Kaziranga National Park,Part II

Finally we are here to complete Kaziranga National Park, Part II...have been very lazy indeed. This is going to be a long post as we would like to cover all that we saw...
As we drive to Kaziranga we are greeted with a view of lush green tea gardens, indeed a feast for the eyes !!!

Raw material for my cup of tea...

As we reached the guest house we just had enough time to grab a bite and pack some snacks for the kids before we left for the Jeep Safari with our guide at 2p.m
As we entered the park we saw some wild elephants and Rhinos at a distance... this is also the flood plains of the Brahmaputra (river), during the monsoon season the river floods most of the forest area. Animals are forced to move uphill.

Male elephants do not stay in a herd, one decides to peep from the tall elephant grass (these grasses grow as tall as the elephants, hence their name)

A herd of elephants feeding on fresh water hyacinth

Elephant Apple fruit (Dillenia indica ) or "Ouu tenga" as we call it in Assamese(pronounced O,Tenga,tenga means sour). The fruit pulp is used in Indian Cuisine in curries, jam, and jellies...
You must be wondering why am I mentioning about this fruit...it is because this is a favourite among the elephants...lol

Wild buffalo relaxing at dusk...

Kaziranga is home to the Indian one-horned rhino and we spotted a few...


This one sniffs the air for any dangers...

One in the bushes...

One close enough for a shot...

Kaziranga is also a bird-watcher's paradise...

The Ruddy Shelducks

The Indian Roller

Ring nosed Parakeet.

Bar headed geese (these are migratory birds)

Yellow footed green pigeon.

Bulbul.

Am not too sure about these ones...are they kites or eagles? Help with ID's please

Black necked stork.

Wooly necked stork.

Asian Barred Owlet.

Spot billed pelican.

The scarlet minivet(male)

The scarlet minivet (female)

















We think this is the black Drongo...missed the fork tail as this one suddenly popped up from nowhere and disappeared before we got another shot!!!

















Assam Macaque.

















The turtles basking in the sun:)

This one swims around..

As Arun goes around click...click..click..we pose for him:) atop a watch tower at the edge of the forest.

And as the sun sets we head back to our guest house!

Wild Elephants at Kaziranga National Park,Assam.

It was our privilege to be one with nature in this vast paradise of wilderness, popularly known as the Kaziranga National Park, a UN world heritage site. It is located in the North-eastern state of Assam, India. To name a few animals which calls this home - One-horned Rhinos, Wild Buffalos, Elephants, Royal Bengal Tiger, Swamp Deer, Barking deer, Leopard, Jackal, Turtle, Tortoise, the winged varieties are a bird watchers delight. This forest lies in the flood plains of the river Brahmaputra, in the monsoon season the river often overflows and floods the grasslands, when animals migrate to higher grounds. It has its usual share of human and wildlife conflicts with villages skirting the forest edge, Elephants often cross path with human habitat and create havoc. A national highway cuts through the forest disrupting movement of wildlife. Inspite of all odds, this forest thrives and is haven to wildlife and lifeline for people like us who detest the concrete jungles. Before we entered the forest gates I wished I could site wild elephants which have long eluded me. This post is dedicated to the pachyderms sited during our visit.
We had hired a jeep from the forest department to tour the forest. Our team constituted our lady guide (a wild life enthusiast), car driver and our family of four including our daughters aged 4 and one all of 9 months. Though we had sighted a large variety of animals that evening we were little low as we had not sighted the elephants and light was fast fading and we were on our way back. Just then we heard an elephant from very near. Our vehicle came to a halt but the noise of the engine had scared them away. Though we could hear them they were out of sight in the dense vegetation. Even after a wait of 15-20 minutes with engine switched off the elephants did not find it wise to break cover, we moved ahead and decided to wait again at a distance. Soon enough we saw the herd leader (matriarch) sniffing in the air to check for any danger, within the next few minutes a herd of elephants appeared and crossed the vehicle tracks with a baby elephant in tow, to our sheer delight. No so for our younger daughter though, who decided to scream, as the vehicle had stopped which did not seem interesting to her anymore. Some choco-corn flakes did the trick and was quiet again.

Next morning we sited these two male elephants taking stock of each other with some posturing.

Another herd decided to cross the tracks, the matriarch takes stock of danger, if any, before the herd crosses.

See my teeth! Can your tooth paste produce so much of shine:)

You better be scared!!

Another elephant just appears.And poses for a pic.

This one appeared too close to us for comfort...

Would be back soon with few other posts from our visit.