Elephant Grass is amazing !!
A "bunch grass", it's easily 12-15 feet (3-4 m) high in places, and there are many square miles of it in Kaziranga. We rode around in open jeeps, just as we did at the lion preserve in Gujarat, trusting that the "locals" wouldn't jump in and "join us for dinner."
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
The grass is so high and so dense, that these two young male elephants weren't visible at all until they stepped out of the grass, onto the roadway...perhaps 75 m away from us...
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
...then, having decided that we didn't look too trustworthy, they continued on across the road, again disappearing into the grass. Seconds after they slipped into it, we drove to the place where they had stood, and could see no sign of them at all...they just vanished into the safety of the grass.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
The grass also hides a considerable population of tigers. This one was quite distant, could't get a better image of him than this (had to use all my optical and digital zoom, plus some cropping to see it this well...). It had apparently made a kill recently, and was lounging in the shade. Several deer grazed calmly a few meters away, apparently aware that a full-bellied, lazy tiger is no danger...for the moment.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
The area we visited on Day II not only had more rhino, but also had some more open areas where we could see them better, sometimes up quite close. These were just grazing and were not bothered by our presence, but I have seen videos of upset rhinos charging through villages, doing serious damage.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
Most of the houses we saw in the area were up on stilts. At first, I thought this was because there is lots of rain and flooding during the rainy season...but it's also so your family doesn't wake up in the morning with one of these guys licking their face !
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
This is one of several ranger stations. The are spread across the park to support armed rangers watching for poachers. Hindus are quite opposed to killing animals...
....but poachers better beware.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
The Brahmaputra River is huge, even when not at flood stage. The river bed is easily visible from the air, it's a gravel channel between 4 and 6 miles wide (yes...miles...). It's a principle river in eastern India for draining snow melt from the Himalayas, and also as watershed for the torrential monsoon rains that fall in Assam.
The monsoon season starts in June, just about the time snow melting is getting to full speed. The months of July-September would have a very different view from this vantage point. The flooding, raging river would be wider than you could see, and I'm not sure, but even my vantage point on this bluff might not be a safe place to stand.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
I also like this one. A Kingfisher, not worried about floods, or rhinos, or tigers, just perched above a quiet lake, waiting for a small fish to wander into that "sweet spot" just in front of him.
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
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| Photo by Mark W. Laughlin |
Kaziranga National Park and Wildlife Preserve, a beautiful place.
Fly first to Delhi, then on eastward to Guwahati.
Drive eastward a bit more to the preserve.
There are a number of small hotels that you can find online,
they can arrange everything, rooms, meals, transport from Guwahati,
and most important of all, jeeps and guides for the preserve.
Give it a visit.
-Mark
