park gates), and some very silly games provided by Sheila
Sully and Garry, we left our paradise on 2nd June to spend two nights in Mysore
before the return flight home. The next day we were treated to another
unforgettable memory in the form of the Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary outside
Mysore, which left even decidedly non-birdwatching expeditioners starry-eyed. In
the early morning light we wound our way in rowing boats among beautiful islands
in the slow-flowing Cauvery river, getting within feet of spoonbills and storks
feeding their young, weaver birds constructing their hive-like nests, and
crocodiles lying on the bank or slipping into the water.
A great satisfaction felt by all members of this expedition is the sense that we
have contributed in a valuable way to the conservation of the Asian elephant.
Our data, and particularly our photographs, will be put to concrete use by Dr
Sukumar and his fellow researchers in tracking the fortunes of this critical
population in the years to come. A further SES trip to build on our success is
being considered for 2002.
