A Day in the Kuno Wilderness

This piece appears in SanctuaryAsia February 2012 issue. 

What ever confusion I had distinguishing the small Indian mongoose Herpestes javanicus from the larger grey mongoose Herpestes edwardsii disappeared as we saw them, one after another, within a gap of five minutes. The smaller of the two was a frequent visitor at our campus near the kotra (boundary wall). While both are slender with long, bushy, tapering tails, short legs, long and pointed snouts and rounded ears, the grey mongoose has long, seemingly coarser fur, with a more reddish than yellowish tinge. It was a special moment to see both, this early in the morning and I was thrilled. Perhaps it was the early morning breakfast that Ummed Kushwah had made -- my favourite Agraa breakfast (read alu subzi – paratha) that had set the lucky tone of the day.

I have always loved the laid-back, rustic landscape of the area. Agraa, a nucleus for the villages relocated from the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary, is less than 10 km. from the Pipal-Baori gate of the sanctuary. I was based here for 20 months when I worked with schools in the area and though I had visited the sanctuary, I had never done justice to this beautiful forest. I hoped to make amends. I was with Naresh Kushwah who had spent his childhood at Paira, a village that was then still within the sanctuary. Now he often worked with the Forest Department by driving tractors for them and thus playing a part in protecting the forests in which he grew up.

We crossed two villages on our left, Nainagarh and Kirwara, perhaps the last human habitations before we entered the sanctuary. From a distance they presented a picture-postcard appeal, underscored at sunrise and sunset, but on closer examination they appeared desolate. I had been to these villages eight years ago to distribute donated clothes. Rumours of dacoits ruling the roost were then rampant. As we moved towards the Pipal-Baori gate, we criss-crossed the protected forest that lay between Agraa and the sanctuary. It was here that I had seen an Indian fox in the wild for the first time, and its russet tail against the backdrop of a setting sun on the Vindhyan Hills has stayed with me since. I have also seen porcupine spoor on almost every visit, though I never once spotted the rodent.

Still waiting for its lions

We reached the sanctuary gate where painted images of Asiatic lions Panthera leo on the wall greeted us. My first meeting with the then Divisional Forest Officer of the sanctuary, J. S. Chouhan, came to my mind. “Ah, finally someone from Gujarat has come to us!” he said. Eight years later, the sanctuary still awaits lions (See Sanctuary Vol. XXX No. 4, August 2010). Kuno is the site selected to serve as the second home for the Asiatic lions. It was preferred over Sitamata and Darrah-Jawaharsagar Wildlife Sanctuaries (both in Rajasthan) because it was large, the forest quality was better and prey was more easily available.

Almost the moment we entered, the nimble frame of a chinkara appeared in the vast openness of the landscape. And within hours we saw several more of these delicate gazelles. We drove slowly, stopping every once in a while. A nilgai that made an appearance seemed shy and uneasy. Some years ago nilgai had been caught from the nearby district of Bhind, radio collared and released here. I wondered if this was one of them.

It was a beautiful day. I revelled in the morning sounds of the forest, with grasses stretching languidly into the distance, under a sun that had decided to present a gentle face today. Naresh was bemused at my inability to spot titars and baters (quails and partridges), once even pointing out that an individual sat almost below the window next to me. Wonderfully camouflaged, the birds were having a good time, hunting insects that were plentiful in the sanctuary. They are the preferred wild meat of the locals here; I recall Ramlal Saharia with a smile on his face (read gastronomic fantasy) when we camxe across or even spoke of one! Brahminy Starlings looked for their breakfast in the grasslands. The renewal of the land, post relocation was quite amazing though Naresh suggested that wildlife sightings were just as rich in the old days. A recent report by the Wildlife Institute of India and the Wildlife Trust of India put it thus, “Kuno is probably one of the only wildlife sites in the country where there has been a complete relocation of villages from inside the park. These village sites inside the sanctuary have now been taken over by grasses and scrub, forming a savannah-type grassland habitat.” As we drove, we came across some relict villages and a Hanuman mandir at Basantpura that is now being taken care of by the Forest Department.

Palpur is now wild

The road became progressively bumpier as we neared the Kuno river. We crossed the dry bed and reached the forest guest house in what was earlier Palpur village. Long-tailed Shrikes and Ashy-crowned Sparrow Larks welcomed us in the open space abutting the campus. Rakesh Yogi, who used to be a colleague during my days here, was employed at this base and we chatted over tea and biscuits. Indian Peafowl shared the dry river banks with chital and an Asian Paradise-flycatcher chose to cross the river from the opposite bank… a pearl rolled on green silk! Rakesh Yogi identified an Oriental Darter that he had often seen in the semi-perennial Kuno river. He also told us of the large numbers of cattle in the sanctuary and how they congregate around the guest house after dark, possibly seeking safety from predators. Not surprisingly, leopards were present as well.

