subject: Steppes Discovery Blog Aug and Sep 10 [print this page] Steppes Discovery Blog Aug and Sep 10 Steppes Discovery Blog Aug and Sep 10
Tourists Allowed to Patrol on Foot
With the new wildlife season just around the corner the Park Authorities have confirmed plans to allow tourists to trek within the National Park forests.
The plans come under a project known as "Patrolling the Tiger Land Country " and is being introduced initially in Madhya Pradesh. The parks included in the plan include Bandhavgarh, Kanha and Pench.
You will need to be registered at the gate of the park, and subsequently will join a trek that will be led by a park official. I am excited for our clients as this option will provide an opportunity to slow down tourism in Indian parks, and allow you to enjoy the smaller things in the forest, as well as the larger cats.
The park officials have taken the decision to restrict the trek number to four, which allows for an intimate interpretation of the park at ground level. This restriction is welcomed by Steppes Discovery.
Close Encounters
I have been lucky enough to have had many close encounters with wildlife getting within a few feet of many great predators including both tigers & lions but nothing quite prepared me for my recent polar bear encounter in Spitsbergen.
I have heard it said many times that polar bears are the only animal that actively hunts humans and was aware that visiting bear country in the Arctic means travelling with an armed guide.
What I wasn't quite so prepared for was during a zodiac cruise seeing a large male polar bear sleeping high on a ridge, on hearing our zodiac he got up and sauntered down to the beach where he settled back down for a further nap - apparently. However watching closely you could see he had settled himself down carefully pushing his back paws deep into the sand behind him. Resting his head on his front paws but never quite closing his eyes, fidgeting and opening them to check where we were. He hung his front paw down over the rocks which made him look so gentle and peaceful. He was quite clearly trying to lull us into a false sense of security, enticing us to get closer for that ultimate photograph. From his perfect position a lunging jump into a zodiac was an easy meal option. I was glad of my camera's long lens which gave me a great view well outside his striking distance along with a guide who was well aware of the bear tricks.
This was just one of the many highlights of an amazing Spitsbergen Voyage on which we saw plenty of polar bears, literally tons of walrus, arctic foxes, huge bird nesting cliffs & friendly reindeer set to a backdrop of mountains, tundra and calving glaciers.
