‘Once in a lifetime’ event

Had got to see one of those, ‘Once in a lifetime’ event here in the forest.

There have been quite a bit of leopard sightings here, but earlier this week I spotted a leopard, one of the top predator of the forest, being hunted down by a pack of wild dogs. What most of the people do not know is that, the wild dogs are the most brutal and effective killers in the forests. People have even seen them attack a tiger and eat it up. Normally a tiger’s success rate of a hunt is about 30% while the wild dogs success rate is more then 90%. They are the only predators in this forests, which hunt in groups and no animal can take on a group of hungry wild dogs. Infact they start eating their prey while it’s still alive.


I first spotted the wild dogs and noticed them trying to jump up a tree.

Only after few min, we realised there was a leopard on top of that tree and the dogs were trying to get a piece of it.
This went on for a while and the leopard refused to budge. You can see the leopard on top of the tree and the wilddogs waiting at the bottom.

Then out of nowhere a large sloth bear walks into the scene. Without realizing, the bear walks straight into to pack of wild dogs. The wild dogs now had a new prey and surround the bear and start to attack the bear from all sides. About two dogs bit the bear and the bear pushed them away. The bear fought back, and started to run and the wild dogs ran behind the bear. I think eventually the bear escaped.

However this gave the leopard a chance to escape.

It got down the tree and disappeared into the bushes. We thought all was over and were about to leave, when we see the same leopard climb another large tree and along with it, it took up a dead spotted deer along with it.

Since the wild dogs were done now, the leopard relaxed and munched on the dead deer for more then a hour.

At that point, it got too dark and was time to leave the place.

Apperently no one till date has ever seen a fight between wild dogs, leopard and sloth bear in Karnataka. There have been sightings of leopard’s and tiger’s being chased by the dogs, but this kinda thing never happened. I wish I had better shots of this whole event, but the light was bad and I could not get out of the jeep. Even in this forest, they last spotted wild dogs chasing a leopard more then 8 years ago and the last time anyone has ever seen a chase was more then 2 year’s ago.

Guess I’m just really lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

47 Comments

  1. Anonymous · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Wow!

    Now this completely justifies my fear of dogs and why I keep 50 feet distance with them. How can you be sure whether a dog is wild dog or not? 😉

    Btw, from general knowledge, I have idea that even tiger and leopard will shy away from humans. What about wild dogs? Do they shy away from human or they will eat a person alive if he was out of the jeep?

    JD

  2. drkishoremurthy · March 10, 2005 Reply

    may u’r luck continue :))

    atleast to satisfy my thirst for the wild as I find myself lost in a jungle of concrete with beasts on wheels …

  3. deepsan · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Team work does pay!
    I had seen a pack of 3 wilddogs in Bandipur(pic here) but had no idea they were so aggresive.

  4. fiveonehalf · March 10, 2005 Reply

    So now I know what a wild dog really looks like.

    Guess I’m just really lucky to be at the right place at the right time.

    Guess we were really unlucky to be at the right place at the wrong time! 🙁
    Cant believe we missed all that by just one day!

  5. shruthi_dipali · March 10, 2005 Reply

    yep totally.. booooo hooooooo… sob sob sob.. booooo hooooo.. sob sob sob…

  6. aivalli · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Awesome !

    -nerdy

  7. swaroopch · March 10, 2005 Reply

    What kept the wild dogs away from you guys??

    – Swaroop
    http://www.swaroopch.info

  8. admin · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Re: Wow!

    Wild dogs are usually shy of the humans too and there have not been any cases of humans getting attacked by wild dogs. But that said, I would not dare to step out right in front of a pack of wild dogs. (and I would dare stepping out in front of a tiger)

    Also wild dogs are a fully diff species from our regular dogs. They are infact endangered.

  9. admin · March 10, 2005 Reply

    there are always the if’s and but’s. I missed tiger’s like this many times 🙂

  10. admin · March 10, 2005 Reply

    The Jeep

    The jeep keeps away almost all the animals ( expect the elephant). Most of them think its one big animal and will not dare to do anything. If you are on foot, well yeah things are different then 🙂

  11. reetuthinks · March 10, 2005 Reply

    yee… u r enjoyin life…

  12. Anonymous · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Luck you! Now don’t go about “finishing” all the wild dogs apart from the leopards and the tigers at BRT!

    – Kartik

  13. Anonymous · March 10, 2005 Reply

    amazing..!

    this piece takes the cake. i’ve been wishing i was you for quite some time, but this time I REALLY WISH I WERE YOU!!!!!!!!!!

    man, this is honestly mind-blowing! and i’m not gonna hide it, I’M VERY JEALOUS!!!!!

