Took a late evening train from Jorhat to
Mariani, which is the nearest rail head to Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary (now
renamed as Hollongpar Wildlife Sanctuary). One of the least explored and one of
the best habitats of Western Hoolock Gibbons. Contacted a friend, who was going
to be my guide for the trip and decided to stay at his house for those 2
nights. As always Indian railway is late, without paying much attention to the
delay I stated to think about the trip, which was going to be exciting. It’s
been a while I hadn’t been to any forest and was waiting for an opportunity.
The opportunity came while having a casual tea discussion with my friend at
office and I welcomed it.
Reached Mariani at around 8 PM, my friend was
there to pick me up. It’s a small town at Assam – Nagaland border. The area is
green and most of it is covered by tea gardens. The place where I was staying
was even deeper into the greenery, which sort of helped to set the mood for a
real jungle experience. At night talked with my friend about the sanctuary,
apparently he had done a college project on Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary (GWS). It
was interesting and did give me a fair idea about the geography of GWS. The
sanctuary is 20.98 sq Km and surrounded by tea gardens, human habitation and a
road to Nagaland. The facts that make this tiny (as compared to our National
parks and other wildlife Sanctuaries) forest patch fascinating , firstly a
Sanctuary named after and protected for the only Ape found in the country,
presence of 4 species of macaques, Capped Langures, Slow Loris and of course
Western Hoolock gibbons. Moreover Leopards, Elephants, lesser cats, deer, 4
species of squirrels, and different species of birds make it a houseful
hotspot.
Spent the rest of the night relaxing and
chalking out a vague plan for the next day. The plan was to leave at 6 in the
morning and be there till 8 (since the forest guards had promised only 2 hrs of
guided trip!). Wasn’t happy with the arrangement and was counting on my skills
to convince them to extend it till noon at least.
After a good night sleep, woke up on time and
was getting ready to leave and then came the news that our bike tyre is flat!
This has been a common phenomenon and my 3 years of jungle experience taught me
to be tolerant and patient. It took more time than I was expecting to fix the
bike, since I was staying away from the town and it was Sunday on top of that.
Am indebted to my friend for his valiant efforts in fixing the bike.We were
finally done at 9 and left immediately (late by 3 hrs, which I guess ok by
Indian standards!). The day was cloudy and cold so was expecting some luck in
sighting the Ape.
The sanctuary was about 3 km away. Once the
fees entrance payment and other formalities were done, we started our foot
trail. A Hoary Bellied Squirrel welcomed us as soon as we entered. Sajan,
the forest guard who accompanied us informed that not many tourists come to see
the Sanctuary as most of them and even locals are unaware of the significance
of the Sanctuary and Gibbons (which I wondered may be a blessing in disguise!).
Apart from having good populations of Macaques and Langures, the sanctuary
supports a total of 106 Hoolock gibbons (figures as per last census few years
back according to forest dept.). While I was wondering the population quite
high for such a small area, Sajan pointed out a Malayan Giant Squirrel, high up
on a nearby tree. He said squirrels are plentiful here, I believed him as I
myself had noticed many during the trails. As we moved ahead, I could hear loud
Gibbon calls around us. It seemed to me as if they were trying to prove the forest
dept. figures about their population correct! Since we started pretty late I
started to wonder whether we will be able to see any Gibbons. My wish was soon
fulfilled, just a few meters ahead I saw a male Hoolock towards my right on a
tall tree. I was thrilled to see the ape after more than a year. To increase my
excitement soon the male was joined by his partner with a baby clutched on her
chest. Sajan told this baby is one of the few additions to the population which
are yet to be included. It really feels great to see these endangered species
thriving well in such a small area. Thanks to the dedicated forest guards
like Sajan and locals for the ignorance! Allowing the couple to do their daily
business we moved ahead. The forest seems well protected and Sajan also
confirmed that there were very few felling or hunting cases inside GWS. We saw
Common Krestrel, Crsted Serpent Eagle, a huge flock of Green Pigeons and many
other birds during the trail (considered me lucky for being able to see so many
birds and Hoolocks, despite starting so late).
We did a full circle of the sanctuary and
decided to walk back through the railway track. The sun was up by then and
butterflies were active around the tack. Asked Sajan about the problem caused
by trains running through the Sanctuary. He showed us the place where an
Elephant was crushed to death by a train a few months back. Other animals like
Langures, Deers etc also get killed once in a while. Scientists and forest
dept. have been raising their voice of concern to solve/minimize the problem
but as usual concerned authorities are reluctant. They might be pushing the bug
away thinking ‘the problem is not that serious’ and also this is not Kaziranga
or Manas! I believe since the Sanctuary supports a handsome population of 45-50
Elephants (as per forest dept.) and some of their paths go across the railway
track, this will soon become a big problem. Later when I took a bike ride to
see Dissoi Reserve forest and hills on the other side of the border (Nagaland)
that confirmed my worry that the Elephants are under pressure and terribly
restricted within the sanctuary. As a common scenario in Nagaland most of the
hills were cleaned (slash and burn) for cultivation and rest of the forests are
empty due to rampant hunting. Since their natural paths/trails are destroyed,
so the Elephants have no place to go other than to cross the railway track and
encroach into tea gardens or human habitations and then this railway track
would add agony to their distress.
We reached the forest camp at noon (so in a
way my wish to stay there till noon was fulfilled). Talked with other forest
guards and thanked them for their tireless efforts.
I would really want to believe that the area
is well protected otherwise it could not have given shelter to such an array of
birds and animals (especially Hoolock Gibbons). Left the Sanctuary with a happy
heart and a desire to return again to hang out with Hoolock Gibbons!
