THE MAMMALS - CORBETT TIGER RESERVE
THE MONKEYS
All Indian Monkeys are of two main classes; they bare either
Macaques or else Langurs. The macaques have cheek-pouches and are smaller
sized than the Langurs; they are usually short tailed and thickset in
build. The Langurs have no cheek pouches, they are tall and have long
tails. Both the Rhesus Macaque and the Common Langur are normally found in
the Corbett Tiger Reserve and are widely distributed.
Rhesus Macaque: 
The
Rhesus (Macaca Mulatta) is the best-known Monkey in the world. It is
familiar 'red Monkey' of northern India, an olive brown in coat with the
pelage on the lowerback distinctively reddish, a pink face and short tail.
It does not seem to attain the size in the Corbett reserve that it does
elsewhere in its wide range over north India, and her it does not frequent
the outskirts of human habitations and even enter them, but it is purely a
forest Monkey. It is common along the Ramganga in The Sheesham forests
flanking the river, and uncommonly shy - on sighting men it drops quickly
down from the tree and scuttles away into bush cover.
Common Grey Langur:
The Common Grey Langur (Presbytis Entellus) is the only Monkey with an
all India distribution in several regional races, which are very similar
to one another. It is the well-known 'Hanuman Langur' of the north, a grey
all-over with a flat black face and black hands and feet. There is also a
mystery behind why is called 'Hanuman', for the Puranic Hanuman belonged
very much to south India and in the south it is invariably the bonnet
Monkey (a Macque and no Langur) that is depicted as the Monkey-God!
Langurs, too, are remarkably shy of men here.
ELEPHANTS
Wild Elephants in the reserve used to be seasonal visitors
rather than residents, but with the construction of the dam and the
submersion of their established routes a population seems to have turned
resident. These Elephants wander all over the tree forests and frequently
come on to the open clearings to graze or to get to the river to drink and
bathe.
In
spite of the cover readily available to them they do not, as a rule,
retreat at once from human presence and may, on occasion, be aggressive;
they are also given to pushing down and uprooting small trees wastefully
when feeding in the forests. It has been said that they are restive and
unsettled because, with their age old trek routes now blocked by the
submersion of a part of the reserve, they feel insecure and confined. But
their apprehensiveness is mainly due to too frequent disturbance by men.
Want To See An Elephant!
However that might be, two things should always be kept in
mind with regard to wild Elephants here; the difficulty of judging their
size in the cast, open settings of the Corbett reserve, and the need to
take care not to disturb or provoke them. The same elephant seen among
trees close by the road seem much larger than when seen on open ground
near water, because in the vast arena of the 'Chuars' size is hard to
judge, and big as the elephant undoubtedly is, the foothills of the
Himalayas providing the backdrop to the setting are bigger!
People in a van or other motor vehicle, or on elephant back are
comparatively safe when encountering wild Elephants unexpectedly, but when
on foot it is essential to avoid being too close to them. Do not be misled
into a feeling of security by the peaceful indifference of grazing
Elephants, seemingly unaware of your presence; unlike almost all other
wild animals, Elephants at times attack without any previous signal of
hostile intent and they can be incredibly swift in their movements, both
upslope and down, they can cover ground much faster than a man can.
ANTELOPES AND DEER
Except for the Nilgai reported only from Bijrani, there are
no Antelopes in the reserve. Goral, which are Goat Antelopes, are not
uncommon on the high ridges north of the Ramganga.
Chital:
Chital and Para belonging to the same genus though very unlike in
appearance are both features of the reserve. A large stag party seen on
open ground at Dhikala or elsewhere presents a remarkable sight, a regular
forest of antlers! In the recent past Chital have lost much ground here
owing to the inundation of the 'Chuars', but they are among the most
adaptable of Indian animals and no doubt will continue to be a major
feature of the reserve; incidentally, they are dominantly Indian. In the
vast spaciousness of the open Maidan their size may not be apparent, but
they come as big here as they do anywhere else.
