Safety in a wildlife sanctuary

geetikask · Apr 1st, 2008, 18:38

Hi,
I plan to travel to Dalhousie in April and I'm taking my 8 yr old son with me. I hear that Kalatope Wildlife Sanctuary is a wonderful place to visit. My son and me have trekked in the Himalayas in the past so this trek seems really easy for us, but I wonder about the safety on a wildlife trek - any danger of being attacked by black bears, leopards? Or am i over reacting??

Swapnil · Apr 2nd, 2008, 03:37

Yes Kalatop wildlife sanctuary is wonderful place I'm sure you will throughly enjoy it....no need to worry much about safety on this trek ...as long as you're treking during daytime...whole route is Jeepable till Kalatop...actual jungle route will start from Lakarmandi ( 3 Km before Kalatop ) you only need to be cautious while treking through this area...till Lakarmandi route is busy with villagers /army/air force people ( DianKund Airforce base is 5 KM from Lakarmandi) .

Dr.Barai · Apr 2nd, 2008, 10:50

Couple of moths ago I visited Kataniaghat reserve forest in uttar pradesh, which officially has one or may be two man-eaters. The reserve forest as expected have villages inside it, and inspite of the attacks on human and live stocks not a single soul appeared bothered or afraid. Practically the odds of being attacked by a tiger are so low that locals almost ignore their presence.
Attack by a bear is a more of a reality if you are camping open in the wild with food scattered all around. I am sure u have done ur home work on this.
In case if u r planing to venture in the jungle only at daytime I don’t think u will even get a glimpse of any carnivorous animal Kalatop wildlife sanctuary! So don’t worry!

snonymous · Apr 2nd, 2008, 12:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by geetikask

Hi,
I wonder about the safety on a wildlife trek - any danger of being attacked by black bears, leopards? Or am i over reacting??

Wishful thinking. More chances of being attacked by our fellow human beings.

puchoo · Apr 2nd, 2008, 12:26

consider yourself lucky if you see enough animals at all...

geetikask · Apr 4th, 2008, 15:30

Hey thanks everyone...
Swapnil..seems like you've been there. Did you stay at the forest rest house? Is it comfortable, or pretty bare? I'm wondering if i should take a night halt there...

Dr Barai, thanks for your encouragement. I might just take the trip

Dr.Barai · Apr 4th, 2008, 19:17

so do let us know how many tigers and bears u have actually seen after ur trip.

geetikask · Apr 6th, 2008, 18:38

So, thanks everyone for all the advice...
we're leaving for himachal next week. Will let you all know how it turns out.

zoltan · Apr 6th, 2008, 18:58

Hi,

I have 2 stories to relate:

1) there was a story I heard a few years back of a father & son who were going through a national park. The father wanted to show the son a tiger that was nearby and held the son up to the car window. The tiger smashed the window to get access to the son & took him into the forest.

This *may* be an urban legend - and I would hope that is the case.

2) I have been to Sasan Gir in Gujarat a couple of years back. I saw a lion outside the car I was travelling in - wanting to get a photo, I jumped out of the jeep & walked towards the lion (completely irrational & would never have happened at home) and got 3 photos of the animal (one of which is on my web-site).

This remains one of my favourite talking points of Western India.

Cheers
Zoltan

Dr.Barai · Apr 6th, 2008, 21:06

nice pics.

zoltan · Apr 7th, 2008, 04:07

> nice pics.

Thanks for the feedback.

Cheers
Zoltan

Swapnil · Apr 7th, 2008, 12:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by geetikask

Swapnil..seems like you've been there. Did you stay at the forest rest house? Is it comfortable, or pretty bare? I'm wondering if i should take a night halt there...

Yes I've stayed in forest rest house Kalatop sanctuary ....amenities are pretty basic (at least in 2006 ..no idea if they have improved anything since then)..if you enjoy staying in jungle then it's certainly a place worth staying for a night halt !
wish you a happy journey !

Khandoma · Apr 7th, 2008, 14:31

My Rs.2, completely agreeing with members' answers above :
I'm one of the lucky individuals who actually saw a tiger in a wildlife sanctuary. That was in Nepal, 10 yrs ago. It happened on my 4th day there, so I did spend three days seeing only birds and monkeys and more deer than I knew existed on the planet. And the sighting lasted about 3 seconds : 1 second to spot the shape among the high grass, one second to gape and think "wow, this is the most beautiful thing on earth" (I'm a cat lover) and one to watch it disappear into the grass.
The fact that I was mounted on elephant back may have encouraged the tiger to split. Maybe. Not convinced she would have stayed for chai & chat otherwise.
So, I didn't have a chance to take a picture, and I'm glad I didn't even try, or I would have missed the moment completely. Also, the moment was made even more precious by the fact that we had spent the whole morning following the animal's tracks. I had the rangers teach me the basics of track reading, and I think that's something your boy could possibly enjoy, so don't forget to ask. You'll have a lot of fun even if you don't see the big cats in person. (And you'll have a lot of fun back home too, proudly exhibiting photos of round marks in the mud and explaining that this is an adult female tiger who just killed an antelope...

)

manojb · Apr 9th, 2008, 11:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoltan

Hi,

I have 2 stories to relate:

1) there was a story I heard a few years back of a father & son who were going through a national park. The father wanted to show the son a tiger that was nearby and held the son up to the car window. The tiger smashed the window to get access to the son & took him into the forest.

This *may* be an urban legend - and I would hope that is the case.
Cheers
Zoltan

Somewhere around 1991-93, a young girl's hand was bitten off by a tiger at the Bannerghatta National Park in Bangalore when she stuck it out through a hole in the netting of the park safari vehicle. I distinctly remember this incident because it was a discussion topic for tort law during my first year of law school.

