MY DAYS IN CORBETT NATIONAL PARK
 

  18-03-2020 TO 20-04-2020
 

 
The landscape changed suddenly. As soon as we took the
turn upwards, The dense forest welcomed us. The towering
 
sal trees on either sides of the road took me to their remote
 
village called Mohan in the Corbett national park, the bumpy
  road, flowing river alongside and the few scattered houses
  was what I saw while travelling through the jungle. You feel
  a sense of belongingness amidst nature. The dense forest
  and its scenic landscape simply take you on a journey to the
 
unknown. I like such journeys where you embark on a self
rejuvenating voyage.
 

   

1
Corbett and the Covid,
By SAJAL SINGH, Forestry Scholar (C) Copyright (20-06-2020) All Rights Reserved.
  1. Journey Starts,
A never forgetting experience I had
 
here will be the one everlasting. I am
  look forward to visit all these sites
again in the near future.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Corbett and the Covid,
By SAJAL SINGH, Forestry Scholar (C) Copyright (20-06-2020) All Rights Reserved.
Three months earlier I visited Jim Corbett
National Park for a 2 months internship
with WWF (Worldwide Fund For Nature)
for camera trapping and tiger monitoring
activities. It was just an official tour but
we smashed this trip like one of the most
memorable event of my life.
My trip was officially of two months but
due to COVID 19 pandemic we had to cut
our trip to half thus proving this
pandemic as a weed among the roses. Our
one month stay was arranged at different
locations in the national park according
to the work need in different beats of the
forest in forest quarters and lodges.
Really it was wonderful staying at the
wildlife lodges.
                                                                         ©Sajal Singh 
2

  2. Ganga and Kapila,
We had to prepare our own food
  and truly speaking that was an
excellent experience for me and the
  group of my friends who came along
  with me enjoyed the luxorious
amenities at most.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
© Sajal Singh
Corbett and the Covid,
By SAJAL SINGH, Forestry Scholar (C) Copyright (20-06-2020) All Rights Reserved.
The very first day of our trip was
confined to Mohan itself, the place
of our first stay had local
sightseeing and we placed two pairs
of camera traps in some adjoining
beats .
We enjoyed a lot with the amenities
being provided by the forest
department in the premises of the
resort. We all went for fun in the
river kosi where we bathed for a
long hour. Camera was kept ready
to capture the entire moment of the
act. We also left our rooms
sometimes for local sightseeing.
It was simply awesome experience
while enjoying the serene ambience
of natural beauty of the
Uttarakhand.
The Jeep and elephant ride to the
jungle was full of excitement and
uncertainty. The hours of jeep
safari ride passed through the deep
and dense Sal forested area of the
Corbett while we also had an
elephant ride where we sat at the
back of a female elephant to place a
pair of camera traps in a man  eater
prone tiger territory. The two
elephants, ganga and kapila are at
the haldupadao rest house of the
palain range.
3
 3.Final days,                                  
Every day was full of excitement After successful two weeks, we left
and fascinating new sightings. for Kalagarh Tiger Reserve and then
I learnt a new perspective to look for Sonanadi Wildlife Santuary. The
up towards nature that seemed visit to Ramganga Dam was the best
strange to me before. and the fanciest experience I ever
had in my lifetime. we travelled in a
“jet boat” to different locations at the
 
dam to lay 4 different pairs of
  camera traps.

  The camera traps we used were of the

best quality and comes from a well
     
known camera manufacturing
                                                      company known as “CUDDLEBACK”.
                                                   Sonanadi Wildlife Santuary  Models that we used there are C1,
                                                                © Sajal Singh  PRO, and cuddle back ATTACK.
 
My everlasting experience that I had
 
there includes the sighting of birds
  thus coming up with a checklist of
 
approximately 70 bird species
including the” Indian grey and
  oriental pied hornbill” and the “asian
                                                        paradise flycatcher” and 30 butterfly
 
species including the “plain tiger”,
                                                        The Indian Sailor 
“commodore”, “common windmill”
                                                          © Sajal Singh 
and the magnificent striped blue
 
 
crow.
  In this extreme situation of COVID  19
  pandemic, I can bet there could be no
 
one having the same level of fun and
 
adventure as we had in those days of
 
our internship.
 
                               The Asian Paradise Flycatcher
                                            © Sajal Singh  
 

4
Corbett and the Covid,
By SAJAL SINGH, Forestry Scholar (C) Copyright (20-06-2020) All Rights Reserved.
  

4
            . Magic Moments  2 days before my return, we
                And The return,  spotted a leopard just 100
meters from our place of rest
    The last day was bright and sunny!
with his prey, we waited there
An early morning return I was
expecting.
in our gypsy until we got a
                          clear shot. Wow! What a feeling
 
that was. We silently captured
  a few snaps before it went
  inside. Well, we had a better
  view. Twenty minutes down, in
 
a flash, we saw that leopard. It
 
was really difficult to capture
 
                                                              Haldupadao Rest House  him but the visuals were worth
                                                       © Sajal Singh  it. We were happy as the day
  went really well for us. It’s just
  the environment that’s created
 
by the drivers and all the
    
 
tourists you speak with, would
  make you crave to spot a
  leopard.

  This was my first trip as a

                                                                   ©Sajal Singh  group together and a first time
  I was experiencing the jungle. It
  was indeed a memorable
 
experience and I really enjoyed
 
  all the sightings. Some of us
  found new bonds while some
  discovered a whole new love for
  the wild.
 
                       Martin  Thanks,
© Sajal Singh 
Sajal Singh

5
Corbett and the Covid,
By SAJAL SINGH, Forestry Scholar (C) Copyright (20-06-2020) All Rights Reserved.