ELEPHANTS IN THE HOUSE
Not far from our first tea bungalow in Daverashola, there was another sprawling tea company called Mango Range. I never heard about the mangoes, but about their tea, their tennis club and their local elephants, I often did!
A young couple had recently moved into one bungalow there. New to wild life in the area, the planter had little understanding of elephant behaviour, and even less experience.
One night, a herd passed through their garden, and as luck would have it, a newborn calf pushed his tiny frame through an open garage and could not find his way out from behind the car. The mother elephant panicked, and tried to get her calf out. Pandemonium!
She trumpeted wildly, the calf squealed and yowled and the entire herd decided to take matters into their own hands - uh, sorry, trunks! Within 10 short minutes, the herd in complete panic had bulldozed their way into the little bungalow.
The terrified couple climbed into the loft in the nick of time, and escaped by the skin of their teeth........But their home was soon a shambles! For the elephants proceeded to trample and smash everything they touched. The furniture, glassware,cupboards of cutlery and crockery, the linen, in fact whatever they could lay their trunks on was taken out and smashed beyond recognition. Finally after wreaking havoc for an hour, the herd got the calf out from the garage, and left.
When the traumatised couple finally ventured down from the loft, their home was unrecognizable! And for days afterwards, the labour force kept finding bits of carpet, stools, broken legs of carved chairs and all manner of household things amongst the tea bushes!
FACE TO FACE WITH A PIT VIPER
On one summer day, I took my 3 and 5 year old kids for a walk. As we passed one smooth-as-a-carpet green tea field I noticed a group of pluckers standing in a huddle. They were looking at a plucker, who sat on the edge of the road, clutching one hand with the other, moaning gently.
We walked closer as someone informed me that the injured woman had just been bitten by a snake. Her hand was already beginning to swell up, and even though she was dark skinned, the hand looked horribly red. The supervisor appeared on his motorbike, and took her off to the nearby hospital for medical treatment. Within minutes everyone got up and went back into the field where the snake had bitten the plucker.
"Where's the snake, Mum?" asked my five year old.
"Oh," said the assistant manager."Its there!" He pointed at a fat green snake that lay on the road. We got closer. It was dead. Bamboo Pit Viper, we were told. The pluckers who walked through and plucked the bushes at waist level were often bitten by one before noticing them. The vipers loved basking in the warmth of the sun on the tabletop tea bushes. Being the same colour as the fresh new tea leaves, they were very often overlooked.
Luckily, no one ever died of Bamboo Pit Viper bite, thankgoodness!
And what a beautiful snake it is!...........Here's a picture for anyone who may be interested to know what the Bamboo Pit looks like.
BABY ELEPHANT IN DANGER
We were on a trip to the Annamallai Wildlife Sanctuary. Each day we walked from dawn to dusk, with a guide, and saw lots of birds and animals. On the 4th night, exhausted, we gobbled down our sambar and rice dinner and were soon tucked up in our cosy sleeping bags, fast asleep.
That night, none of us slept well. Was it the sounds of the forest, or the whining of the wind in the canopies........? Next morning, up and ready at dawn, we walked down the main road, passing a canal on our left. A group of forest guards stood by a narrow bridge that crossed the canal, calling out to something or someone. We decided to investigate.
In the fast flowing canal water we were horrified to see a baby elephant, desperately trying to swim against the flow of the water, and attempt to climb the sloping and very slippery cement bank. Without success. Right next to, and downstream of the little calf, we saw its mother. She pushed him up, out of the water over and over. Each time, he would be almost out on to the dry bank, only to plop back into the fast flowing canal, as he had nothing to grip on to at the top. The guards told us that the calf must have fallen into the canal at night, and the mother had probably been trying to get it out for atleast 8 hours before they had been spotted.
We wondered how the animals could be rescued. Eventually, an emergency message was sent to the engineer at the dam, where the sluice gates were opened to feed various canals through the Sanctuary.
The engineer shut the sluice gates but it took 3 hours before the water level came down to a trickle. Within 5 minutes the mother, with a mighty push, managed to lever her calf onto the mud bank opposite us. We watched them walk away slowly, weak from fatigue and fear.
And we breathed a collective sigh of relief as they disappeared into the safety of their forest home. Saved, for once!
