Greater Rann of Kutch & Mandvi

The Greater Rann of Kutch shares its unique geology & vast, barren landscape with the Lesser Rann of Kutch. The scrub, seasonal salt-marsh & grasslands at Greater Rann of Kutch (GRK) are home to a variety of mammals, birds & migrants. The almost-monochromatic visual is punctuated by blobs of colour - cheery Maldharis & Rabaris walking with a natural swagger, herding their livestock. 

Montagu's Harrier, Banni grasslands

The nocturnal Syke's Night-jar, Banni grasslands

Ship-building, Mandvi

While at GRK, I also had an opportunity to visit the coastal town of Mandvi. As we drove to Mandvi from the Rann, the desert slowly made way for swaying coconut trees. We saw signs of what makes Mandvi an important port renowned for its ship-building industry; massive ships being built by hand, even today, greeted us as we entered the town.  We drove on till these behemoths were replaced by smaller fishing boats, idyllically moored to a very smelly beach.

Dried fish

Lured by the same smelly, dried fish that kept us away, noisy gulls displayed acrobatics while in flight, trying to swoop down on a piece of fish. After photographing the gulls for a while, we walked along the coast until the air smelt fresh once more. An afternoon spent at a desolate stretch of beach here allowed us to watch water birds: stone plovers, curlews and the Pacific reef Egret, to name a few. As evening sneaked up on us, we set our cameras aside to enjoy the setting sun, walking back, barefoot on the cool sand. 

Pallas's Gull, Mandvi

Pacific Reef Egret aka Eastern Reef Heron, with its catch, at Mandvi

This is the third in a three-part blog about my Gujarat trip. Read part one, about the Velavadar grasslands, here. Read part two, about the Little Rann of Kutch, here.

The last in my stories from Gujarat, straight from the horses’ mouths.

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Camouflaged Owl

I’d settled down under the tall bush, seeking some shade. I was tired after my all-night hunt. Luckily, the hunt had been fruitful & I’d devoured all the three rodents I’d caught. With my stomach still bulging from the feast, this bush seemed ideal to snooze under. I’d been sleeping for a couple of hours now when I heard one of those jeeps stop nearby. Drat! Had somebody seen me? I’m rather proud of my camouflage skills & I’d been very careful to choose a tree that matched. To be doubly sure, I’d also perched myself in the dark, shaded area, behind clumps of grass. 

I open one eye to investigate. There are hushed whispers & much pointing. The group is busy admiring me & taking photographs. Should I fly away & reclaim my peace? What if they try to capture me? Worried, I open the other eye too. They slowly move back & forth, trying to take my photos from an angle where the bush doesn’t hide my face. Well, I decide; if they move closer or annoy me for much longer, I’m going to take off. I don’t care if the bush is blocking their view & they don’t get a good picture. Luckily, they make no such attempts. They contort themselves in all possible ways within the jeep to try & get as good a view as possible. Then, they drive away. I exhale & resume my nap. By the way, the guy who spotted me; he must have the eyes of a hawk!

Great Horned Owl, Banni grasslands

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Four of us are walking through the grasslands. We’re highly endangered & that worries not only us, but also a few humans. Yet, they fail to realise that the primary reason there are so few of us is because of them; first they hunted us & when they had the sense to stop, we’ve started losing our habitat. The other 246 of us (yes, we’re about 250 left in the world) are spread out over Gujarat, Karnataka & Maharashtra. Anyways, to come back to this cold December morning, four of us are walking through the Naliya grasslands. The grass is so tall that we’re barely visible. That’s saying quite a bit, for, we are very large birds; over 3-4 feet tall.

The endangered Great Indian Bustard, Naliya grasslands

As we go looking for food, we’re spotted by a group which is driving down the road. They seem to know our significance, for they get off the jeep quietly, form a single file & begin tiptoeing through the grass towards us. We’re very shy & not particularly fond of crowds, but, we’re quite far from them & aren’t worried. The group is whispering about how lucky they are to spot four of us together. They click photographs through the grass. We continue looking for a place to feed, but, this part of the grassland doesn’t seem to be any good. If not insects, we can look for some crops nearby, maybe? My friend seems to think so too for he suddenly takes off, to go elsewhere. The three of us wonder what to do & decide to follow him. We take off too. As I circle above, I peer down. The group is still looking at us, agape. I think we’ve made their day.

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It is evening & rapidly darkening. A hundred Common Cranes take off into the sky & vanish behind the hill. I’m tired from the day’s hunt and want to laze. A cloud of dust at the horizon signals the arrival of a jeep. They suddenly realise that the ground here is very wet & the jeep could sink. They stop & continue on foot. Well, I’ll people-watch this evening. I snuggle into the bush. I watch in amusement as the group stealthily makes their way through the tall grass. I crane my neck to see the object of their collective affection: a Greater spotted-eagle perched on some scrub. The bird flies away after some time & the group busies themselves photographing some Drongos who are glinting in the setting sun.

The Greater Spotted-Eagle, Banni grasslands

Golden Jackal

They’re about to leave in the jeep, when I’m spotted. They now train their guns on me. At first, I ignore them. Then, I shut my eyes & pretend to be asleep.  I can hear the group discuss how I am different from a wolf or a fox. Really? To compare me with those two! Do I look as tiny as the fox? Or am I as bony & bad-looking as the wolf? Can’t they see that I’m much larger than the fox & definitely more beautiful than that wolf? How my lovely coat shines; the wolf has barely any coat to speak of and always looks mangy. Sniff; I’m hurt. I walk away.

