Devprayag Part 2

[SMJ]

Excellent and thrilling guys Definitely no fairy tale conditions!! Cant wait for more

[prashantsingh]

4 Goral and one wildboar.....that I saw.
The locals were sure the maneater had gone down the valley into the "gadera".
But we were sure the animal had moved up and would finally shoot the animal uphill.
This further strained our relations with the locals who felt we had not come to shoot the animal but to do chowkidaari.
And then one night. A night before Zaheer came back.
Safarigent was on the wheel. While i was doing the spotting .
When on the way back I spotted those burning ambers.
I will let safarigent describe the scene.
We did not shoot giving the benifit of doubt to the animal.....But I later realised that the wrong descision (which was entirely mine) of not shooting at those eyes.......at a distance of about 80 odd yards on the other side of the hill would cost us dearly.
And almost cost the nepali labour living in the open with their lives.
The next morning revealed that we had actually spotted the maneater and had him in our scopes for more than 20 min.
But my obscession of not shooting anything except the confirmed maneater .....had all gone wrong.
After we had left.......the red eyed creature had moved up the hill onto a Nepali dera and troubled the labour sleeping there. It was only due to the tough physical and mental makeup of these hill folks that the maneater could not make a kill that night. Armed with laathis the Nepalis got together and faught of the maneater.

[Safarigent]

I shall writw about the 18th tonight. Please bear with me. Work.....

[prashantsingh]

Would like to add.
The locals had spotted the leopard a month ago in the valley below and were sure it was still there.
Zaheer and I checked the place thoroughly and felt it had moved uphill instead.
In summers due to scarce water supply the animal may have been forced to live down in the valley.
But now with the rains and after being disturbed by humans it would surely move to a safer place.......far from the main road ....where there was minimal disturbance.......Uphill.
Our assumption , as we later found out , was correct.

[Safarigent]

On the 18th we woke up to cloudy skies. No reports had come in during the night and early morning of any sightings or noises etc. it rained in the late afternoon.heavy downpour and then a beautiful rainbow starting over the bhagirathi and ending over the alaknanda. A pretty sight. Watching clouds race up across the mountains across us in Pauri Garhwal. But knowing also that there was little chance of a leopard showing while it was pouring. The rainclouds parted by about 5 and we rushed to sit on the machan. After a few hours we got up and decided to search. During our recce earlier in the day i had given my telephone number to all the folks we were meeting; so they could give us a missed call if they saw anything. Due to the landslides on this mountain there were three teams of nepali labourers working. These men earned 300 rupees a day for backbreaking labour on trwcherous mountain roads, breaking stones, clearing paths and repairing roads. They stayed in flimsy small tents they'd fashion themselves. Meat rations on sundays was what they used to look forward to and a lot were also looking forward to going home for dussehra. I shall tell you in detail about these three deras. The first dera was on both sides of the road around 20 mins driving distance from bhatkot. 4 tents and a 4x4 cooking shed. The second was 5-10 minutes further on. To the right around a 100 feet down from the road in a small clearinf. 3 tents. The last one was further up the mountain. 100 meters from the trijunction where one riad went left to a few villages and stopped and the other turn went all the way around the valley, right bang through some dense forest and further on down to meet the road we used to drive up on to bhatkot. This is the road the good doc referred to when he mentioned a promising road being blocked off. The nepali dera on top was just 15 odd feet down the road on an old abandoned step farm where lantana was growing all around them. 3 tents and a small cooking shed. None of the nepali deras had goats or dogs or kept any refuse around the camp etc. they used to go for ablutions a distance away. Pleasant place with a fabulous view. We would spot all the way up the mountain till the teijunction and go back down. The nepalis on top had told us about the leopard troubling them, in one instance it actually came in the dera while in another it was close by in the bushes circling and sawing. These brave resolute folks armed nothing but sticks, empty cans and a doughty spirit had stood fast all these days and were about the only folks on that mountain happy to see us. Outsiders themselves, they didnt mind where we came from, as long as we tackled the situation.
While spotting that night at 1.30 or thereabouts, we turned the corner and saw the dera in the glare of the spotlight. As one of our members was out of town, i was driving and the good doctor was spotting with his rifle on the ready lying on the roof. Suddenly he spotted a pair of bright reddish eyes amongst some bushes 2-3 fields further down from the dera. A distance of 50-60 feet from the tents(measured the next day) The vehicle was duly stopped. Moved forward, reversed, driven around the bend and back again, turned off for a few minutes. But the animal to whom the eyes belonged didnt show itself. At one stage, i could faintly see(or was i imagining) a cat like beast sitting facing away with its head turned towards us. During one of the manoeuvres we had the animal rise up, the eyes moved a distance o a feet or more in the same spot. By this time the ranger had the spotlight trained on the animal and we had the eyes in our croashairs. It would have been so easy to place a bullet between those eyes....... But training kicked in, we could not shoot without identifying what we were shooting at no matter how easy the shot. Readers will have no idea how often we cursed ourselved in the coming days for not taking the 'shot'. Anyway, eventually the animal got tired of the drama and the eyes disappeared. We went up, told the nepalis we had seen something fishy and that they should beware of any mishap in the night. A carnivore(for the eyes glowed bright red/orange) was hanging around a human settlement where there was no refuse, no human waste, no dogs, no livestock etc it could make its meal. This was the area where the leopard had been a nuisance before and these eyes were not shy at all........ My notes of that night might be illustrative:
Up at the very top of the mountain a small detachment of nepali labourers are staying in flimsy tents to repair roads. Perfect leopard dinner. We saw the leopard 30 yards away from the tents. A game of hide and seek followed. The leopard didnt compromise itself after us trying all the tricks in the book. We left after informing the chaps about the leopard in the bushes below them. In a few hours time the destinies of that leopard and a hapless man might intersect up on that desolate stretch. If there is no kill by morning, we shall occupy a tent there tomorrow with the goat tied out front. Fingers crossed.

