Samudra Gupta Kashyap
Tags : Tigers in Kaziranga, Kaziranga National Park, save tiger
It’s not just rhino land. Kaziranga National Park has the highest density of tigers in India. How the big cats found a haven in the park’s incredible profusion of life.
Hush. there. behind the bush,” says range officer Deben Kalita, his voice a low whisper. Around us are miles and miles of grassland, dappled green-gold in the afternoon light. Still, except for a breath of gentle breeze. Not a bird chirps. Not a twig cracks. Nothing but the strong animal scent in the air and the nervous energy of the old hands accompanying me tell me that I am this close to one of Kaziranga National Park’s elusive Royal Bengal Tigers.
We are near the Goroimari anti-poaching camp, in the heart of Kaziranga’s vast expanse, and in the bush, 50 feet away, lurks the majestic beast. Only an hour ago, guides Mohan Bora and Dulal Tanti had led us on a drive through thorny bushes and fields of mimosa and cane grass, high enough to hide well-built men. They are both armed with .135 rifles. This is no walk in the park; armed guards accompany all visitors, and our instructions were clear too: stay close to the foresters.
Kaziranga National Park is where the wild things are — 2,000 one-horned rhinoceros, over 1,000 wild buffalos, 33 species of mammals, 479 species of birds and 42 species of fish, across 859 sq km of fertile grassland and forests, floodplain and rivers. It is the only Indian national park to shelter five big animals: rhino, elephant, tiger, buffalo and swamp deer (barasingha).
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