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Common Cranes at Banni grasslands

I travelled to Gujarat:

With naturalists & wildlife photographers Harsha J & Dilan Mandanna

For information & tips about GRK, read this:

http://nomadandabag-guides.blogspot.com/2013/01/gujarat-information-tips.html

Indian Grey Mongoose

Little Rann of Kutch

The Lesser  & Greater Rann of Kutch, with their unique geology & vast, barren landscape make for a very different ‘forest’; how do you see an animal or a bird without disturbing it if you have neither trees for cover nor rocks to hide behind? The Little Rann is a seasonal salt-marsh & the dried-up deposits lend a white coating to parts of the desert. LRK, as it is popularly known, is the last remaining home of the Asiatic wild ass, Khur. 

This is the second in a three-part blog about my Gujarat trip. Read part one, about the Velavadar grasslands, here. Read part three, about the Greater Rann of Kutch, here.

Once again, I bring you stories straight from the horses’ mouths.

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Ha! There’s my morning dose of laughter. I always enjoy people-watching; oh, the eccentricities I see! Two morons are walking towards me at a slow pace, almost bent-over double. Do they really think that walking like this is going to make them un-noticeable to me? I don’t move; not because I can’t see them approaching me but because their ‘tactic’ is too hilarious to miss. In the Rann, with not even a twig for cover, they could try all they liked to be ‘invisible’; we’re always going to see them. I’m surprised that the hilarity of the situation is lost on them.

When my friend rolls in the mud to cleanse & groom himself, the humans are amused. “Crazy-ass”, they say. Little do they know how amusing they look when they pour water & rub a strange stone over themselves each morning, by the water-pump. The humans, hitherto standing, suddenly plop down prostrate. Even ‘Crazy-ass’ pauses for a dekko.

Crawling on their bellies, they come a little closer & stop. They watch us & shoot photos: ‘crazy-ass’, the mother & fawn and my friend who’s mounted a lovely lass. A few of us huddle, discussing if we should move ahead.

In the evening, they come looking for us once more. We’ve been walking & playfully trotting in the distance. These humans love it when we run; once again, they lie down on the ground and go ga-ga over us. Their excitement also has something to do with the setting sun, the big orange orb that is slowly dropping towards the ground. I pause to look at these poor people; it must be so sad to never be able to enjoy the sun set, while in their own cities. Only when they travel do they have the time to appreciate sunsets. I feel so bad for them that I decide to spread some cheer. As the sun drops low, I gallop. The humans click away. I can feel their happiness. There; my good deed for the day is done.

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Like every year, I’ve arrived this year too, with the rest of my flock. I like it here; there’s enough water & food for us. But, of late, I’ve been losing a few of my friends during the journey. Bare electric wires above the ground are our nemeses.  We can’t see them at night & some of us have unfortunately died, flying into them. I wonder if I’ll be able to leave from here unharmed. Even if I do, I wonder if I can return unharmed, next year. All these thoughts have been stressing me out this morning; I decide to focus on the food & dip my beak into the shallow water.

We do make for a beautiful sight & we choose our backdrop well; an in-born sense of aesthetics, you know. Our pink bodies, against the blue water & blue skies; how’s that for contrast? Little wonder that we attract so much attention. This morning, a group has arrived. We retract back into the waters, unsure if they’ve come to catch us. They approach the shore & lie down at a distance. We realise it’s the photographers. We eat away, unworried. My leg aches from standing since morning. I take a break from eating & lift one leg up to give it some rest.  The photographers love it and click some more photos. A few Black-winged Stilts walk past, some ducks float by; I enjoy having these little ones for company. And, you should watch the Stilts do their acrobatics on one leg; they’re comical.

I’ve eaten to my heart’s content now. I think I’ll fly off; maybe join the group that’s flying overhead. I take my head out of the water to see that the photographers are still lying motionless on the shore. Gosh, it’s been more than an hour! Are they asleep? The sand is so comfortable to lie on; it does that to you, sometimes. Well, good night to you humans…here I go!

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I run as fast as I can. I’d been standing in the open & looking at their jeep. I thought I was safe as I hadn’t been spotted; they were busy admiring the McQueen’s Bustard, who was at a distance. As the group admired the Bustard, the jeep driver looked around, bored. Our eyes met. He said something rapidly & urgently to the others. All four heads turned in my direction. Their faces lit up. That’s when I knew I had to run.

So coming back to where I started off, I run as fast as I can. The jeep is right behind me. It’s unfortunate that the rann’s landscape is such that I have no cover. I see some scrub in the distance & dash for it. Once safely inside, I stand to watch. The jeep is on the other side of the scrub. They furiously click my photographs. I hide behind a bush. When I peer out a few minutes later, they’ve left.  

I needn’t have run; it’s just my instinct, though. I don’t blame them for wanting to see me. I’m quite cute and can only be found in dry, desert regions, quite unlike where they come from. When I was a baby, I was even cuter & you should’ve seen even the most hardened humans melt, looking at me. When I do have my own cubs, I’ll have to ensure that my den is secluded & secure. Earlier, I just had to worry about other predators turning up at my den for my cubs; now I have to worry about the barrage of photographers too.

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I travelled to Gujarat:

With naturalists & wildlife photographers Harsha J & Dilan Mandanna

For information & tips about LRK, read this:

http://nomadandabag-guides.blogspot.in/2013/01/gujarat-information-tips.html