The Edge of a Tiger Reserve

Wildlife lives everywhere...

Hey friends,

Greetings from Ashoka University, India!

Recently, a friend asked me to relate a story to her from my experiences in the wild.

Normally, when asked this question, I talk about when I almost ran into an elephant or when I got bitten by a snake—high-action stories that are bound to grab people’s attention.

But this time, I took another approach.

I showed her one of my journal entries. I always keep a journal with me wherever I go. It helps me to record my experiences, which are lovely to return to in the future. My upcoming book, The Light of Wilder Things, is an amalgamation of my journal entries from the past few years.

Instead of a thrilling adventure, I showed her a quiet, not-so-thrilling journal entry of when I went exploring the edges of a national park. It isn’t a particularly thrilling story, and it doesn’t really have a climax.

But to my surprise, this story struck a chord with my friend. She said that there was a beautiful simplicity that is often lost in my other, more “exciting” tales. This really got me thinking about what stories we deem more interesting than another.

Here is that journal entry:

Roaming around a Tiger Reserve

My father and I had just pulled over for a short break at the outksirts of Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu. We had driven down from Bangalore and were heading towards Munnar for work on our cardamom plantation. We had a long drive ahead, so my dad wanted to take a quick nap before we resumed our journey. We stopped here as we weren't allowed to stop in the forest, which would stretch on for several kilometres.

The Anamalai Tiger Reserve is different compared to other forests in Southern India. It lies at the confluence of the Western and Eastern ghats, forming unique landscapes. It has large hills with enormous rock faces, surrounded by broad valleys that are covered with low-lying trees. To me, it is like the Yosemite National Park of India. The weathered rocks are black and grey, standing out against the thick green foliage. Aeons of rain and storms have textured its landscape into what it is today.

Like most forests in India, this jungle is ravaged by a plethora of invasive plant species. Much of the forest is covered in Prosopis Juliflora, commonly known as mesquite. This plant can be easily identified from its flat top and leafy and thorny branches. Lantana occupies the spots that haven't been taken up by this wretched weed. This results in significantly less native vegetation, which could be one of the reasons why this forest is much less productive than some of its counterparts.

Rolling the glass down, my dad reclined his seat and, in no time, descended into a deep slumber. I, on the other hand, was in no mood for sleep. How could I when I was on the doorstep of a forest? I grabbed my camera from the backseat and began walking in the agricultural fields that surround the reserve.

Unlike the US and other countries, in India, you can't walk in any of the National parks or Tiger Reserves. This is done to prevent poaching and respect the wildlife's privacy.

But walking is the best way to experience the wilderness. It provides a proximity that cannot be achieved from a safari vehicle. Instead of zooming through the forest, you must go through it at your own pace, forcing you to observe everything from the wildlife to the flora.

So, whenever I can, I skirt along the edges of these protected areas, seeing what wildlife I can come across on foot.

Almost at once, I spotted a bunch of peahens about 200 meters away. There were 7 of them, walking amongst the parthenium bushes, yet another invasive plant. They spotted me, and so they stopped whatever they were doing to watch my movements. I stayed still, hoping they would return to their business, but no such luck. They continue to stare at me. It's almost as if they want me to leave. Heeding their wishes, I take a different turn.

I walked into a villager who was standing by his truck. He was curious and asked me what I was doing in his field with a large camera in my hand. In my rudimentary Tamil, I tried to explain that I was merely looking for wildlife and meant no harm. Luckily, he seemed to understand. He pointed up to the nearest hill and said something I did not understand. Nevertheless, I followed his gaze and tried to spot what he had seen.

At first, I saw nothing. But slowly, I noticed several black shapes ascending the hill. A herd of gaur was grazing along the hillside facing the fields! They were so far away that they appeared like large, black boulders. I had completely missed them during my survey of the hill.

It showed me how tuned the eyes of local people are compared to city dwellers such as myself.

At home and among my friends, I am the person who finds wildlife. But compared to these people, I was a mere novice. He asked me to take a photograph, but I humbly replied that the gaurs were too far. My camera, which had a 70-200 lens strapped on, simply didn't have the zoom capability to capture the shot. They would just appear like black blobs in the frame.

After that polite yet surprising encounter, I made another turn to a thicket that seemed promising. Wildlife often congregates in such tree oases in areas where vegetation is scarce. The ground was littered with feathers, and the area smelled foul, indicating that birds like parakeets regularly perched there. At the time, however, there weren't any in sight.

I paused for a bit, just soaking in the rural atmosphere. There is a calmness about rural spaces that is all but absent in urban areas. In cities, our ears are constantly hammered by the sounds of car horns and vehicles. But in the countryside, the silence is almost deafening.

To my right, I saw a tree hole. Sometimes you can find animals holed up in its depths. Peering over, I was astonished to find a pair of eyes staring back at me. Sitting in its darkness was a rodent of some sort. It was too stout to be a squirrel, but its snout did not appear like a shrew. So this was a creature that was altogether new to me. I stared at it for a long time, but it seemed unfettered by my presence. Either that, or it was too scared to move. Whatever the case, it stayed put.

This was an exciting situation to be in. If I could photograph him, I would make an image that could grace any nature magazine cover. That's how unique the scene was. The problem lay in getting the rodent in the shot. Since the hollow was so dark, the animal appeared black through my camera. No matter how much I tweaked the camera settings, I couldn't get it clear in the shot. After a couple of minutes, I gave up and resigned myself to merely observing the animal.

After a short while, I hear someone. "Ishan!" my father called me. He woke up from his nap, calling for my return. I bid my new friend farewell and headed back to the car.

This Week’s Links

Earthrise: What It's Like to Escape Our Planet | Op-Docs: This was such a powerful short documentary. It is just as the title says. If you have a few mins to spare, I really think this will be worth your while.

Postcard

This is an old sketch I came across.

When I’m bored during college lectures, I sketch. This is an attempt at drawing anime in a lose, gestural style, because I feel it fits my personality better. I made this late last month.

If any of you watch the anime Attack on Titan, then you might recognise this character. She is one of my favourite characters of the show. Comment your guess below!

(Side note: if you don’t watch Attack on Titan, you are missing out! This is one of the best written pieces of fiction I’ve come across. Each character has several layers of writing that make them both unique and surprisingly human. The story and the production are very good for its time. I highly recommend you check it out!

Maybe I’ll write on issue about Attack on Titan sometime…)

Favourite Quote

You are special because you are born into this world - Hajime Isayama (Author of Attack on Titan )

(Paraphrased)

Have a creative, energetic and inspiring week!

If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.

Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.

I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)