Wild Animals - A survival Guide

ASHISHPALLOD · 7th April 2009, 12:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOne®

Elephants are one of my favourite animals - if you know how to behave (and I still had many many more encounters with them after that) it is wonderful to watch and learn about them.

@TheOne,
That was really scary experience.
How was the moment at Aagra when only glass was there in between you and elephant during your first visit to India ?

TheOne® · 7th April 2009, 12:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

How was the moment at Aagra when only glass was there in between you and elephant during your first visit to India ?

That was unexpected, that's why I was taken by surprise lol, but I didn't find it scary. After all, this was an elephant in the middle of traffic with somebody sitting on its back - so I figured there is nothing to be scared of.

But this was my first Asian elephant I got to see, so I was quite happy since I love elephants.

By the way, one morning on the same safari I woke up and wondered where this shade in the tent came from. By looking up I realised another elephant was going for a quiet walk through the campsite lol. I quickly grabbed the camera and took a picture:

Wild Animals - A survival Guide-cimg0804_small.jpg

You can see him so well since we only put the moscito net on the tent not the actual cover. My godfather refused to get deprived of this brilliant night sky which he used to look at when going to sleep haha. Though it was scary for me first I was very thankful for this later as it was truly wonderful.

When we got out of the tent our "dinner" table was knocked over though Michi examined the place and said that this was not the elephant's but the hyena's fault, pointing out the different footprints etc. for me.

Maybe I should write a travelogue about this. Sorry for slightly going OT.

gd1418 · 7th April 2009, 12:31

My two cents - who took this video, from where and how? If it was another vehicle, then why did it not charge this other vehicle?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surprise

YouTube - Angry wild elephant, charges, wildlife, nature, flora, fauna, Tholppetty, Muthanga, Wayanad, Kerala

Nice video. Its scary and Iam surprised those guys discussing without feeling the heat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by slipstream

@surprise : phenomenal video...well, it seems like offending the jumbo helped in this case...If I had not seen this video, then I would've assumed that this was the worst thing to do...

Moral of the story : have really really bright headlights and a really really loud horn, noise pollution activists be damned

Quote:

Originally Posted by anekho

@surprise: awesome video!

I never thought the loud horn and bright lights would scare away the elephant! I would have thought it would anger them more! Nevertheless great video.

cheers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Didn't those guys do everything wrong?

Quote:

Originally Posted by pulsar56

well, the elephant was charging at the jeep! what else would he have done?

It charged back when he moved... scary is the only word I could think of now!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

I don't know (and hope I never find out in practice). Just seemed out of line with what I recall from earlier posts in this thread from people who know their jungle stuff.

I don't know. I'm interested to hear from those that do!

Quote:

Originally Posted by thalavoy

IMO, the jeep should have started reversing when the elephant was moving towards it, thereby showing the elephant that he is the boss. Anyways all is well that ends well.
Looks like the occupants of the other jeep (at least the driver) have good presence of mind and did what was to be done. Startle/surprise the elephant some how. The camera vehicle should also have honked and made a ruckus. Self defence, folks.
BTW, the elephant looks like a makhna, so he is a little more dangerous than a tusker.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rotorhead

maybe the elephant backed off at the thought that the yeti will come after him if he does any harm to you. Imagine the elephant running for his dear life and the yeti running after him in a tarzan dress...

jokes aside, thats one hell of a close call with the elephants. Good luck to you that both the bulls didnt decide to have a go at you and your god father, then you wouldnt have had any place to hide. A smiliar experience happend with me on our way to mudumalai and here was a lone bull elephant grazing by the road side , probably 70ft away from the highway, and we slowed down the car to almost a stop to have a look at the elephant, and here comes a cab guy from the behind at good speed blasting his horns, and the next moment the elephant comes trumpetting towards us, and since we we were only just slowing down and not actuall stopped, I shifted gears and raced ahead and the elephant stopped after just giving a mock charge. but that was indeed a scary experience.

Sam Kapasi · 7th April 2009, 12:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheOne®

Maybe I should write a travelogue about this. Sorry for slightly going OT.

Go for it Jenny. Tell us about your adventures in Africa in a new thread.

pjay_in · 7th April 2009, 12:41

Very useful thread, this is.

However it's the wild animals who need a survival guide these days.

TheOne® · 7th April 2009, 12:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sam Kapasi

Go for it Jenny. Tell us about your adventures in Africa in a new thread.

