Jungle Walk At Night

Ever ventured into a jungle at night? A jungle which has Tigers, Leopards, Bisons, Jungle Fox and other animals. Jim Corbett and Kenneth Anderson used to sit the night out on a machan looking for man-eaters. That was in early 20th century. You and I are neither Jim nor Kenneth. But still we ventured to prowl the jungles of Pench National Park in India. We did two outings. One on foot and the other in a vehicle. No weapons. Just a normal flash light and vehicle headlights. Sounds crazy? See the videos and decide for yourself.

The experience was worth it. But surely not for the weak hearted. 

Firstly, we share the thrill of walking in a jungle on a pitch dark night. So dark that you can not see your own shadow! Cloudy sky prevented the glow of the moon, though it did make a brief appearance. We were three men in our 70s, without even a walking stick. Just our phones and a small torch light. We must have walked a km in that darkness.! Feel our thrill through the 40-second video and pictures below.

Next came a vehicle safari at night. Equally dark jungle. Partially illuminated by the headlights of the vehicle. Scanning for animals all around. Listening silently for any movement or a call. An hour or more exploring the jungle at night. No sightings except a lone bird on the track. It was a Eurasian Thick-knee. A jungle fox also showed its shining eyes but disappeared fast into the darkness. We even went to the spot where the butchers discard the leftovers every night to be eaten by the wolves. But the wolves did not oblige us that night. Yes, hundreds of Egrets welcomed us while roosting on a single tree. Quite a sight it was! Pictures and videos of another thrilling night follow.

See the short video of the night safari below.

A Eurasian Thick-knee shone in the headlights right ahead. See the picture.

Egrets roosting together on a tree at night, see two pictures and a video clip near Pench.

Video clip of the egrets follows.

Another spectacle that we witnessed after dusk was seeing hundreds of Winged Termites rising together! Winged Termites rise in a swarm at dusk. They perish thereafter.  See the video below. In the video we had wrongly identified the swarm as dragon flies until a wildlife enthusiast Wg Cdr Yella Prakash Rao pointed out the error. Thanks Prakash.

Who were these crazy 70-year-olds venturing into the jungle at night on foot? See the Three Owls in the picture below.

Hope you felt the thrill of a night walk in the jungle! 

Thanks for browsing. More stories on Tiger and Leopard sighting, Bawanthadi River Bank, Pachdhar Pottery Village, Camp Gondwana and Birds of Pench will follow soon.

Other stories on Pench are listed below. Simply click to browse.

Rural India- Real Happiness A picture story of villages near Pench and how a village panchayat has helped in tourism development.

Pottery Magic at Pachdhar Village - The story takes you to Pachdhar a village near Pench National park on NH-44 where the residents have been creating amazing designs in pottery.

Two Tigers and Three Masked Men - Videos and pictures of leopard and tiger sighting together in Pench! A rare event indeed.

    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad with Animesh and Ashok/ Pench MP India/ 7th Feb 2024

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