I go on a safari practically every day. And surprisingly, the sighting is never the same at the same spot!

The river is full of surprises! When we were about to emerge from the park at the end of  a Boat Safari on one occasion, I asked the boatman whether we had time left to stop by at a spot where the river entered the forest with bamboo surrounding her on three sides.

We were treating our eyes to Birds and Chital, when the boatman suddenly shouted out, “Python!” Practically everyone present there peered out of the boat in the direction the boatman pointed to.

A closer look at the snake revealed an Indian Rock Python, around 15 feet in length! Lying coiled with most of its body in the water and its head outside, the Python appeared as if it were dead.

Indian Rock Python

I still can’t figure out how the boatman managed to make this sighting. The Python, its head set against the riverbank, was an ambusher that lurked in the water (and out of it!) for unsuspecting prey.

I rarely sight Pythons during a safari; this is a spectacle presenting itself to me possibly once each year!

Kabini's Reptile 'Ghost'!

Have you any memories of having sighted this beast of enormous proportions at Kabini?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 5:36 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.