The making of a "maneater". The Pithoragarh maneater

[prashantsingh]

We thought of that CK.
In fact the ideal would be to tie up a drunkard as bait instead of the Buffalo calf.
Unfortunately there were no volunteers.

we saw some scratch markings and decided to make the machaan . The machaan was Safarigent brainchild and was a perfect hide.

[zaheer.bakshi]

Actually we could have picked one from the village. The whole village is a junkyard of drunkards.

[zaheer.bakshi]

[prashantsingh]

Those jackals inspected the bait and walked right under our blind. There was a cold breeze flowing throughout and we were happy that our machaan was doing a good job.
There were some lighter moments as well. And the selfie of safarigent and I on the machaan with a molar to molar smile is one of them.
Our night search revealed nothing much. As is the case in most places where maneaters are found. You hardly spot any prey base. Every evening we would see one hare . Around the same area.
It was obvious that the locals had poached most of the leopards food chain.
The highlight of our night search was when Safarigent spotted a strange animal climbing up a cheer pine tree. When it got to the top. It folded it's long tail under the belly and flew across like a bat. It took us time to realize that what we had just seen was a giant flying squirrel. A rare animal in today's times.
My personal favourite . The night jar was also present. There were two of them and we would see them everyday.

[zaheer.bakshi]

[prashantsingh]

The monsoons bring with it all creatures great and small.
On the very first day Zaheer and I saw a big black snake basking in the sun by the roadside.
The first day on the machaan , there was this red ant nest on one of the branches which, as luck would have it, was positioned right next to my neck. On the machaan one has to sit absolutely still and make no noise. I had a tough time as the ants bit into my flesh and crawled all over my back at leisure.
To make matters worse I had leeches sticking to my legs by the dozens.
Safarigent was better prepared with his smart shikar boots picked up from England.
Second day onwards I had enough salt on my legs to keep the leeches away.

The small Didihat mosquitoes with their amazing bites troubled us all. Irrespective of caste, creed or sex.

To make matters worse you have a plant called Bicchubootie growing everywhere. I was happy to stay away from it in my first trip but fell victim to it in the second round a few days later.

[xl_target]

Eagerly following your story. Hoping for a quick resolution and a safe hunt.

Bichubuti; When I went on an expedition with NIM (Uttarkashi), we were camped near the snow line and one guy had to do his business really bad. Not wanting to use water or snow as it was so cold, he picked a leaf of this plant growing there and wiped himself. Pretty soon there was a commotion; screams, yelling, etc. Everyone went running there and ...you guessed it... he had wiped himself with Bichubuti.

One of the expedition leaders, went to the plant and picked something from the base of the plant and squeezed the juice on the guys behind. Apparently this is the antidote and it is always present with the plant. Don't ask me to be more descriptive as I didn't go over there to get a close look once I found out what was going on.

[prashantsingh]

Poor fellow.

Some lovely trek routes in Uttarkashi . My personal favourite is Dodital. A 25 km trek to a lake at 10000 feet .

You are right . There is a leafy plant which grows near every Bicchubootie. It is called paalak and is similar to the greens we eat. Quite effective as an antidote.

[Sakobav]

Xl my nephew had the same accident and he was made to stand or crouch in car all the way,

Parshant Zaheer and safari good luck guys, although ck has a point on drunkards smells my naive 2paisa just try playing some recorded gibberish which might have some impact praying you succeed and for your safety good luck
Best

[prashantsingh]

CK and ngrewal.
With 12 kills this maneater has now evolved into a smart fellow. As I will narrate later.

After almost a week with no trace of the animal we left.
On the way back we stopped at my friend Kr Sanjay Singh s place in Moradabad.
It was because of Sanjay that I had got this first permit and we decided to take tips from him when we returned for the animal.

[zaheer.bakshi]

[dr.jayakumar]

DOC,thanks for posting the pictures of your guns.do you spend the whole night in that machaan or leave at dusk?
regards
dr.jk

[prashantsingh]

So sorry Doc.
I forgot to answer your question earlier.
I carried my IOF 30 06 and a 12 bore with me.
I will let Safarigent talk about his rifle and gun

[prashantsingh]

We get in to the machaan much before dusk and stay up till around 10 pm.
While leaving the bait is left behind overnight and checked in the morning. If the bait has been taken there are very good chance of the animal returning the following evening,
the rationale of staying up till 10 pm. Has a lot to do with the habits of the villagers.
In most villages in India life starts early. Specially in the hills. People also go to bed early.
By dusk the cattle return from grazing and are sent to their enclosures , which in most cases is the ground floor of the house. As mentioned in my previous post ....maneater of devprayag. The evening meals are served early. By 830 pm. Life comes to a stand still.
A maneater or a cattle lifter will come close to the village looking for food between dusk to around 9 or 930. After around 10 pm it knows that everything is indoor and secure and it's chances of a kill reduce.
There is no hard and fast rule regarding this and I am sure everyone will agree that exception s can always be found.

[essdee1972]

Awesome narrative and pics, gentlemen! Hooked totally! Awaiting the denouement with bated breath......

A query, arising from CKK's post - Corbett and Anderson state multiple times that tigers and leopards have weak sense of smell. I have heard differing opinions. Is there a conclusive answer?