Naresh and I decided to walk up to the Palpur fortress, past the ruins of Palpur village, whose houses we explored. Most had been reclaimed by nature and we were greeted by bats. A Black Drongo guarded the fort door facing Kuno. And there was the highest peak in the sanctuary in the backdrop, Tongra, where locals say one is almost certain to see sloth bears.

Interestingly the Moghiyas, do not hunt the sloth bear, which is a ‘vehicle’ of their deity Dhudhu Mai. Moghiyas are a tribe now infamous for their hunting exploits, primarily in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve, which shares the landscape with Kuno, just across the Chambal river.

Sitting on a flat rock I saw Cattle Egrets and Indian Pond Herons as if sitting in a line. The silence was hypnotic and I recalled the Henry David Thoreau quote: “You learn that if you sit down in the woods and wait, something happens”.  As if on cue, a Grey Heron flew gracefully into view along a bend in the river.

For a history buff like me, walking through the ramparts of the fortress was an enriching experience. Naresh identified Rajaji’s (the ruler) vantage point from where he would sit and shoot wildlife. We saw a hook in this 'balcony' from where a seat would have hung in those days; presenting a majestic view of the Kuno river and surrounding forests. These forests today are arguably the best remnants of the Central Indian Highlands, with palash, khair, kardhai and salai dominating the tree composition.

We also saw bunkers that were probably used by soldiers protecting the fortress and holes in the wall for them to point and shoot their weapons at enemies. These guns must have had long barrels, for the walls were really thick! We also saw the family quarters and places where chulas (oven) still sat. The forest around Kuno was a shikargarh or hunting preserve for the Gwalior Maharajas. Sitting atop the highest point on the fortress and silently gazing around a central Indian forest can be a beguiling experience – transporting one to a time when wildlife was plentiful. At Agraa I had heard rumours that leopards and other mammals frequent the fort, but I myself saw no such signs.

Deeper into the sanctuary

We walked back to the rest house and proceeded by vehicle deeper into the sanctuary, towards Durredi. We crossed a freshly constructed forest chowki (camp) and moved to Ker kho and then Dhorath baba. A short walk revealed an Oriental White-eye and White-browed Fantail sipping water from a leaking pipe and primates jumping from tree to tree almost as though they wanted to attract our attention. We had also seen huge cattle herds on our way to the village, which was also the location of an annual fair. Dr. Johnsingh and his colleagues wrote in Oryx: “The cattle are considered to be buffer prey in case droughts adversely affect the population of wild ungulates.”

The pipe supplies the precious liquid into waterholes, two of which we saw being shared by chital and cattle. We came across a nilgai carcass lying across the road, a hole in the skin confirming that it had been shot. The sight was disturbing and I wondered, “Were muzzle loaders still in vogue? How far could one hear the gun in the silence of these forests? Was night patrolling on four-wheel-drive vehicles effective? Why was the carcass lying in the open on the road? How would the hunter carry the animal out of the sanctuary? Was the consumption of nilgai meat still a taboo?” Many questions, no answers.

Our mood lifted at the sight of two wolves just a few metres from us. They blended well into the background. We waited until they moved on and smiled – Kuno was still a wilderness unlike any other. It has problems but nothing the forest cannot handle, provided dedicated forest officials and wildlifers are allowed to keep it free from harm and if locals are roped in to ensure that any and all conservation efforts benefit them as well.

Thanking the forest department staff at the Palpur guest house, we moved towards Agraa with two staff members accompanying us to procure supplies. They volunteered to show me areas from where I could click ‘badhiya’ (very good) images on way back but for me every inch of the Kuno forest is beautiful and photographs did not matter!

A year later (May 2011) I got to visit Kuno again; this time driving on an open canter from Sawai Madhopur and entering from the Sesaipura (southern boundary of the sanctuary). Besides coming across the chousingha (the least common ungulate in the landscape) and three species of vultures, we also sighted foxes and jackals in numbers that I understand will stay with most of us for long. We also saw the pugmarks of a tiger that had moved across the Chambal from the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. The pugmarks were protected with immense pride (accompanied with a sense of responsibility) by the Madhya Pradesh Forest Department. As I write this article in the last week of December 2011, news has come in that another tiger has moved to Kuno from Ranthambhore.