Dr.Barai · Apr 9th, 2008, 11:58

In 1994(correct me if i am wrong) new year eve two young man climbed the fence and entered in to the enclosure of the royal bengal tiger of Kolkata zoo and tried to garland the big cat !!

Apr 1st, 2008, 18:38	#1
geetikask Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3	Safety in a wildlife sanctuary Hi, I plan to travel to Dalhousie in April and I'm taking my 8 yr old son with me. I hear that Kalatope Wildlife Sanctuary is a wonderful place to visit. My son and me have trekked in the Himalayas in the past so this trek seems really easy for us, but I wonder about the safety on a wildlife trek - any danger of being attacked by black bears, leopards? Or am i over reacting??

Apr 2nd, 2008, 03:37	#2
Swapnil Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Pune ,Maharashtra , INDIA Posts: 169	Yes Kalatop wildlife sanctuary is wonderful place I'm sure you will throughly enjoy it....no need to worry much about safety on this trek ...as long as you're treking during daytime...whole route is Jeepable till Kalatop...actual jungle route will start from Lakarmandi ( 3 Km before Kalatop ) you only need to be cautious while treking through this area...till Lakarmandi route is busy with villagers /army/air force people ( DianKund Airforce base is 5 KM from Lakarmandi) . Last edited by Swapnil : Apr 2nd, 2008 at 12:46. Reason: typo

Apr 2nd, 2008, 12:26	#5
puchoo Maha Guru Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: New Delhi & Himachal Pradesh (Shimla) Posts: 2,607	consider yourself lucky if you see enough animals at all... __________________ Cheers! Sidharth puchoo.wordpress.com

Apr 4th, 2008, 15:30	#6
geetikask Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3	safety in a wildlife sanctuary Hey thanks everyone... Swapnil..seems like you've been there. Did you stay at the forest rest house? Is it comfortable, or pretty bare? I'm wondering if i should take a night halt there... Dr Barai, thanks for your encouragement. I might just take the trip

Apr 6th, 2008, 18:38	#8
geetikask Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Mumbai Posts: 3	Thanks So, thanks everyone for all the advice... we're leaving for himachal next week. Will let you all know how it turns out.

Apr 2nd, 2008, 10:50	#3
Dr.Barai Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Lucknow Posts: 307	Couple of moths ago I visited Kataniaghat reserve forest in uttar pradesh, which officially has one or may be two man-eaters. The reserve forest as expected have villages inside it, and inspite of the attacks on human and live stocks not a single soul appeared bothered or afraid. Practically the odds of being attacked by a tiger are so low that locals almost ignore their presence. Attack by a bear is a more of a reality if you are camping open in the wild with food scattered all around. I am sure u have done ur home work on this. In case if u r planing to venture in the jungle only at daytime I don’t think u will even get a glimpse of any carnivorous animal Kalatop wildlife sanctuary! So don’t worry!

Apr 4th, 2008, 19:17	#7
Dr.Barai Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Lucknow Posts: 307	so do let us know how many tigers and bears u have actually seen after ur trip.

Apr 6th, 2008, 18:58	#9
zoltan Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 458	Hi, I have 2 stories to relate: 1) there was a story I heard a few years back of a father & son who were going through a national park. The father wanted to show the son a tiger that was nearby and held the son up to the car window. The tiger smashed the window to get access to the son & took him into the forest. This may be an urban legend - and I would hope that is the case. 2) I have been to Sasan Gir in Gujarat a couple of years back. I saw a lion outside the car I was travelling in - wanting to get a photo, I jumped out of the jeep & walked towards the lion (completely irrational & would never have happened at home) and got 3 photos of the animal (one of which is on my web-site). This remains one of my favourite talking points of Western India. Cheers Zoltan __________________ India (and other) photos click here

Apr 6th, 2008, 21:06	#10
Dr.Barai Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Lucknow Posts: 307	nice pics.

Apr 7th, 2008, 04:07	#11
zoltan Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 458	> nice pics. Thanks for the feedback. Cheers Zoltan

Apr 7th, 2008, 14:31	#13
Khandoma Gourmet Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Paris Posts: 302	My Rs.2, completely agreeing with members' answers above : I'm one of the lucky individuals who actually saw a tiger in a wildlife sanctuary. That was in Nepal, 10 yrs ago. It happened on my 4th day there, so I did spend three days seeing only birds and monkeys and more deer than I knew existed on the planet. And the sighting lasted about 3 seconds : 1 second to spot the shape among the high grass, one second to gape and think "wow, this is the most beautiful thing on earth" (I'm a cat lover) and one to watch it disappear into the grass. The fact that I was mounted on elephant back may have encouraged the tiger to split. Maybe. Not convinced she would have stayed for chai & chat otherwise. So, I didn't have a chance to take a picture, and I'm glad I didn't even try, or I would have missed the moment completely. Also, the moment was made even more precious by the fact that we had spent the whole morning following the animal's tracks. I had the rangers teach me the basics of track reading, and I think that's something your boy could possibly enjoy, so don't forget to ask. You'll have a lot of fun even if you don't see the big cats in person. (And you'll have a lot of fun back home too, proudly exhibiting photos of round marks in the mud and explaining that this is an adult female tiger who just killed an antelope... ) __________________ Khandoma Visit my India photo gallery on IndiaMike

Apr 9th, 2008, 11:58	#15
Dr.Barai Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Lucknow Posts: 307	In 1994(correct me if i am wrong) new year eve two young man climbed the fence and entered in to the enclosure of the royal bengal tiger of Kolkata zoo and tried to garland the big cat !!

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