10th Mar/Sun: Corbett National Park 2
The morning begins with a safari at sunrise. In the jeeps it was cold in the morning but became warmer later. Corbett has aptly been described as the land of the roar, trumpet, and song. It represents a scene of remarkable beauty. Corbett had the proud distinction of being the chosen venue for the inauguration of Project Tiger in India. The rich biodiversity of the reserve is partly attributed to the variety of habitat found here. Due to the location of the reserve in the foothills of the central Himalayas, both Himalayan and peninsular flora and fauna are found in the reserve.
We, the guide, driver and myself had sightings of tigers on each of the half-day trips. Some were very close between the many jeeps, which the tiger just ignores, being the king of the jungle. The first was far away by a river even with a kill, but others were at a good distance. The usual prey are spotted deer or chital (Axis axis) and sambar deer. The main photography challenge is to get them in focus with the big lens, but l gradually became used to it.
Apart from the tigers we could see elephants by the river, where there were also gavial, a type of crocodile. Crested serpent eagles could be quite frequently seen and some water birds such as cormorants, red-wattled lapwing, shrike and black storks.
