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Away from the labs of The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, into the wilderness of boulders, this was the first time I came out of my comfort zone and got an opportunity to work at Utsav Camp Sariska as an intern.
Roaming in the Cold Breeze
It has been 13 days into Sariska and we have come across diverse animal species that includes birds, bees, butterflies, beetles, and what not!! In the buffer region we roam every morning and evening and the one creature that usually lit our eyes is the leopard. Having our binoculars in hands, we look over the boulders for the search of these giant cats!!!!
Unveiling the Stories of Hyena
Leopards, tigers, hyenas, foxes all of them are so glorified and we listen about them from the very early of our life. But But but….. it was the very first time that I read about hyena!! Phylogenetically closer to felines and behaviourally and morphologically similar to canids in several aspects... Striped hyena is the one which are found in India and all what I started to manifest was a "hyena sighting" Hyena being a nocturnal animal is difficult to be sighted during the day so all of us decided to wake up at 4 in the morning! Waking up early has always been the hardest thing for me...but the hope of finding a hyena lifted my spirit up!!
The Search
With our binocs, camera, torches, and water bottles, we started our walk!! It was all dark and the air was cold, and we were searching through the bushes aided by the torch light...we walked a while and suddenly Mahipal sir saw the hyena. Standing at the back of the bush, I could see half of its body and the other half was hidden. We slowly moved towards it and it ran away. Since, it was my first hyena sighting i was very excited. I have never come across something like this before!! We were 4 people, and we divided ourselves in the team of 2 and followed different routes to find the hyena. We were running as fast as possible to follow the hyena.
Me and Minaxi ma’am moved over the height over the boulder so that we can have a wide view. We waited for a while but could not find anything! There was a silent disappointment, but we did not lose the hope, we were constantly searching as much our eyes could see….
The Showtime
Suddenly, we saw some sort of movement behind a dense bush, and there it was hiding behind, probably playing smart with us!!! It stood up, walked for a while, and stopped and looked towards us, giving a sassy attitude. It continued the same thing; it would walk for a while and would go invisible as the bushes arrive. So for a while it was hidden behind and would suddenly reappear when it starts walking on the clear ground. We were also having our heads down, so it does not feel any threat. I was holding the camera and constantly trying to capture some shots, though it was very dark as it was very early in the morning.
This game of hide and seek continued until the routes changed, and finally it went away. All I could say is that it was an amazing sighting. The other 2 were on opposite sides, and it was now their turn, and they also had their hyena sighting!!! What a lovely day it was, I was very happy as it was the first time I got to see this ugly-looking yet a very powerful creature!!! They probably seem like dogs, but a detailed study reveals so many other aspects which are definitely interesting and underrated!
They probably seem like dogs, but a detailed study reveals so many other aspects which are definitely interesting and underrated! This internship was for a month, and over the month, I got to learn about so many things which are beyond textbooks. I am indeed grateful to deepen my knowledge along with witnessing the wildlife. I also developed my understanding about the topography of the wilds of Sariska. Below is the detailed insight of my work: TOPOGRAPHY OF SARISKA TIGER RESERVE.