Added in 16 minutes 29 seconds:

Safarigent,

I was waiting for the photographs of your machan and preferably a list of things you carry on these real life trips

Atul

Hi chief,
Sorry never took a picture of the machan from the goats point of view. The vegetation didnt make me comfortable enough to let my guard down in this instance. We basically had two long planks, the ones which building labourers use for working on walls etc. these planks were secured against the tree with ropes on either end. A camouflage net around the rear and branches were used to camouflage the front. The terrain and the trees foliage was such that unless the animal was on or just around the bait we were invisible. As to what is carried on the machan;
1. Battery pack. Inclement weather can drain out battery of your phone rapidly.
2. Flashlight with fresh cells.
3. Odourless mosquito repellent.
4. A fixed blade knife.
5. A few extra cartridges. Preferably in a case/holder so there is no noise.
6. A hat/cap and gloves. The human skin shines.
7. No digital watch with an alarm capability or one which gives beeps.
8. A small bottle of water and a small chocolate bar for when you get down. Your energy gets sapped faster than you realize.

[aadhaulya]

Thanks, that is exciting. What caliber guns besides your 3006 and number of ammo for each gun is carried?? Do you also carry hand guns for an emergency..

Atul

[prashantsingh]

I have a pistol but dont carry it on hunts. Strange as it may sound. I only carry a rifle. Not even a hunting knife...... Probably my way of giving the leopard a fair chance.
We were not sure what that animal was . Else we would have shot it
We drove to the dera and informed those guys to be careful. If anyone had to go out to answer natures call. Others should accompany him and keep a watch.
There were 13 men living there. One woman and her two small girls.
It was amazing how they all fitted into the three small tent like structures and slept. Zaheer may I request you to kindly put up the snaps.
Only one of these men had a mobile. A prepaid account.....with no money to even give a missed call......as we later found out....the next morning

[Pran]

Great write-up, Doc and Safarigent!

Regards
Pran

[Safarigent]

Atul, a .30-06 is plenty for a thin skinned animal. As far as cartridges go, you'd want to have a full mag and a few to spare. A knife is very handy. I was the only one carrying my knife. The same poor blade has been to africa and europe multiple times. Whether it is cutting rope, branches, making holes in camo sheets , hammering in a stick to a measure of last ditch security, a solid fixed blade does wonders.
Also of immeasurable utility is black electrical tape. A 1" section taped across your muzzle saves you from habing any dirt/ foreign object getting stuck in the barrel. And when you are climbing up and down mountains, in jeeps trundling up and down dusty roads and rains a constant factor, that little piece of tape gives you a lot of security.