Para:
The Para is also called the Hog Deer; from its supposed resemblance to a
hog in its gait and carriage and in its thick bodied, low to ground build.
It has been said that Para do not bound along as other deer do, and that
in this it is Pig-like. It is true that it does not jump high in its
getaway as the Muntjac usually do, but it can and does gallop, and in fact
its gait and run are very much like that of a Deer. Para are both browsers
and grazers and favour grassy clearings. They have been more affected by
the inundation of such open ground than most other mammals here.
Sambar:
Sambar in the reserve do attain a fair bodily size, but also like
riverine scrub, and are not at all uncommon in the tree forests and along
the streams of the river. The reason for the poor antlers of the stags
seems to be mainly genetic and not environmental for Chital living in the
same area and feeding on much the same vegetation has quite sizeable
antlers. They may be commonly encountered in the reverine forests at
Dhilkala during an elephant-back ride. At nightfall Sambar usually move up
to some safe hilltop clearing to lie up and chew the cud, and the ease
with which they can swarm up almost vertical banks on limber legs is
astonishing.
Muntjac:
The Muntjac is a diminutive Deer of tree forests, especially notable for
its loud alarm call, its physical peculiarities, and its aliases. It is
also called the Barking Deer and the rib faced Deer and sometimes in the
south, the Jungle Sheep! It is small and usually solitary, and though a
bright brown in colour, is not easily seen in the bush cover it keeps to.
Its call, however, is unmistakable, strident and extraordinarily loud
coming from such a small animal, a reiterated, hoarse long drawn bark,
typically like the bark of a very large dog with a very bad sore throat,
but differing in pitch and duration from individual to individual to some
extent.
This alarm call is sounded at the least hint of danger, on becoming aware
of the presence of a Tiger or a Leopard or even a man close by and is
widely understood by all denizens of the forest as a reliable indication
of danger in the offing.
Wild Pig:
The Wild Pigs are found in the uneven terrain of the upper slopes of the
Himalayan region, especially nearby Nullahs and shallow streams. They much
fancy eating Tubers, Snouts and underground Fungi's, but they also like to
eat meat when they can find it, tough they do not normally hunt for prey.
Wild Pigs usually go about in small parties, or in regular sounders, and
these are rather small in bodily size, but some quite enormous lone boars
are also seen on occasion.
THE PREDATORS AT CORBETT TIGER RESERVE
Tigers: Corbett Tiger Park
The
Corbett tiger reserve has always been known for its Tigers. It offers them
an exceptionally congenial environment; there is no dearth of varied prey
to suit all stages of their age and condition with the abundance of four
kinds of Deer, Pig and lesser animals; Tiger stands the cold very well,
and alone among the great Cats of Asia they like to lie up in water and
are excellent swimmers; even in midsummer, they find shelter from the
scorching sun in the shallow pools along the stream beds fed by
subterranean springs (locally called 'Sots'), overhung with dense, shading
vegetation, and the spreads of tall grass in the 'Chuars' provide cover to
lurk in and to stalk the wary prey.
Protection Of The Tigers
Following the policy of Project Tiger, the barbarous practice of tying
out live baits so as to display the Tiger to visitors has been
discontinued, so that it is purely by chance that one may see a Tiger here
and since the Tiger is shy of men and prefers to stay within cover by day,
being out mainly when it is dark or dim, this is not a likely chance, but
it does come to pass in the comparatively open valley bed much favoured by
Tigers here.
There are quite a few of them moving about the Corbett tiger reserve is
proved by their fresh footprints on the sands of the Ramganga and its many
streams. Since these pugs are adequately individualistic to divulge the
age and sex of the animal leaving them behind, the experienced observer
can compute the numbers and favourite beats of the Tigers in an area by
studying them, and it is largely by such pug counts that the Tiger
population of a reserve is reckoned.
With the strict protection from human intrusions into their lives
accorded by the project, Tigers here have already shown welcome signs of
increase-from 44 in 1972 to 90 in 1984, no doubt this increase is partly
due to Tigers from outside the reserve moving into its more congenial
terrain. Incidentally, Tigers all over the country belong to the same sub
species; the Indian Tiger- there is no such animal as the Royal Bengal
Tiger.