I'll do as soon as I have the time for it.

cherishk · 7th April 2009, 12:42

Even with stray dogs the best thing to do is stay calm and slow down the vehicle. They will stop barking or coming behind. If we try to speed then they will be behind us

Thad E Ginathom · 7th April 2009, 13:06

That is amazing Jenny --- and astonishing that you had the presence of mind to take photos. The photos really show the size of these huge beasts too.

Lots of surprising things in your post... like elephants walking silently. It makes me have even more respect for them!

The last time I saw a really big elephant was a temple elephant in Kerala; the size is just awesome, in the true meaning of the word. It was sad to see it chained.

TheOne® · 7th April 2009, 13:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

That is amazing Jenny --- and astonishing that you had the presence of mind to take photos. The photos really show the size of these huge beasts too.

Lots of surprising things in your post... like elephants walking silently. It makes me have even more respect for them!

The last time I saw a really big elephant was a temple elephant in Kerala; the size is just awesome, in the true meaning of the word. It was sad to see it chained.

Yes, this makes me sad, too. I cannot even really appreciate zoos or anything like this in Germany anymore.

Concerning the silence they walk with, even I was really amazed because I only got to know in Africa. Considering the size and the weight of these animals you would expect the earth to tremble when they walk lol. Well, if not that but at least some loud steps that you can easily make out and maybe lots of branches cracking etc. But no, none of this. They walk like ghosts

Spitfire · 7th April 2009, 13:41

This happened to us when me and a friend went trekking in the Bondla Forest reserve in Goa. This was in 99 and we had trekked for about 2-3 kms inside the reserve and thought of taking a break - Just lying down and listening to the amazing sounds of the jungle.

We put down our knapsacks and pull out the water cans. My friend needs to relieve himself. He hands me his bag and walks off into the trees. A couple of minutes later he walks back and from a distant calls out and says.

There has to be a village close - by. I ask him why he says that? He replies there is a herd of buffaloes coming towards where i was sitting.

Buffaloes?? We are in the middle of the jungle...

He thinks for a second and says run, its a herd of gaurs. As soon as he says that a fully grown Gaur which is 6 feet in height breaks cover a few feet behind my friend.

Time stops. My feet go weak and see a blur of a human body running towards me. I think i yelled stop, stop dont run, something like that not sure though. He was beyond reasoning.

The Gaur stands there and snorts a little, my friend has reached where i am standing and pulls my hand to run along with him.

I am frozen stiff and staring at the magnificient beast shining in the hot afternoon sun. I can never forget that image. It was huge, muscular and close. It did not appear too bothered with us and was scouting upfront of the herd.

For a couple of minutes it stands there smells the air and as if nothing happened walks back to the herd. Seeing the back of the beast restores the colour back on my face which had gone white.

We are anticipating the herd to follow but they turned around after seeing 2 freaked out bipeds in their territory.

We trace our steps back but were happy to have seen the Gaur from so close. They are quite easily spotted but to see them in the wild and that too so close was very different.

Unfortunately we were students then and didnt own any cameras.

Many more experiences in the wild, albeit not with tigers and lions but the smaller fauna like wild boars, deers and once a leopard - which unfortunately attacked us and was shot down. The weight of that day still hangs on my heart.

Torqy · 7th April 2009, 14:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by cherishk

Even with stray dogs the best thing to do is stay calm and slow down the vehicle. They will stop barking or coming behind. If we try to speed then they will be behind us

You know this because you went to school.
But what about the dogs? Do THEY know?

hillram · 7th April 2009, 14:16

This sounds like Jumanji stuff

pypkmsrikanth · 7th April 2009, 14:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by thalavoy

IMO, the jeep should have started reversing when the elephant was moving towards it, thereby showing the elephant that he is the boss.

BTW, the elephant looks like a makhna, so he is a little more dangerous than a tusker.

Thalavoy is absolutely right, the jeep driver should have reversed the jeep for some distance and gone, he was downright stupid to honk like that & show his headlights. With the size of the elephant in all probablity it was a makhna (male elephants without tusks) which are the most dangerous among all elephants, those guys were lucky to have survived this incident.

If you see the video carefully the driver of the vehicle in which the video was shot actually was waiting for the elephant to move away so that they could continue, which is the right thing to do.

