At the Churna Camp, a British-era forest rest house deep inside the Satpura Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, the permanent guests are the gorgeously warm-toned Malabar Giant Squirrels. Flaunting their reddish-maroon fur coats, with hints of tan, buff, rust and black, this large rodent species can be seen playing in pairs, scuttling, hugging tree trunks and hanging frozen with arms and legs stretched out, oblivious to their endangered tag.
They share the space with other visitors—troops of langurs lolling and the clannish chitals wandering around.
The forest rest house (FRH) is in the Churna Zone, which opened to the public on October 1 after the monsoon break and acts as a gateway to exploring the sprawling 2,133-sqm Satpura Tiger Reserve, still undisturbed by the flurry of wildlife tourism. Good things take time, and so does reaching Churna, a 178-km, five-hour drive from Bhopal. A forest drive of 12 km through the Bheemkund Gate takes one to the colonial charm of the FRH campus.
Churna Camp is the starting point of a safari into the wonderland—taking one from golden-hued grasslands to deep woods, lush meadows, rocky terrains, streams and lakes. Grand antlers, as curious onlookers, pause and freeze before shying away.
The reserve is also the playground of the majestic stags—dark-brown, full-bodied Sambhar. The heads are crowned with the widest of antler spans—a metre sometimes to show off. After Kanha National Park, it’s the second home in the world to the brought-back-from-the-brink-of-extinction, swamp deer or the hardground barasingha.
The sub-species with their golden brown coats sway their heads with the stillness and poise for a perfect photo-op. One can spot hordes of spotted deer or chitals long jumping across grasslands and beaten paths, the often-lonesome Nilgai peering from the woods or the four-horned antelopes and blackbucks gallanting.
“The prey base here is gregarious,” says RP Singh, a wildlife expert, who retired as the Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), Madhya Pradesh, after spending many moons in the depths of the STR. “A tigress from Bandhavgarh was first relocated to the Churna Zone in 2013 and she has given four litters till now,” he says.
The uninterrupted forest corridors of the STR, famous for its big cats, have made Churna gain popularity in tiger sightings. While spotting a leopard or tiger is exhilarating, onlookers also get a taste of the rich biodiversity of the forest during the attempt. The safaris—mornings, evenings and even day-long ones—in thrChurna Zone are lively.
On the ground, and up above the trees, there is always something to catch a glimpse of. Pigeon hawks, serpent eagles, a variety of owls, crow pheasants and other birds are plenty. Scan the grounds and a keen eye will spot the colourful and shy jungle fowls in the grass, the prickly porcupine scurrying, and the pudgy, snorting gangs of wild boars with the alpha male’s menacingly protruding curved tusks. And suddenly, one may come across a herd of silently grazing gaurs or the Indian Bison, the largest extant bovine, native of Satpura—sporting their white socks.
The sighting of a gaur herd is awe-inspiring, as each adult with its massive 1,000-plus kg of pure, black-toned muscular power, stares straight into the eyes with a bold, grumpy look, wearing a headgear of curved horns. On a good day, one can also spot an albino—a greyish-white odd one out, part of the herd.
“Gaur is the Salman Khan of the animals,” quips Singh, adding, “They are seen more here due to the topography, as they like drier places, unlike the wild buffaloes.” At Churna, the forest department is now discovering animals that they never thought would make their home. The intelligent wild has its own way of finding its way and thriving.