    – chikuado
    http://adrenalinrush.blogspot.com/

  14. dhempe · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Great stuff Kallu !! 🙂

    Can ya come over one weekend to ur forest resort? Is it possible?

  15. urmila · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Hey Kull…
    Thanks for the informative….descriptive…piece about wild doggies n sissy cats!

    Just goes on to pprove why cats are better than dogs… ;-p

  16. admin · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Sure… http://www.junglelodges.com

    Do let me know when you are coming over

  17. admin · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Re: amazing..!

    This has been my best so far and I doubt if I will ever get to see this kinda thing ever again

  18. bluesmoon · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Re: Wow!

    All city dogs are from the domestic family

  19. shradha · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Re: amazing..!

    EXACTLY my thoughts!!:D
    hope the good luck never runs out kalyan!

  20. dhempe · March 10, 2005 Reply

    which particular resort are you in? any concessions? 🙂

  21. dagoski · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Re: Wow!

    These guys look a lot like N. American coyotes and probably fill the same niche. Where Coyotes don’t compete with wolves, they move into the apex predator spot and will run cougars off from their kills if presented with the opportunity. Where they share space with wolves, the wolf packs will attack and kill Coyotes. In these places, Coyotes become scavengers and hunt small prey.

  22. madhav · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Wow! You really are living life to the fullest.

  23. josephgrossberg · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Holy shit man, that is fantastic. I can’t imagine what it sounded like.

  24. rohan_kini · March 10, 2005 Reply

    nice !!

    BTW .. U have a D70 rite ? what lens are U using ?

  25. admin · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Re: nice !!

    I use a 70-200mm f/2.8 VR lens.. also use a 2X teleconverter at times.

  26. ashwinne · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Wow! This is the stuff of NGC!

  27. praveenkumarg · March 10, 2005 Reply

    Too good. Quite Daring !!!

  28. yathin · March 11, 2005 Reply

    Dholes dont look too different from an city dog.

  29. yathin · March 11, 2005 Reply

    Reminds me of the famous saying:

    “As long as you are in the jeep you’re out of the food chain. You step out of it and you step right into the food chain!”

    :))

  30. joshmachine · March 11, 2005 Reply

    yep..never knew so much about wild dogs. and also wild dogs taking down a tiger!..
    should have be really good watching these things happen

  31. Anonymous · March 11, 2005 Reply

    Cat sightings at BRT

    Wow!! You just defined luck!! You seem to living one exciting life.. Been to BRT multiple times and was there on March 1st too, but never been lucky enough to spot a cat. The “other jeeps” and “the guests staying the previous day” have always been luckier than me. It was exciting this time as we heard alarm calls a couple of times in the jungle and then later at the camp too, but no cat sighted. Could you let me know if the cat sightings are still good and I will make a trip in the immediate future and give my luck another shot.

  32. shruthi_dipali · March 14, 2005 Reply

    you into the same kinda work kalyan’s into?

  33. yathin · March 14, 2005 Reply

    wish I was! 😀

    But yeah, I keep on paying a visit to the forests every other weekend, so I’m like a weekend wildlife photographer / wannabe naturalist.

  34. shruthi_dipali · March 14, 2005 Reply

    cool… i wish to do the same.. its jus not working out though.. 🙁

  35. yathin · March 14, 2005 Reply

    everything takes time. 😀

    but if you’re serious about wildlife you should really learn about the birds and animals and their habitats. One way is reading and learning from books and then convert the theoratical knowledge into pratical by visiting the forests.

    Of course, nothing beats being in the jungle itself and learning about it.

  36. fiveonehalf · March 14, 2005 Reply

    Thanks for the pic

    Dholes dont look too different from an city dog.

    yes they do, they look very menacing!

  37. yathin · March 14, 2005 Reply

    not too menancing than an angry German Sheperd or a Dobermann. 😀

  38. deponti · March 14, 2005 Reply

    Wow is right…

    What an opportunity, and what a series of events…and what pictures! BRT has really rewarded you for taking the time off to spend there. Hope you sight a couple of tigers soon! I am really enjoying your blog, K…..long may the eventful entries last!

    What have you decided about your near future? I guess you are not going on that cruise after all..can’t say I disagree with that decision, given the kind of experiences you are having!

