It’s fun to be on a Boat Safari each evening; the sheer numbers of bird, mammal and reptile species sighted during the safari is simply mind-boggling; they’re countless!

Come winter, and plenty of ‘visitors’ from across the globe become guests at Kabini! It’s a pleasure welcoming these guests, who have travelled thousands of miles to reach their destination.

Besides colourful winged migrants, soaking up the sun on Kabini’s banks is the Marsh Crocodile or Fresh Water Crocodile. These crocs bask open-mouthed on sunny days, off and on – a tactic to control their body temperature.

By the Kabini Waters: a Marsh Croc

These crocs are very sensitive to sound, and hence you need to be cautious during their sighting. There are skilled boatmen who can help sight these reptiles sans any disturbance to them.

The elephants are on an eternal quest for fresh grass, and make their way to the ‘submerged island’ (forest areas inundated after the dam came into existence). At Kabini, you can spot these gentle giants feeding on grass, half their bodies submerged in water.

As the crocs are harmless as far as larger animals go, the elephants cross over to the submerged island nonchalantly.

The Carefree Pachyderm!

A Leopard

The park also figures among the highly protected national parks with high prey density.The Spotted Deer is the principal prey where the predators of this national park are concerned.

The leopard, being a major predator of this national park, is known for its capability to adapt to its rapidly changing environment. At Kabini, one can spot the Leopard perching on a branch to bask in the sun. This is also to keep away from competition. This big cat relishes the Common Langur, the reason for its presence on trees. These Leopards are so adept at the art of camouflage that they’re difficult to spot.

Leopard at Kabini

During one of the evening vehicle safaris, the driver Mr. Lokesh sighted a Leopard on a tree when we stopped to gaze at an elephant herd. It took a while for our untrained eyes to spot the animal. The sighting lasted for over half an hour until we hesitantly left, respecting the park’s timings. This was an amazing sighting of this large feline in its natural habitat.

Indian Rock Python at Kabini

The Sandpiper, unaware of the Python’s presence, slowly moved in its direction. In the nick of time, however, the bird was ‘rescued’, startlingly by the alarm calls of an Intermediate Egret that sensed danger ‘lurking’.

The entire ‘episode’ lasted over an hour and came as a surprise to us.

It's Showtime, Folks!:)

We were eventually forced to leave the spot, and did so half-heartedly. However, we were glad about having sighted Kabini’s great and mighty hunter.

A Smooth-coated Otter

Serving as effective symbols of environment quality, otters are endorsed as Wetland Ambassadors to promote the conservation of freshwater biomes (ecological community types).

Smooth-coated Otters are the largest otter species in Southeast Asia. The species is named after its short, smooth ‘coat’ which shines, appearing like velvet. Like other otters, they have short, ‘tightly packed’ fur and longer guard hair that is water repellent.

Like other otters, Smooth-coated Otters have webbed toes and strong paws with sharp claws.

Each otter also has a pair of scent glands at the base of its tail which mark land or objects, such as rocks or vegetation, near feeding areas.

Unlike seals though, which are ‘insulated’ by thick layers of fat, otters are very lean, their fur keeping them warm, and providing a streamlined appearance. Smooth-coated Otters are distinguished from other otter species by their rounder heads with prominent noses, and more flattened tails.

'Dynamically' Designed?

Frequently hunting in packs, they drive schools of fish together for easy capture. A pack has a feeding territory ranging between 7-12 square kilometers. Kabini is one place where you get to sight these otters.

A Crested Serpent Eagle

This magnificent bird prefers to perch on tall trees or branches and is on the lookout for snakes or lizards. It’s marvelous to watch this bird in action when it’s hunting – a rare sight. The Crested Serpent Eagle is a large-beaked bird with  sharp talons. It thus has all the ‘ammunition’ needed to overpower a snake, turning the latter into a meal.

Another bird similar to the Crested Serpent Eagle is the Changeable Hawk Eagle. This bird has a more conspicuous crest, especially when alarmed and thus alerted! Hunting by ambushing prey, it perches on high canopies overlooking a clearing,  and mainly ‘captures’ prey including rodents, birds and mammals from the ground.

A Changeable Hawk Eagle

Every once in a while, I’m blessed with a Crested Hawk Eagle sighting, with this bird feeding on a small or intermediate egret. It eats its meal by first taking off all the Egret’s feathers and then tearing the meat with its powerful beak!

A jungle drive is thought to be incomplete without a sighting of these Birds of Prey.

A Leopard Sighted During a Boat Safari

I was told by friends that elephant herds have begun making an appearance on the Kabini banks, and I was hoping to spot one.

We commenced our journey at 6:35 am, and were welcomed by a large herd of Spotted Deer. I had a couple of zealous guests who constantly scanned the bushes, and spotted a Monitor Lizard – a fantastic sighting and a rarity during a Boat Safari.

Recharged by the sighting, we were hoping to spot more wildlife. I think luck was on our side as suddenly, a male leopard emerged from the bushes and began walking in the direction of the water, leaving us shocked at the sight. He then perched on the rocks gazing at the boat.

Suddenly, he began walking towards the boat. He was a very good-looking chap, with sunlight on his face giving him a majestic look.

He was not shy or nervous, the reason I call him Mr. Gorgeous!

His 'Majesty', Kabini

Sighting the Wild!

The land was so well-camouflaged, that it took a while for all my guests to spot it. The crocodile was in the company of a small flock of Spot-billed Ducks that gave us the impression that the humungous monster amidst them was their guardian.

It's a Croc!

I wish for the receding waters of the Kabini to reveal many more ‘hidden beauties’ during our boat safaris!

The Lurking Big Cat

I then sighted a Wild Boar sitting still close to the bamboo thickets.

The question in my mind was whether the Leopard was attempting to kill the Wild Boar. However, I then noticed that it didn’t make that serious an attempt at the same. It was merely attempting to scare the Wild Boar away as the carcass of a Spotted Deer lay on the bank close to the water. This was a wonderful sighting, and we didn’t want to leave the place.

Usually, leopards have a difficult time guarding their food, as they have a host of competitors like tigers, Wild Dogs, Wild Boars, crows and others. The leopard was hence attempting to safeguard the kill from ‘pests’.

Watching Over Its Prey?

A Wild Boar Feeding on the Carcass of a Deer

In the process of feeding on grass roots, they overturn the soil, helping in the oxidation of the soil. This is the reason they are also called ‘the farmers of the forest’.

While Wild Boars forage along with Spotted Deer, they sometimes scavenge on dead Spotted Deer meat. This Wild Boar was caught on camera during a recent morning Vehicle Safari. The deer was perhaps killed during a fight with another stag, making it a feast for the boar!

A Boar Sighted Feeding on a Chital

A Crested Serpent Eagle

As we proceeded, we came across several groups of Chitals.

Spotted Deer (Chital)

A short tusker was our next sighting. It crossed the jeep track ahead of our vehicle, walked towards a fallen dead tree and began feeding on twigs. Tree bark is an elephant’s favourite diet, containing calcium and cellulose, that aid digestion.

A Tusker Feeding on Twigs

Elephants use their trunks and tusks to tear off bark strips. I was fortunate to get a couple of pictures of this gentle giant’s behaviour. We then carried on for more animal sightings.

The latter part of the safari was the highlight of our journey. The surprise of the day – a Sloth Bear, darted across the road entered the view line and adopted a statuesque posture for a couple of seconds after spotting our vehicle. It then disappeared into the bushes.

This was an unforgettable and almost unbelievable sighting as it was a rare sighting, occurring only once in six months or a year.