Added in 9 minutes 22 seconds:
On the 19 morning we were woken at 7 am by reports of a buffalo having been killed by the leopard at the village above the nepali dera! We got ready in a rush and just then the 'dead' buffalo reached back home. It had broken free from its tether and had wandered away.... The villagers panicked and thought the leopard took it. High atop our mountain, at the nepali dera we decided to sit for the leopard that evening. As there were no trees in the vicinity, we had to sit on the ground outside one of the tents. I am sure you are aware of the dangers of positioning yourself on the ground outside the tent from where a maneater tried pulling a man out. A ground blind was made by me overlooking the next field down. We sat from 7-9 to no avail and then a rain shower made us abandon our attempt. The waxing moon was a factor each day for us. The more light there was the worse it was for our concealment, the more cautious the animal would be. After dinner, we spotted till 1.30 am. Saw a pine marten, a big fat young wild boar, a couple of huge owls and a civet. But no leopard. The next morning, on the 19th we got news that leopards struck at khirsu above srinagar(uttarakhand) and at teen pani but the first one is in pauri garhwal and too far to be our leopard, while the second one raided a cattle pen. No reports of 'our' leopards whereabouts had been reported through the night. The issue of where to sit tonight was left open till middday pending some more inputs............

[zaheer.bakshi]

Nepali Dera

[prashantsingh]

Thanks Arjun for the write up and Zaheer for the snaps.

Today when I sit back and recall........
As a team leader I have to admit.
I FAILED THRICE.
It was my responsability to look into the safety of my mates and my own self , which I disregarded .

I attribute it to my inexperience as a maneater hunter.
Even after hunting maneaters for 4 years.
Every hunt ..... different.
Every hunt.....a new learning process.

The first big mistake we did was to allow a hide to be made on the ground like the one shown above.
I was expecting the maneater to come uphill......but with an animal as cunning as a leopard. You can never be sure.
We were totally exposed as you can see and it was simply our good luck....that the maneater never turned up during the three nights we spent in this hide.

I will let Arjun go ahead with the story and will discuss the other two blunders subsequently as the story progresses.

[Harish Asnani]

Great job, very exciting read. I'm full of admiration for you all who go all the way to protect others. I'm looking forward to read the rest of your account. Will appreciate if you can put picture of your weapons used and knife. Thanks

[Safarigent]

Harish, thank you for your kind words. The knife is a simple muela fixed blade. The guns were the run of the mill .30-06 and a side by side 12 ga loaded with buck shot for any eventuality.
While doctor prashant thinks he failed, he didnt, adequate precaution was taken to protect ourselves to a degree. At the end of the day, there is a risk even in sitting on a machan just 8 feet off the ground or walking back through those narrow jungle paths with just 2 more people for company and no noise being made like we hear about. Anyway, coming back to the next day........

