A walk on the wild side

Mudumalai wildlife sanctuary stretches out from the plains at the foot of the Niligiris to the border zone between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. While the parkland hosts wildcats like tigers and cheetas, as well as elephants, bison and many more of those fascinating four-legged friends brought to us prime time courtesy of one Mssr Attenborough, it turns out that most of them, quite like ourselves, despise rain. And being that time of the year, they prefer to take cover in the bush. For those familiar with the works of the local bandit Veerappan and his merry entourage, it comes as no surprise that the local official have banned most tourist activity in the sanctuary and limited it to state run busrides along the main roads only. A visit to an urban European zoo to see fornicating ornangutangs proves more exciting. But there is, like elsewhere too, a way around government policies for nature reserves. A chat with a handful locals at the local "wine shop" (read: brandy den) in the afternoon soon lands an offer or two for a walk on the wild side in exchange for enough rupees to buy the whole rowdy bunch a ticket to oblivion. But while water buffalos, wild boar, deer and monkeys may be spotted in the wild, and approached with safety by foot, it turns out the locals have a fearful respect only of two animals: bears and elephants. The reason to why this golden rule for survival in the wild was annulled stood half-empty at the counter of the wine shop. Thus, at the sight of the first elephant in the bush, it was only the pussy tourist who wanted to approach the beast with caution. By the time we were being eyed for a charge, only those who had not started drinking in the morning wanted to join the Nordic Viking in climbing up a tree. Turns out there was no danger in the first place: a river too wide to cross separated us from the seemingly frustrated Dumbo. I got my snapshot and was happy to chase wild boar and water buffalos for the rest of the day. In the aftermath of this close encounter, I have decided to enjoy the wildlife back home in more detail whenever I get a chance – for the record, my first challenge is to ride a wild moose, perkele!