Once, I heard of the world’s largest mangrove forest: Sundarban. Its mangroves ‘breathe’ and support a thriving ecosystem of birds, tigers, otters, crocodiles, monitor lizards, and wide variety of flora and fauna.
Elusive felines with webbed toes glide through the depths of the forest, and the most intelligent lizard in the world prowls the mangrove shores at the bank of the Ganga River.
I just knew I had to go there someday. And one day, my wish was fulfilled.
We arrived at Kolkata, stayed there a night and explored the city, then set off for Sundarban. There, we planned to stay in a houseboat, actually living on the water while in search for endangered animals and birds.
Sometimes, it was a difficulty just to see the other bank. Just minutes after we set sail, we spotted two pied kingfishers, and they were on the hunt for fish.
When observing the environment around them, we saw several wet plastic bags hanging from their tree, and on the bushes around them. It was sad to see their habitat spoilt by human encroachment and carelessness, but they were adapting fast and even thriving there.
Fuelled by the fire of our first sighting, we set out on the open waters again. All the things I heard about Sundarbans was true, I soon found out.
Birds met our eyes at every corner, and we had soon spotted seven types of kingfishers! Wow. We also spotted a hoopoe, a flock of lesser whistling ducks, a Brahminy Kite, a cuckoo hawk, sandpipers and many more species.
We also spotted several stumps emerging from the silty soil around the mangroves, and our guide explained that they were the mangroves’ roots. Since the soil was so sticky and clayey, it was impossible for the roots to gain oxygen and carbon dioxide there, so the mangroves evolved to have the tips of their roots above the soil, helping them ‘breathe’ the air.
Soon, we spotted a monitor lizard, the most intelligent lizard in the world! It was nesting in its hole in a tree, and just as we spotted it, it withdrew into the hole! Just when we thought that was a rare sighting we missed, lo and behold!
Another monitor lizard! In fact, we spotted five monitor lizards during our trip! Wow!
We also spotted three crocodiles, and their fearsome teeth glinted in the sunshine. Early one foggy, cold morning, we also spotted a very rare animal: a wild boar! Though common in other jungles of India, in Sundarbans, the wild boar and deer are really rare.
And right after the boar sighting, a deer came our way! We were really in luck so far, but we still hadn’t seen a tiger. Just as we thought our luck was out, we came across a leopard cat!
Leopard cats are extremely rare in any part of the world, and the sleek little creature was right in front of us! Our guide explained that in order to live in a marshy, watery environment, it had webbed toes! Wow! That was such a beautiful and interesting sighting!
Soon, it was the last day. Though we had still not come across any tigers, we sighted a family of smooth-coated otters! They sliced through the water, frolicking and chittering, and that was just the cheer we needed.
During our trip, we observed the locals’ slim canoes, in which they risked their lives every day to make ends meet. We also saw a short Bengali play, which captured the locals’ daily lives in the mangroves, and the fusion of cultures and rituals coupled with the local insight into their lives was a beautiful experience.
Though we didn’t see a tiger during our trip, we felt the imposing presence of the man-eating tigers and we were sure they were keeping their eyes on us! The experience of living within the mangroves and spotting numerous rare and endangered species of animals was superb. My wish was fulfilled at last!
Enjoy Sundarbans!
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Stay in a house boat in the World’s Largest Mangrove Forest: Sunderban a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