20th July

The morning was a lazy affair. After the past few hectic days and nights we finally caught up on our sleep. The daily dose of a hot glass of milk followed by a simple breakfast(todays menu; scrambled eggs and paranthas) partaken, we started the day on a happy note.
i finally got a takhta for myself; got it cleaned up, washed and set it to dry. Later installed it in my room... Yep, it was one of those lazy mornings. In the afternoon, after taking reports from the pradhan and the van daroga etc we left for the FRH to have lunch and discuss the plans for later in the evening. After lunch we along with the two new team members who had joined us were heading up to the village. As we rounded a bend where the 'Leopard Valley' started we saw some labourers ahead. Stopping next to them we asked if he had seen/heard any signs of the leopard. He replied in the affirmative and pointed halfway up the mountain slope we were parked on. There were scratch markings and scat he said, fresh from yesterday morning. I volunteered to go up and have a look. None of us were prepared. I didnt even have boots on. But it had to be done else we would have lost too much time going up and coming back to this spot. It was a narrow goat path which was so steep even the hardy villagers were stopping to catch their breath. This was real business suddenly, there was the slightest bit of slope but the road below was nust below us. The other team members on the road were anxiously watching me climb up behind the villagers and were relieved when we finally hit the path around a 100-150 feet above the road. The signs were there alright. Multiple fresh scratch markings. One sobering sight was the leopard scat. It had grass in it. This leopard was hungry. Its stomach was empty, it had not consumed a meal in a while and would be looking to make a kill soon. That gave me hope that we might finally meet. After coming back and almost loosing my footing due to the treacherous pebbles and steep slope, things went into overdrive, we rushed to the village, sent a team to dismantle the machan. Two village boys were told there was a reward waiting for them if they could get the machan dismantled and the components to the house in 30 minutes. They were back in 20 with everything. We Got ready and went back to the small path and onto where the track abutted the step farms of kandadhar village where we were tying up the bait. We finally decided to construct the blind in front of a small mandir. It was a space of around 4 feet. I fell to the task of the machan being made while the good doc oversaw everything else. We finally got in some vegetation cleared, put two big bundles of dry sticks at our sides and sat down for the wait. We had a ranger as the spotter today and after he had been given instructions one last time, we settled down. A tiny hill temple whitewashed and looking out over a desolate valley with three men waiting quietly and a goat bleating away plaintively.......
Sat for 2 hours after dusk. A sudden shuffle of stones falling and then nothing! We surmised it was not the leopard as no leopard worth its spots would be so clumsy. At about 8.40 we heard shouts from further up the mountain to our side and i had a premonition about the nepali dera. How true our sixt sense often is........
We got up at 9 and since we couldnt go back down the path we had came up, we trekked out through the mountain through small almost deserted villages. Spooky seeing dark houses and fields with a cloudy sky over you. The rains gods didnt play truant atleast tonight. We finally got out onto a small road and walked till 10 when we came to the spot we were supposed to meet our support team. They had got the jeep stuck in a hole at the side of the road while spotting. I made a few phone calls, and then rested for a minute. Idly looked at my phone and my blood froze. No words can recount seeing that name in red on my screen.
There were 2 missed calls from the nepali dera. I shouted to the guard and doc and called the chap back. He told me in panic that the leopard was there and was circling the camp. We asked him to bunch up, light a fire, make noise and have a few stout sticks for self defence and that we were on our way. By this time the jeep arrived and we went flying up that dark treacherous road up to those hapless gorkhas. I know how i drove up at those suicidal speeds. Time was of essence if the Prince was to be intercepted and not lost to the shadows yet again. The goat and the rest of the staff was dropped off at the village and we went up. When Finally we reached, we hoped it wasnt too late. As fast as one could drive it took us 30 minutes to get there. Getting out of the jeep on that dark patch of road with no lights except your torches and a maneater seen near by makes your senses come alive. Your eyesight, your hearing, your alertness levels, the adrenalin starts pumping. We slithered down to the dera and took in the situation. No attack had been made. They had followed our instructions. But the leopard had vanished into thin air like a ghost. It was waiting across the road in some lantana bushes on a farm which was on our left as we turned the bend and saw the dera. Just above this farm was a childrens school. Next to the farm was the road and on the other side across a small depression was the dera. As the leopard heard our jeeps noise, it had slithered away. In hindi, 'woh gaadi ki awaz se chamak gaya tha''. They were in panic and said they would leave tomorrow. We calmed them down, and told them of our plan of action and left. After a lot of spotting, we came down to the FRH, had dinner and a bath. Spotted all the way up till the dera to check on them again and to reassure them. Went to bed and before sleeping, discussed the next days plan, which was as planned;
Tomorrow we shall get our blind at kandadhar torn down and make a new one at the dera,better concealed this time and settle down well before sunset and spend the night there.

Hopeful that the morning sun doesnt bring any news of a human kill we turned in for the night but both were aware of the other tossing and turning long into the darkness before sleep finally came.......

[AgentDoubleS]

Gentlemen, enthralling read as always! Loved reading every bit...twice!

Prashant, one question though- with 2 rifle shots available in the team(at least till Zaheer was back) any reason for not sitting out on 2 separate potential spots?

[prashantsingh]

Good question SS. We did plan it that way. Arjun will come to it later .
But instead of two baits.
We had Zaheer and I on the bait.
While Mansoor and Arjun would cover more distance and searched the area in the jeep.
My second blunder.
Sitting on one side of a landslide overlooking a 200 m cliff.
In the open with the sharpest rocks I have ever sat on.
Oh my backside.
Still hurts when I think of it.
With nothing but a rifle and Zaheer's shotgun.
Can we have that photograph Zaheer.

But the third and the greatest blunder was on the last day.
When I , unawair of the conditions and stationed elsewhere. Asked Arjun and Zaheer to literally snatch a kill from the hungry maneater's mouth.
Which they actually did.
And which finally lead us to getting our quarry.

Its the passion which goes with a maneater hunt........ That drives you to do things. Which you would otherwise never even dream of doing.