  39. idea49 · March 14, 2005 Reply

    oh my god!!! ARE YOU HAVING A WONDERFUL LIFE OR WHAT???
    what a wonderful sighting… man you are absolutely lucky…
    not just that… there are less people who’d give up a comfortable life for what they dream of…
    hats off to you!!

  40. bikerfemme · March 17, 2005 Reply

    definitely rare

    I had heard about some wild stories about them in Wild Valley Farm, germalam.. you were lucky to get photos… cool !!

  41. Anonymous · March 18, 2005 Reply

    Though nothing compared to your adventures, but long time back when i was in Uttaranchal, I managed to see a standing fight between my Dog (mountain Lion, locally called as Bhotia) and a Leapord. It was a draw match but results were against that wild cat. He lost his ear. I had kept that ear in preservatives and maintained it for long. But that was the best sight I saw in my whole stay of years in Uttaranchal.

    Tushar Tyagi.

  42. admin · March 18, 2005 Reply

    Amazing stuff. Considering one of them was your own pet.

    Do you still have the ear of the leopard ?

  43. admin · March 18, 2005 Reply

    Re: Wow is right…

    I’m not sure really.. for now I’m spending few days in a week in bangalore and few days in BRT. Best of both the worlds 🙂

  44. Anonymous · March 18, 2005 Reply

    I guess yes…if my mom had not thrown it off.
    Tushar.

  45. tomlinsonian · March 19, 2005 Reply

    I stayed away from kallu-the-yahoo-man’s blog..
    But kallu-the-bandipur-bandit was too much to resist.
    that, and the photos.
    Added you.
    PS. Sorry about the kallu, comes from talking to nandu and shashi and the ilk.. tell me if you dislike it.

  46. Anonymous · April 29, 2005 Reply

    Hi Kalyan

    Hi Kalyan,

    You might remember me from IT quizzing at PESIT fests – my name is Pritam (Baruah). I fondly remember those days – fighting it out with you, Arjun, Manjesh, Harish, Sunil and so on. I stumbled onto your website quite by coincidence. I happen to know Ashwin B quite well at USC and on discussions about photography and wildlife he told me about your story. Quitting your job and living it rough in the jungle is very impressive. Hats off man! I always wanted to do that myself but somehow couldnt get around to doing it. Your adventures and photos are awesome. Equally impressive is that you have managed to stay connected in the middle of BRT.

    About dholes chasing leopards : Two and a half years ago I saw a pack of about 11 chase 2 leopards in Nagarhole – an adult female and an adult male while on my way to the Kabini backwaters from JLR. The habitat adjacent to the jungle road was a thin belt of teak plantations and short grass ending in scrub undergrowth. The action happened with a female leopard running across the road and disappearing into the scrubbbery with dholes in hot pursuit. Seconds later – a cacophony of sharp sounds occur and a large male leopard – badly injured walks out of the scrubbery, crosses the road and disappears into the opposite side. My guess is that the dholes got the female. The male who was on that side got entangled in the mess but escaped with injuries.

    By thousand curses, I didnt have my camera that morning.

    Regarding the aggressive nature of dholes, afaik, it is VERY rare that they attack tigers – mostly limited to chasing them away from their kills. A tiger will fight dholes if it has to but it mainly doesnt want to risk injury so it leaves them alone. And many dholes have been killed by tigers. Besides, the efficacy of dholes depends on their pack size. In NE India, pack sizes are much smaller (just a few in one) so they avoid the type of daring acts often seen in southern and central India.

    If I come to India (and then to Bangalore), I will surely get in touch with you in BRT. When in Assam, I usually spend lot of time birdwatching in Kaziranga and Manas (also photographing them). You should do a photography project there too 🙂

    Why did you choose BRT btw, instead of Nagarhole or Bandipur. Is there less redtape? Did you expect difficulties with Project Tiger officials in Bn&Ng? Or did BRT offer better photo-ops and independence?

    Good luck. I am truly impressed.

    ~Pritam.

  47. admin · April 30, 2005 Reply

    Re: Hi Kalyan

    I remember you very well. Those quizzing days were amazing indeed.

    You were really luckly to see that event. I really wish you had a camera with you that day. Anyway am glad the memories will stay with you for good.

    BRT has not had a naturalist till date and thats why that is the only position I could take up. But i really love the place. the forest is thicker compared to bandipur and kabini, the resort is right in the middle of the forest unlike other resorts and as you said, we are the only ones in BRT. So I almost feel as if I own the jungle and I can pretty much do what I want.

    Ofcourse the sightings are far less, but am happy with what I have for now 🙂

Leave a Reply