Thad E Ginathom · 7th April 2009, 18:15

...But it seems to transfer its attention to them --- and the video stops!

But at least, I guess, they lived --- to post the evidence on youtube.

Spitfire... that is an incredible story. I had to google for pics of the animal. Huge!

Maybe it is a good thing you did not have cameras --- too many cameras have flash on auto these days, which must be a potential animal irritant. One thing I like about my camera is that I must manually flip up the flash when I want it.

Blue_V · 8th April 2009, 08:47

No bright colors, no whites. Better stick to dull colors for clothes/shoes/cap/bag.

7th April 2009, 12:41	#110
pjay_in BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Melbourne Posts: 396 Thanked: 20 Times	Very useful thread, this is. However it's the wild animals who need a survival guide these days.
	() Thanks

7th April 2009, 12:42	#112
cherishk BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bangalore Posts: 94 Thanked: 0 Times	Even with stray dogs the best thing to do is stay calm and slow down the vehicle. They will stop barking or coming behind. If we try to speed then they will be behind us
	() Thanks

7th April 2009, 13:06	#113
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,005 Thanked: 26,443 Times	That is amazing Jenny --- and astonishing that you had the presence of mind to take photos. The photos really show the size of these huge beasts too. Lots of surprising things in your post... like elephants walking silently. It makes me have even more respect for them! The last time I saw a really big elephant was a temple elephant in Kerala; the size is just awesome, in the true meaning of the word. It was sad to see it chained.
	() Thanks

7th April 2009, 13:41	#115
Spitfire BANNED Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Panaji - Goa/Bangalore - Karnataka Posts: 3,312 Thanked: 774 Times	Encounter with a Gaur This happened to us when me and a friend went trekking in the Bondla Forest reserve in Goa. This was in 99 and we had trekked for about 2-3 kms inside the reserve and thought of taking a break - Just lying down and listening to the amazing sounds of the jungle. We put down our knapsacks and pull out the water cans. My friend needs to relieve himself. He hands me his bag and walks off into the trees. A couple of minutes later he walks back and from a distant calls out and says. There has to be a village close - by. I ask him why he says that? He replies there is a herd of buffaloes coming towards where i was sitting. Buffaloes?? We are in the middle of the jungle... He thinks for a second and says run, its a herd of gaurs. As soon as he says that a fully grown Gaur which is 6 feet in height breaks cover a few feet behind my friend. Time stops. My feet go weak and see a blur of a human body running towards me. I think i yelled stop, stop dont run, something like that not sure though. He was beyond reasoning. The Gaur stands there and snorts a little, my friend has reached where i am standing and pulls my hand to run along with him. I am frozen stiff and staring at the magnificient beast shining in the hot afternoon sun. I can never forget that image. It was huge, muscular and close. It did not appear too bothered with us and was scouting upfront of the herd. For a couple of minutes it stands there smells the air and as if nothing happened walks back to the herd. Seeing the back of the beast restores the colour back on my face which had gone white. We are anticipating the herd to follow but they turned around after seeing 2 freaked out bipeds in their territory. We trace our steps back but were happy to have seen the Gaur from so close. They are quite easily spotted but to see them in the wild and that too so close was very different. Unfortunately we were students then and didnt own any cameras. Many more experiences in the wild, albeit not with tigers and lions but the smaller fauna like wild boars, deers and once a leopard - which unfortunately attacked us and was shot down. The weight of that day still hangs on my heart. Last edited by Spitfire : 7th April 2009 at 13:44.
	() Thanks

7th April 2009, 14:16	#117
hillram Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 2,942 Thanked: 1,326 Times View My Garage	This sounds like Jumanji stuff
	() Thanks

7th April 2009, 18:15	#119
Thad E Ginathom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 11,005 Thanked: 26,443 Times	...But it seems to transfer its attention to them --- and the video stops! But at least, I guess, they lived --- to post the evidence on youtube. Spitfire... that is an incredible story. I had to google for pics of the animal. Huge! Maybe it is a good thing you did not have cameras --- too many cameras have flash on auto these days, which must be a potential animal irritant. One thing I like about my camera is that I must manually flip up the flash when I want it.
	() Thanks

8th April 2009, 08:47	#120
Blue_V BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 173 Thanked: 67 Times	No bright colors, no whites. Better stick to dull colors for clothes/shoes/cap/bag.
	() Thanks