Action please

3 April 2010

We are on a small vacation at the ‘Sunparks’ near the North Sea and today we took a 4hour cruise to a small island to watch seals.

So it was a two hour long wait before we could see the seals. Midst cruel wind and a cold drizzle, we caught sight of these cute looking huggable creatures lazing on the rocks and diving into the sea. It is always such a delight to see animals in their natural habitat. No Zoo in the world can give you that excitement and pleasure. No animal in captivity can cause that excitement. Circuses, I don’t even want to mention for they’re cruel. I won’t even call them entertainment. Not for me. Atleast the human beings in them do the acrobatics out of choice and are fully aware of the possible consequences. But imagine a beautiful Parrot with wings to explore the skies, walking over thin string, a dressed up chimp with sad eyes driving a mo-bike, the majestic elephant playing with a ball, the king of the jungle reduced to a puppet and made to sit on a stool. And all this is an attempt to please the two-legged self-centred idiot. I have often noticed how unappreciative we are when the animals are just being themselves. I’ve seen people do monkey tricks in front of a caged monkey in a zoo to attract his attention, people whistling at drowsy leopards and tigers so that they see movement. People throwing things at bears and deers…… Action! We want action. The more the better! The Bruce Willis and Akshay Kumars and Shahrukh Khans fail to give us enough!!! “Jump lion, hop monkey, skip deer, dance all!!….sing me a RD Burman song if you can!”

Imagine what would happen if the animals took over. like they did in Orwells’ Animal Farm. Imagine, if you and me were made to jump from one tree to the other. Imagine made to sleep like bats. Imagine being force fed with grass or having to sit on a Hippo in a cold muddy pond. Animals should be where they belong. Their natural habitat is precious to them. It is to them what home is to you and me!

I remember several thrilling experiences I’ve had in different National parks. The Andhari Tiger reserve at Tadoba National Park, The jungle at Suryamal,Phansad, Nagzira,Jim Corbett…….. This one was in Tadoba where we had taken a group of 60 school children for a camp. A couple of colleagues and I ventured out into the forest with the innocent intention of a nice Nature-Walk besides the lovely lake! Here's what it was like.

The light begins to fade after five. The air becomes cooler. The silence is scary. We hear a several different sounds. Some come from the tree which I am standing beneath, some are in distance. Soon the stars appear and the moon coyly lights up the sky. A lone owl hoots. The crickets get noisy. The rustling of the leaves accompanies us wherever we go. The air smells of the wild.......both flora and fauna. Time spent in a forest is unique. All your senses are eager and active. The thrill is that of the proximity to the untamed and fear is that of the unknown......

The pond is not far away. I see in that direction. Many shiny things seem to be floating in the pond. No romantic thoughts here! They are the croc’s eyes. A few birds return to their nests and we realise it's time for us to return too. We head back to the camp site. Just then a scared stag runs past giving a danger call. We turn to look at each other. We know what that means. A predator is on the prowl.....and we certainly have no intention of being the prey. We walk faster. Soon we are very close to our camp site. And then... in the middle of the muddy road we notice fresh pug marks- that of a tigress with a slightly injured foot, who was spotted by the forest officials just two days ago. She limps a little as she walks which is evident from one of her pug marks. A chill runs down my spine!! We wonder if her Majesty is round the corner... Behind that thicket... curled under the bush...waiting to pounce.... I am reminded of all the fake encounters in Hindi movies when a Dharamendra or Amitabh takes on a tiger in the movies. However that fails to bring a smile on our now worried faces. We wonder if any of the children have decided to defy our instructions and have ventured out. That thought scares us the most. Our pace quickens… We don’t want to hear a roar. We dont want a rendezvous with this one. We reach the campsite and are relieved to find the children asleep. And then before we realise we are running towards our rooms.

What a close encounter that was.