Not far from our first tea bungalow in Daverashola, there was another sprawling tea company called Mango Range. I never heard about the mangoes, but about their tea, their tennis club and their local elephants, I often did!
A young couple had recently moved into one bungalow there. New to wild life in the area, the planter had little understanding of elephant behaviour, and even less experience.
One night, a herd passed through their garden, and as luck would have it, a newborn calf pushed his tiny frame through an open garage and could not find his way out from behind the car. The mother elephant panicked, and tried to get her calf out. Pandemonium!
She trumpeted wildly, the calf squealed and yowled and the entire herd decided to take matters into their own hands - uh, sorry, trunks! Within 10 short minutes, the herd in complete panic had bulldozed their way into the little bungalow.
The terrified couple climbed into the loft in the nick of time, and escaped by the skin of their teeth........But their home was soon a shambles! For the elephants proceeded to trample and smash everything they touched. The furniture, glassware,cupboards of cutlery and crockery, the linen, in fact whatever they could lay their trunks on was taken out and smashed beyond recognition. Finally after wreaking havoc for an hour, the herd got the calf out from the garage, and left.
When the traumatised couple finally ventured down from the loft, their home was unrecognizable! And for days afterwards, the labour force kept finding bits of carpet, stools, broken legs of carved chairs and all manner of household things amongst the tea bushes!
FACE TO FACE WITH A PIT VIPER
On one summer day, I took my 3 and 5 year old kids for a walk. As we passed one smooth-as-a-carpet green tea field I noticed a group of pluckers standing in a huddle. They were looking at a plucker, who sat on the edge of the road, clutching one hand with the other, moaning gently.
We walked closer as someone informed me that the injured woman had just been bitten by a snake. Her hand was already beginning to swell up, and even though she was dark skinned, the hand looked horribly red. The supervisor appeared on his motorbike, and took her off to the nearby hospital for medical treatment. Within minutes everyone got up and went back into the field where the snake had bitten the plucker.
"Where's the snake, Mum?" asked my five year old.
"Oh," said the assistant manager."Its there!" He pointed at a fat green snake that lay on the road. We got closer. It was dead. Bamboo Pit Viper, we were told. The pluckers who walked through and plucked the bushes at waist level were often bitten by one before noticing them. The vipers loved basking in the warmth of the sun on the tabletop tea bushes. Being the same colour as the fresh new tea leaves, they were very often overlooked.
Luckily, no one ever died of Bamboo Pit Viper bite, thankgoodness!
And what a beautiful snake it is!...........Here's a picture for anyone who may be interested to know what the Bamboo Pit looks like.
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| Bamboo Pit Viper ......Photo credits Ashok Captain |
BABY ELEPHANT IN DANGER
We were on a trip to the Annamallai Wildlife Sanctuary. Each day we walked from dawn to dusk, with a guide, and saw lots of birds and animals. On the 4th night, exhausted, we gobbled down our sambar and rice dinner and were soon tucked up in our cosy sleeping bags, fast asleep.
That night, none of us slept well. Was it the sounds of the forest, or the whining of the wind in the canopies........? Next morning, up and ready at dawn, we walked down the main road, passing a canal on our left. A group of forest guards stood by a narrow bridge that crossed the canal, calling out to something or someone. We decided to investigate.
In the fast flowing canal water we were horrified to see a baby elephant, desperately trying to swim against the flow of the water, and attempt to climb the sloping and very slippery cement bank. Without success. Right next to, and downstream of the little calf, we saw its mother. She pushed him up, out of the water over and over. Each time, he would be almost out on to the dry bank, only to plop back into the fast flowing canal, as he had nothing to grip on to at the top. The guards told us that the calf must have fallen into the canal at night, and the mother had probably been trying to get it out for atleast 8 hours before they had been spotted.
We wondered how the animals could be rescued. Eventually, an emergency message was sent to the engineer at the dam, where the sluice gates were opened to feed various canals through the Sanctuary.
The engineer shut the sluice gates but it took 3 hours before the water level came down to a trickle. Within 5 minutes the mother, with a mighty push, managed to lever her calf onto the mud bank opposite us. We watched them walk away slowly, weak from fatigue and fear.
And we breathed a collective sigh of relief as they disappeared into the safety of their forest home. Saved, for once!
