Tracking endangered species in Kerala

NatureBest time to visit AprilMid JuneYou need 3 daysWhen in Kerala some might flock to Thattekad Bird Sanctuary and Eravikulam National Park for the birdsongs or for the joy only weighty binoculars glued to the eyes can bring I however am here on a quest to find beings rare strange and endangered Amid this leafy paradise I seek a strangelooking bird called Ceylon Frogmouth and a mountain goat called Nilgiri Tahr Itrsquos a travesty of justice that the father of birdwatching in India Dr Salim Ali has only two of the smallest bird sanctuaries in India named after him One measuring just 25 sq km in Kerala at Thattekkad and another one which is a mere two sq kms at Chorao in GoaThe rare elusive Ceylon Frogmouths lie perfectly camouflaged in the trees at Thattekadrsquos sanctuaryThattekkad Bird SanctuaryDonrsquot let Thattekadrsquos size fool you mdash Dr Salim Ali himself rated this 25sqkm bird sanctuary as the richest in peninsular India teeming with land and water birds And it is here that one of Alirsquos disciples rediscovered the elusive Ceylon Frogmouth In what is a laudable conservation effort the forest department closes this park for visitors every few months to minimise disturbance to these shy and rare birds It has worked mdash I learn that their numbers have greatly increased over the past decade As my car approaches the sanctuary I find myself reminiscing about my first trip to Thattekkad in 1992 Any minute now I tell myself this road from Cochin will come to a screeching halt at the Periyar River Just like old times I think of the boatman who rowed us across in a canoe which looked rather hastily built But my car does not halt at the river it doesnrsquot need to Instead it sails over a bridge It is easier of course but the mysticism of being rowed across to my destination I realise is gone foreverA Nilgiri Tahr at Eravikulam National ParkInside ThattekadWelcomed by a repertoire of birdsongs I walk into the forest office nestled in the middle of the dense forest which in turn lies between two tributaries of the Periyar River My home for two days in the forest is a treetop house One glance outside the window and I spot a perfectly camouflaged flying lizard on a tree It is the perfect welcome mdash and it almost seems orchestrated when it flies across and perches on the tree right next to my treehouse for the perfect photoopThe lovely Periyar River at the edge of Thattekad PICSC Gangadharan MenonLate in the afternoon my guide Maani and I set out birdwatching There are 270 birds to spot in this birding paradise and we manage to spot around 75 in first three hours alone We see some but only hear the others Thatrsquos when I remember Dr Salim Alirsquos dictum lsquoLearn to identify a bird by its call Because first you hear it and then you see it And many a time you donrsquot even see itrsquoThe Forest Calotes is endemic to the Western GhatsNo guide ever guarantees any sighting ever But Maani is different On our second day in the forest he proclaims that we will spot not just one but three Ceylon Frogmouths These birds are endemic to the Western Ghats and very rare Maani takes me to a patch in the forest where quite surprisingly all the plants have dried up But it is here amid this aridity I see three Ceylon Frogmouths so perfectly camouflaged that only Maanirsquos eagle eye could have spotted them Being nocturnal they cannot see in broad daylight and it feels like they are staring at us without really seeing us I click away wildly trying to take the best possible shots of the father mother and the chick A sighting of the Ceylon Frogmouths stays with you long after The next morning I leave Thattekad before sunrise but the unseeing eyes of the birds stay with me all along my journey to MunnarA Liontailed macaque is now endangeredEravikulam National ParkThe way to Munnar it turns out is gorgeous I see two magnificent waterfalls mdash the threetiered Cheeyappara and the twotiered Vaalara mdash cascading down the slopes This lifegiving water that flows down from the Western Ghats has a very short lifespan in Kerala In just 12 hours it flows through the breadth of this small state and reaches its watery grave in the Arabian Sea So therersquos a dire need for creating small check dams to slow it down all along its path and use the water betterI drive ahead irked by the political banners strung across centuryold treesA pair of Lantern Fly But just as I begin to mutter about how unsightly and unfair it is I see an object glistening on the road and I brake reflexively I get down to take a closer look and realise that it is a spectacled cobra slithering across into the bushes Fortunately I was driving at 40 km per hour and avoided a roadkill which accounts for more deaths in the forests than poaching itself In the foothills of Munnar at Adimali I see another endangered species the liontailed macaque endemic to Western Ghats And as we start climbing the ghats the wellknown plantations began to appear on either side Fortunately the dreaded weed called plantation beans locally known as Thottappayar is nowhere to be seen Specially imported and grown by plantation owners to keep the soil cool this weed is responsible for the green cancer that has destroyed many an evergreen forest in the Malabar region of North KeralaBut the other sideeffect of cultivation is slowly rearing its ominous head Slowly as we near Munnar the forests become highly fragmented almost becoming small floating evergreen islands in a sea of plantation cultivation sadly cut off from each otherAnd the beautiful Kerala houses too are beginning to lose their colour and harmony and seem strangely gauche Some time ago the houses in Kerala prided themselves in blending with nature and making themselves invisible Now they seem to scream and say lsquoLook here I am whether you like it or notrsquoWhen I reach the magnificent Munnar mystically rising from the clouds I realise I have another 15 miles to go before I sleep and quickly proceed to Eravikulam There I wait for my turn in the mini bus to take me deep inside the shola forests for my tryst with the shy and elusive Nilgiri Tahr the mountain goat of the Western GhatsBy the window of the bus I gaze at the magnificence of this unique landscape the shola forests These rolling grasslands alternate with stunted montane forests and create a green mosaic thatrsquos found here and here alone As if to complete this dreaminess far in the distance among prehistoric rocks glistening in the setting sun is a lone Nilgiri Tahr Spotting one is much like spotting your first tiger Therersquos no way yoursquod ever forget