RESIDENT GAME IN CAMPS AND LODGES
Nocturnal animals display a disarming eagerness to interact with other species and are just as much lovers of food. Travelling to explore wildlife can be a serene experience
Ever so often, I’ve discovered to my thrill, that a safari continues well after I’ve returned to the lodge after careening all over the jungle or bush in a jeep. Wilderness camps and the areas surrounding them are replete with nests, hollows, hives and dens. I can hear their calls and see their pugmarks and footprints-evidence that they’re right there. Some wild creatures are lured by the smells of the kitchen and garbage, they might feel safer around people or have taken a shine to a sturdy oasis. Oftentimes, they’re drawn by simple curiosity.
Having a good look a resident wild boar up close at Dhikala lodge in Corbett National Park was an unexpected delight, as was observing Percy, the jungle cat who invites herself to the fireside chat at Sher Bagh, a lodge at Ranthambhore National Park. Steps away, a handful of enormous water monitors have moved en familie into the warm boiler room. And mongoose are regularly clapped away from the kitchen.
Tara Lal, a conservationist, said she’d wake up in the middle of the night at a South African lodge, spooked by the eerie swinging of the lamp over her bed. She figured out, to her excitement, that a bush baby crawls in through the roof thatch to hunt insects.
Anjali Singh, a wildlife photographer, remembers being enthralled by a pair of spectacular spotted genets that habitually glide along the suspended roof beams of the dining room at Ndutu camp, Tanzania. Wars have been waged in defending their prime, morsel-rich territory.
HYRAX HAVEN
Recently, at Mokombe’s House, a rambling wooden lodge built into the kopjes or boulders in the northern Serengeti, I spent hours one afternoon with a family of incredibly adorable, fluffy, rabbit sized rock hyraxes. They live in and around the wooden deck, and were relaxing spread-eagle on the rocks, soaking in the warmth. The mother and youngsters huddled close together as I approached, but stood their ground. I realized they were just as curious, their large rounded eyes following me closely, whiskers twitching and shiny nose whiffing. I could see their tiny pink paws and rounded ears, and as I sat back to read, they scurried even closer, scratching innumerable itches and striking cute poses. Just above, a nest clung to the ceiling, and a pair of swifts swooshed-in every few minutes, bearing grubs for their chicks that screeched with a sense of entitlement.
Dining under the stars at Sasakwa Serengeti Lodge a few days earlier, a heartmeltingly lovable, dark, furry creature with a bushy tail and enormous eyes quietly materialized on a ledge besides our table. It was a greater galago, a nocturnal creature we’d have only seen fleetingly from a jeep in poor light. And here it was, three feet away, interacting with us.
‘The pair live on this tree and they drop-by at dinnertime,” said Stuart, our guide. Before long, its mate joined the feast and we found ourselves lavishing mozzarella sticks, fish fritters and vast gigabytes of film on them. “They’re properly spoilt,” said Stu, adding, ‘These insect eaters have developed a taste for fresh cream and panacotta, and will bypass many leftovers on the table to get to the dessert.’
Not everyone is so welcoming of wildlife at the table. At breakfast at another camp in Botswana, a large, male baboon once cheekily made off with a massive wheel of Swiss cheese under his arm and clambered up a nearby tree. We couldn’t help laughing at his perfectly timed banditry- that split second when no one was within stopping distance. Horrified with the robbery and annoyed at being outwitted by his arch-nemesis, the manager swore at him angrily and then placed a stuffed lion on the buffet to scare him from coming back.