Nature, when left alone, winds her own wonderful course!

Box 1: Kuno and the Cheetah

In their report ‘Assessing the potential for reintroducing the cheetah in India, 2010,’ M. K. Ranjitsinh and Y. V. Jhala write:  “On its south-eastern side of the boundary, Kuno forms a contiguous forest landscape with patchy connectivity to the Panna Tiger Reserve through the Shivpuri forest area. On the other hand, the Ranthambhore National park and Keladevi Wildlife Sanctuary (both part of the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve) are connected with Kuno- Palpur through good forest patches towards the northwestern boundary from across the river Chambal.”

With Gujarat continuing to refuse to allow the relocation of Asiatic lions to Palpur-Kuno, government officials are looking at it as the new home for the cheetah, which is now extinct in India. In August 2011, Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister Sartaj Singh confirmed that plans announced in 2010 (see Sanctuary Vol. XXX No. 5, October 2010) are going ahead full steam and that the cheetah would be translocated from Namibia and introduced in Palpur-Kuno by December 2011-January 2012. However, several wildlifers and field biologists have expressed their reservations on the project saying that re-establishment of a viable population would need a PA of several thousand square kilometres that is free of grazing and domestic dogs.

Box 2: The Moghiyas

On an earlier stint in 2003, I had motor-cycled through some 34 villages where the Moghiyas lived. Moghiyas are De-notified Tribes (DNTs). Meena Radhakrishna writes in ‘Dishonoured by History – Hindu: 2000’ “The term ‘criminal tribes’ was concocted by the British rulers, and entered the public vocabulary for the first time when a piece of legislation called the Criminal Tribes Act was passed in 1871. With the repeal of this Act these communities were officially "denotified" in 1952”. Dilip D'Souza writes in his ‘Branded By Law - Looking at India’s Denotified Tribes: 2001’ “As it often happens, that term has in its turn acquired derogatory connotations. And, in any case, even half a century later, they are still routinely called criminal and perceived to be so, for colonial attitudes die hard”. He adds in his ‘Lazy, shiftless, thieving’ But people – Rediff.com: 1998’ “I don't mean to imply that such tribes are entirely innocent of committing crimes -- they are not as the rest of India is not. But there is a context, a reason, that deserves consideration”.

Gun licenses are issued to Moghiyas under section 3 of the Arms Act 1959 for bonafide crop protection. They can be renewed for Rs. 15/- and a fresh one valid for three years in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan can be obtained for Rs. 3,000/- making it incredibly easy for tribals to pile up hunting weapons. In Hatod, (in Shivpuri district), I had long chats with people who were based at the same 500 acre farm as the Moghiyas. These families, according to their co-workers, hunted almost daily but had no altercations with the Forest Department personnel for the latter were supplied free meat. Sambar, chousingha and chital meat was sold for Rs. 40/- a kg. while nilgai was lower at Rs. 30/-; wild pigs topped the list at Rs. 50/-. Birds were sold at Rs. 15/- each hare was sold for Rs. 50/- during the summer and Rs. 75/- during the winter. At Mani Kheda (also in Shivpuri) where the dam on Sind river was under construction, we were told that the Moghiyas were doing brisk business selling wild meat to the hundreds of labourers employed here.

In Khodapura, one of my colleagues Ritesh, a colleague met a Moghiya who admitted that a pair of sambar horns fetched him Rs. 4,000/- while hides ranged between Rs.3,000/- and Rs. 5,000/-. He sold most of these in the leather market near the fort at Agra. He also supplied animal parts to government officials and had sold the hide of a baby leopard to a customer from Secunderabad for Rs.12,000/-. Now eight years later, the prices may be even higher.

It is unfortunate that a tribe that probably knows more natural history than many of us who read this continues use its skill to hunt. While there has been considerable dialogue on the relocation of lions and cheetahs, cattle and other prey base, and potential rehabilitation of more villages, very little has been said on Moghiyas in and around Kuno.

Any plan for conservation in Kuno must focus on the need to develop an informed opinion on their lifestyles, socio-cultural practices and history.

Images : 

Those in this post are different from ones appearing in the magazine; have put in those taken by me.

Links : 

Kuno from my earlier blog : 

Fortress 

Moghiyas 

Acknowledgements : 

Samrakshan Trust and colleagues / friends at Agraa for enabling me to be at Agraa and experience "life".

Tiger Watch for the wonderful canter trip.