Leopard:
Being much smaller more nocturnal and having a beautifully spotted coat
that blends so effectively with the ground vegetation, the Leopards keep
mainly to the forested ridges, though when hunting at night they do come
into the valley. They are the most versatile of the great Cats, and much
the most varied in size.
They are superbly athletic and can jump high, climb trees with ease and
crouch so low to ground behind some small clump of grass that they become
almost invisible! They hunt all manner of prey, from Monkeys and Chital
down to ground birds, the Monitor Lizard and River Tortoises, though they
do not take readily to water as Tigers do. Leopards avoid their much Tiger
cousins, which will not hesitate to attack and kill them if opportunity
offers.
Wild Cats:
The lesser Cats of the reserve are the Jungle Cat and the Leopard-Cat,
both seldom seen being comparatively small, nocturnal and shy, distinctive
in their looks. The Jungle Cat is noticeably larger than the Domestic Cat,
an overall grey in colour with a comparatively short tail whose tip is
ringed in black and erect, acutely pointed ears with a thin pencil of
black hair to their tips.
The Leopard Cat is beautifully marked with spots, streaks and Ocelli,
somewhat like a Leopard in miniature, and is smaller than the Jungle Cat,
though powerfully built. Although not listed by the team that studied the
mammals of the reserve, the most powerful of the smaller Cats, the Fishing
Cat also occurs here, but is uncommon, unlike the Jungle Cat and the
Leopard Cat.
Wild Dog:
The 'Dhole', the so-called Wild Dog, 'Jungli Kutta' (Cuaon Alphinus) is
completely rare in the reserve and has been reported, occasionally, only
from Bijrani.
Jackal:
The
Jackal is common, especially around the campus and human settlements, and
is often seen in pairs, sometimes in small parties.
Red Fox:
The Red Fox, virtually the same as the English Reynard, may be seen
occasionally at dusk or dawn.
Sloth Bear & Himalayan Black Bear:
The resident Bear is the Sloth Bear but it is definitely uncommon being
found, mostly in the ridge north of the Ramganga. Rarely, the Himalayan
Black Bear may stray in during winter from higher altitudes.
Other Predatory Animals
The smaller predators include the highly Arboreal Yellow Throated Marten
which is uncommon, the Common Otter along the river, usually seen in a
pack, the Small Indian Civet and the Common Palm Civet both of which are
common but little seen because of their nocturnal habit, and the larger
and handsomer Himalayan Palm Civet, which is also nocturnal. The Mongoose
of the area is the Indian Grey Mongoose, which is diurnal and keeps to the
more open areas of the park.
OTHERS SMALL MAMMALS
The only Hedgehog recorded here is the long eared Hedgehog,
occasionally found near Bijrani in dry scrub. Two shrews are seen
occasionally near human habitations, one of which is the familiar
'Chuchindar' or Common Musk Shrew. Eight kind of Bats been listed, among
them the Flying Fox or Giant Fruit Bat (Gadal Badur) which, being
nocturnal, is not often seen. The Indian Pangolin 9Bajra Kit) is quite
rare and reported only from Garjia.
The Northern Blacknaped Hare (Khargosh) is quite common in the open scrub,
but is out only early in the mornings, late in the evenings and by night
and so seldom seen. The Northern Palm Squirrel (Ghilheri) is there near
Bijrani. Apart from the Bandicoot and the Indian Gerbille and Indian Field
Mouse there are half a dozen other rats and field mice, all nocturnal and
so seldom seen.
The Indian Porcupine is also very much a creature of the night and so not
often seen, but is quite a feature of the reserve; it lives in
subterranean burrows, and has been much affected by the flooding of its
homes by the water spread of the Ramnaganga; all predators are fond of
this plump rodent, but its armour of barbed, backwardly directed quills
and vigilance often save it.
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