In the Jungle, the Mighty Jungle...

After our tour of Rajasthan, we traveled to the Corbett National Park. It is India's oldest national park, founded in 1936 by the legendary tiger hunter Jim Corbett. Tiger poaching is an enormous problem throughout India, and Corbett is the only park in India where the number of tigers has actually increased over the past 30 years. We were told that the tiger population throughout the country has decreased by as much as 70% over the past ten years.



While we were visiting Corbett, we stayed inside the park in a dormitory-style cabin. There were no restrooms in the cabin; instead, we had to walk outside to use toilets, sinks, and showers. One evening, right before sunset, Jessica was walking from the cabin toward the bathrooms. Indian restrooms are different from Western restrooms: most notably, the toilets are not raised but instead require you to squat, and Indians do not use toilet paper but rinse their bodies after using the restroom. So, many foreigners who are accustomed to using toilet paper often carry it with them while they travel. That night, Jessica walked to the bathroom carrying a roll of toilet paper in a cellophane bag. A large number of monkeys were also outside the cabin at that time, and apparently they were hungry. One of the largest monkeys walked in front of Jessica on the sidewalk, bared its teeth (showing its aggressiveness), and began hissing. It had spotted the toilet paper she was carrying and thought it was food, since many people feed the monkeys. She stopped, and the monkey began galloping towards her, hissing more loudly and biting. At this point, she wasn't really sure what to do, so she immediately turned around and started walking (very quickly) the other direction. You don't really want to get into a confrontation with monkeys, especially because they are so aggressive and also carry many diseases, including rabies. Luckily, Jessica hasn't started foaming at the mouth yet. We'll keep you posted.




A more tender side of the monkey. This is actually a langur (or black face) monkey, which are generally less aggressive.



People are actually not allowed to walk around the park, so you have to hire a car and driver to take you everywhere. Why can't you walk around the park? Because Tony the Tiger says, "They're grrrreat!"



What's that coming over the hill? Is it a boulder? Is it a bus? NO! It's an elephant!



Corbett is also a popular destination for birders, since there are over 300 different species in the park, including many migratory birds that stop by in February/March. This is one of them. Isn't it cute?



When in the park, people go out either in the early morning or in the late afternoon because these are the best times to spot a tiger. At those times, tigers and other animals travel through the forest to drink from the river. The mornings were particularly picturesque, with a mist rising off the river to cover the land, filtering the light of the rising sun.



This is a spotted deer. This begs the question, if we did not spot the spotted deer, would the deer still be spotted?



Never has a bark been so much worse then a bite, as the barking deer is both a skittish and solitary creature. Every time we heard the barking, we had to remind ourselves that there are no dogs in this park.

Elephants are the big herbivores in the park. Having no natural enemies as adults, they seemed to lumber around knowing there was little risk. Even in a battle between a charging elephant and a jeep, the jeep is quick to find an alternative route.

The sun setting over the peaceful park without the usual urban assault on the senses.

Our last morning in the park we traveled by elephant, whose padded feet make nearly no noise. The light passing through the trees reminded us that there is no more spiritual an experience then existing with nature.

This was the elephant whose broad back managed to carry 5 people through the morning jungle. Yet it seemed to matter little, as she would stop to rip down large branches to munch on. Watching her consume some much with so little effort, we were thankful this amazing animal is a herbivore.

While camped out in our jeep, waiting for a tiger to appear, we thought we might finally get lucky. These two deers jumped, as if startled by some large beast, but shortly after this picture was taken they settled down in the river.



This is a pretty bird. If you look closely, you'll see the tiger in the background.

Just kidding.



On our way out of the park, we saw these crocodiles bathing in the sun by the river.

Ultimately, we didn't see any tigers in the tiger reserve (as you can see, however, the other wildlife was amazing). Jessica thinks all the park rangers go out every morning and make paw prints in the road and pretend they are tiger tracks. She also thinks they hire actors as tourists to tell their stories of seeing tigers, including one group who (allegedly) saw a mother tiger with her three cubs. We may have to return for further investigation...