Fire & Water

Summer is here and I've just been woken up from hibernating. Not too much woodcrawling except a small trip to Bandipur (more about that later).

The dry cold winds sucked the moisture from everything, living or dead. The reservoir, where only a couple of months ago, I had test driven a new car to see its off roading capability, was already dried up significantly.

News of wild fires were trickling in from everywhere and that is worrying to everyone. The forest department is worried about the devastation and effect on wildlife, conservationist worry about everything and owners of farms and estates (encroached or legitimate holdings) on the fringes are worried about the monetary loss.

It was a very different Malampuzha. The water levels had receded so much that we had to drive out to a considerable distance to reach the edges of the remaining water. Even there it was shallow enough to wade through. The shoes kept sinking into the mud so we didn't fancy testing the capability of the car, especially with no other human being in sight. It would be a long walk if I had to get a tow truck to dig us out of trouble!




There was still a tinge of green along the water's edge, the result of a minor thunderstorm that lashed Palakkad a week before, but there were also places which looked like it was part of some desert.

The little water that was still remaining meant that fish would be surfacing for air regularly. There weren't many birds around but the ones that were there were having a field day.





The Northern Pintail ducks were too busy exploring underwater to take notice of me. Most of the time I was around they were with their head underwater!

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER

The few waders present were not in groups. I spied individuals of  a few of species. 

SANDPIPER

GREAT EGRET

GREY HERON

There were also a small group of black headed ibises and Asian openbills

BLACK HEADED IBIS

ASIAN OPENBILL STORKS

Cormorants were the only birds on large numbers and they were dive bombing in the shallows and finding great success.

LITTLE CORMORANTS

Other than the kites gliding overhead the only other birds were a lone wagtail and many pipits.

WHITE BROWED WAGTAIL

PADDY FIELD PIPIT 

It seemed that the birds were having a good time as the water disappeared. The unfortunate part was that the forest on the edges of the reservoir were passing through their worst crisis. The leaves that had been shed during the winter months with the dried grass form a deadly combination. A carelessly thrown cigarette or even a spark from a fire lit to clear the under bush can lead to disaster. 

It almost happened on the other shore a few weeks previously. The farm owner was allegedly clearing his property but things quickly went out of control.

It took a mere half  hour for the fire to spread but mercifully it died out before doing too much damage. The forest official whom we ran to inform could only watch helplessly. The nearest fire station was in Kanjikode, at least 10 kilometers from the scene of fire. The water in the reservoir was only about 100 meters away but there was no way to bring it to the fire. Perhaps God intervened!

Our Bandipur trip in late January too was spoilt by fire, but of a different sort. Watch this space for that story.

Nature heals: Bandipur Burns - Final Chapter

It's time for us to circumspect. If nature can heal itself why can't we cure ourselves of our illnesses. No. I don't mean our physical  maladies but the mental ones. Perhaps only nature can be so forgiving despite the incorgible nature of man. How else can you explain the change from a scortched landscape to a beautiful green meadow being littered with our wastes?

I'm talking of Gopalaswamy Betta. Late last February, even before summer peaked the scene was desolate. Burnt hillsides as far as eye could see, billowing plumes of smoke in the horizon as forests burnt uncontrollably. Bandipur had been reduced to ashes.   

Two months later, 18th April 2009, I was climbing uphill with apprehension. I was not sure what sights would greet my eyes. As the jeep rolled upward we could see the water sources were still dry. The customary elephant herds were missing on the slopes. Then, as we crested the first hill my breath escaped in relief. The colour today was predominantly green!

The earth was putting on a resolute show for man. Little flowers and wild ginger sprouts intermingled with the green to remind us that no matter what, nature will forgive and make up.

Of course the scars still showed in some parts. The dark shades of charred earth and the brown of dead timber were visible in the midst of the newly sprouting green.


"Physician, heal thyself" Luke 4:23 from the Bible is applicable to my fellow professionals. Nature heals herself, but unfortunately her goodness is lost on us. We continue to abuse her by throwing garbage on her, tearing her apart for myopic business interests and burning her up. 

Time has come for mankind to realize that patience to has a limit. Nature is turning on us gently, to remind us that she has tolerated this abuse for long. She throws signs in the form of natural calamities that have been increasing in frequency. 

It's upto us now to correct our faults, before this Yuga reaches another Apocalyptic end.

"Krishaa nee begane baaro!"

Bandipur burns - Part 3 : The Human Hand

Nature knows when things go of hand. It might just instinctively react to a situation and forest fires could be nature's way of regaining control. Perhaps, an attempt to preserve precious resources and to make way for a new generation to grow unhindered. The wild growth of lantana in our jungles are a nuisance to both the wildlife and small plants and saplings trying to push it's way towards the nourishing sun.

Maybe fires have a role in the cycle of life, but what if the fires are man made? It goes out of control destroys every bit of life in its path.

There is enough evidence to show that all fires in the Bandipur National Park and contiguous areas are not due to global warming as everyone is fond of saying.

As our team from KANS surveyed the destruction before us we saw a group of six individuals moving out of the forest along the exposed track. Three of them were smoking!!


Further evidence of revelry was seen in the burnt grass. Beer bottles and empty cigarette cartons thrown by callous tourists. Even a condom was present among all that ash!!



A carelessly thrown match or cigarette could be the cause of the fire.

Unless some sort of control in imposed on movement of humans, especially senseless tourists this sort of "accidents" are always a frequent possibility. As a matter of fact , the possibility of such fires becoming more frequent is a reality due to unrestricted promotion of tourism.

Bandipur burns - Part 1

This trip to Bandipur was meant to create awareness among our wild drivers about how we need to make room for the other creatures that share the world with us but are forced to live in an increasingly shrinking 'home'. The 5th Road Kill Awareness Campaign at Bandipur organized by the Kenneth Anderson Nature Society was my reason for driving down. I returned shaken.
The drive across the border gave me an inkling of what was in store but the "Live Action" left me shell shocked; and I'm still recovering.




The evening safari into Bandipur drew unprecedented reactions. I for one was not interested in my usual wildlife pictures (in any case my E3 was on a sabbatical). Through the smoke and haze I was witness to leaping flames consume the vegetation.


The flames were literally leaping up and consuming everything it could reach. So much so, that it did not spare even an isolated branch 20 feet off the ground.


























As the jeep made the painful journey the entire forest suddenly took a strange tint. The sun was obscured by the smoke and the road, vegetation and the sky took on a brownish orange colour. My fellow traveller, an old lady, dropped her mask. "Is it safe to go any further", she enquired. "Anyway, we won't see much of wildlife with all this fire around".

I wanted to tell her that the wildlife & vegetation were more precious than her EOS MkII and 300mm lens but I just restrained myself.

Burning Forests & Charred slopes

I have seen forest fires before but this left me shaken. Perhaps, because I was in the midst of the flames and acrid smoke this time.

My favourite patch of real estate was a mass of charred vegetation. I was already primed for evidence of destruction by the newspaper reports that I had been seeing in the past week.



When I drove through Mudumalai I could see the ferocity of the fire on either side of the road and on the southern side of the Moyar the forests were still burning. The heat was singularly oppressive and it seemed magnified by the lack of green that characterizes a teeming jungle.


As I drove past the Kekkanhalla checkpost into Bandipur my heart sank at the sights on either sides of the road. Hillocks with all the vegetation wiped out greeted me. The floor of the forest was covered in a macabre shade of black and grey, with small patches still smoking from the embers beneath.

Bandipur was burning, and I was there. Seeing the mayhem first hand and only able to watch helplessly.


We blame global warming but evidence points to the hand of homo sapiens. Read on ..........