The coolest thing about walking through Periyar is that, as you're walking, you're imagining what you would do when a tiger jumped out of the brush and attacked you.
My scenario, which I shared at dinner that evening after the park visit, was something like, "I'd jam my arm into the tiger's mouth, thus sacrificing my arm, but saving my neck, which I'm sure would lead to ultimate death. Then I would expect John to pounce on the tiger thus detaining him from killing me long enough for the guide to shoot the tiger dead." But Jake quickly reminded me that the tiger also has two giant paws with razor sharp claws which would easily rip open my jugular vein.
Good-bye Maine woods...right.
So we started our day at Periyar at 8 AM. We elected the rafting adventure because we would likely have more opportunity to see wildlife since the raft is quieter. I had read several guidebooks and websites about Periyar (as well as conversations with a lovely New Zealand family) that warned that folks rarely see wildlife on the wildlife viewing excursions offered by the reserve. So I tempered my enthusiasm with good common sense. After all, it was a lovely day and we were paddling on a peaceful lake in the western mountains of southern India...what's not to like.
But I secretly wished for more. You see, it was my birthday that day, and you always get one wish on your birthday, right?
So when Jake asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted to see an elephant. I figured that an elephant would not be as scary as a tiger, and I actually love elephants more than tigers. So I wished for an elephant.
I imagined that seeing an elephant in the wild would be something like most elephants I have seen. They are kind, smiling eyed, docile creatures. Sometimes you can feed them bananas out of your hand and pat them on their big floppy ears. They stand still for you and the caretaker can make them do tricks.
So as we slowly paddled about on Lake Periyar, I imagined elephants coming down to the shore to have a drink of cool water. I kept a close watch on the shore, but the most we saw were some black wild boars scurrying about and very far away. In fact, we could hardly recognize them. The day grew longer and hotter and the trip was from 8-5. The likelihood of seeing animals was growing dimmer by the hour.
We had to trek through the jungle for a good chunk of the time. The guides were very helpful and pointed out all sorts of unique plants and interestingly shaped trees. I had read that the guides in Periyar were reformed poachers who knew all about the jungle and the behaviors of wild animals. I wished I had had the ability to chat in greater depth with one of them, but even the few things he did share indicated that he knew his stuff. This one guy looked like he had spent the bulk of his adult life in the jungle. He had super dark skin and sharp eyes. He was spry and strong even though he looked very old. He could easily identify footprints and droppings and tell me how long they had been there. He knew all the different plants and how they were useful. I wondered if he enjoyed his new career as a guide and if it lacked the excitement that poaching presented.
It was getting hot and frankly, boring. Everyone in our group was polite and not very talkative.
Then we heard it. This awesome sound. So amazingly loud that it startled me. I had previously mistaken sounds I'd heard. I thought a woodpecker was a tiger purring. I thought a monkey was a tiger's roar. But this sound was definitely something big and powerful. Jake aptly described it as Satan's trombone.
The guides immediately flew into action. Very quickly I learned that it was an elephant. Then we heard another similar sound. There were two elephants. Of course we all started to run toward the sound. But the guides came running back toward us. You could see the authentic fear in their eyes. Their eyes were huge as rupees. They weren't trying to help us see the elephant, they were trying to protect us from the elephant. One of the guides kept saying "dangerous, very dangerous" and his eyes confirmed that sentiment.
So we were all huddled together like hostages in a little clearing. The elephant could charge and crush us. I quickly remembered John telling me that there were 400 deaths by elephants in India every year. This made me want to run very far and very fast. But seeing wild animals is what we were there for. We wanted to see this creature we were being told to run away from. Each time the guide with the gun waved his arms to send us back, there was some hesitation. This only made the guide show even greater alarm as he kept swinging his arms to send us further away.
So many possible scenarios went through my mind. At one point I asked one of the guides if it would be good to hide behind a tree. He laughed at me. Hmph.
The other two guides were ever so cautiously attempting to investigate the situation. There was a lot of talk that I couldn't understand, but I could tell from the tone of their voices that they were not all in agreement about how to handle the situation. The one with the gun was insisting that we get further and further away. The other guy was more willing to risk...which I liked...cause I wanted to see the elephant.
Finally the little guy won over the guy with the gun and we were allowed to creep up slowly to peek at the BULL ELEPHANT about 50 yards away from us. He was munching on a tree. Every once in a while he would start to move and the guy with the gun would start waving for us to get back.
"Go away, go away" he would shout and wave his hands at us. Then we would creep back up and watch a little longer.
But there was also the danger of the MOTHER AND HER BABY on the other side of the path catching wind of us and charging from there. The guide later explained that it was a particularly dangerous situation because we were in the woods and the elephants can't really perceive what's happening and they're more likely to be aggressive.
We all loomed in the glow of elephant energy for a good twenty minutes and then started to head back to the raft.
As we were returning, half of our group was missing. One of the women noticed this and we all ran back to see the second sighting of the elephant. This time we got to see her whole body and we were about 75 yards away. She looked so important and strong. There was something noble about her on her turf and on her terms. Very humbling.
We lingered a little longer then started back to the raft and then the hike back to the gates. All the way back I was keenly focused on the possibility of another sighting. It was an awesome experience that I'm amazed to have had. Happy birthday to me!
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