parambikulam eco tour

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NATURE CAMP AT ANAMALAITIGER RESERVE

January 19-21, 2011

A 3 day nature camp was

organized by the EnvironmentEducation Cell (EEC) , StateTraining Centre, Directorate ofSchool Education under theauspices of the Pondicherry Councilfor Science & Technology and WWF(T.N chapter) for the winners of theWild life week celebration Essaycontest organized by the EEC, atAnamalai Tiger Reserve (Top Slip),from 19th 21st January 2011.

25 selected students of IXStd. from various GovernmentSchools along with theEnvironment Education CellIncharge Thiru. V. Ramalingam,Thiru. P. Nagendiran, SeniorLecturer, R. Gopal, Lecturer in

Botany, STC, P. Muthukaruppan,PST of GPS Angalamman Nagarand M. Vaishnavi, TGT of GHSThirukkanur left for the theAnamalai Tiger Reserve on the18th January 2011 at 9.45 PM bySharma Travels from Puducherry.The journey by Sharma Travelswas up to Coimbatore and theWWF Team led by Ms. Raichel, Ms.Tamilselvi, and Mr. Prestone

received us at Coimbatore. After aquick refresh by completing ourmorning chores, a timely and

lovely breakfast was offered , afterwhich we left for Top Slip. Shri.Gopalakrishnan of Evergreen NGOaccompanied us from Pollachi.After the usual formalities at theForest Department the team

reached Top Slip, Where a brieforientation on the flora and faunaof Anamalai reserve and the areaof the Western Ghats were given tothe participants. AnamalaiReserve Forest has 25 Bio Diversityhard spots. ( Anamali was earlierknown as Anapadi) It is the habitatfor 350 species of birds, 1550species of plants 40 species ofmammals. We were provided withan accommodation which made usfeel comfortable as well as verymuch at home. Lunch wasprovided followed by a small rest.By 4.00 PM a trip to the elephantcamp was undertaken where we allwere given a briefing on the careand life style of the 22 elephantshoused in the camp.

The mahouts used 48 commandwords which is obeyed by theelephants instantly. Each elephantin addition to its daily diet offodder is given a ball of solid foodconsisting of 18 Kg Ragi 5 Kg ofHorse gram, 200 g of salt per dayas a nutrient supplement. It was

fun as well as thrilling watching themahouts feed the elephants.


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On our return at 7.00 PMthere was a discussion on journalwriting followed by a slide show onthe flora and fauna of AnamalaiTiger Reserve. Dinner was served

at 8.30 PM and this was followedby an informal chat and everyonewent to bed by 9.30 PM.

Day IIThis day commenced with a

bird watching and dawsn trailseason at 6.30 AM. There was anexpedition into the nearby forestreserve area to observe the habitand habitat of the migratory aswell as the domicile birds ofAnamalai Tiger Reserve. After ourbreakfast we were taken toParambikulam Tiger Reserve wherewe are escorted by two forestguards to take around . Enroute wefound the tree top houses as wellas bamboo houses built for

tourists.

We were shown the Thunakadavu

Dam which releases its excesswater to Azhaiyar Dam. We werenext taken to the Salim AliOrnithology Centre, which wasmaintained by the ForestDepartment, Kerala in a beautifuland extrodinary manner. Variousrare photographs of Salim Ali in hisexpedition as well as with hisfamily members and our nationalleaders were displayed.

After this we were taken to a placewhere an amazing worlds biggestand older living teak (Tectonagrandis) aged 450 years stood withpride. It had a Girth of 6075m and

a Height 48.5mts. This tree hasalso been awarded with the


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MahaVriksh Puraskar by theGovernment of India in 1994.

From there we were escorted backto the Forest Department ofParambikulam Tiger Reserve,where we had our lunch followedby briefing on the projects takenup to preserve wild life atParambikulam by them.

Sri Vijayanath IFS, gave us alaudable discourse on

Parambikulam Tiger Reservebefore 2006 and after 2006. Thesession was highly educative andinformative and thought provoking.The Officer requested all the tinylots to keep in their immediateenvironment neat tidy andpollution free and asked them toplant as many saplings as possiblein their institution. He also insisted

them to work for the cause ofthose animals who have no oneelse to care for them, except us.

A visit to the ParmbikulamInformation Centre was done at4.30 Pm where Thiru. Muruganexplained about the specimens,exhibits displayed there in a

catchy, impressive and lucidmanner. This session was liked byone and all. Before our return toour van we could see manyPeacocks and wild boars and wilddeers roaming freely in their placeeverywhere. We also saw a fewdeers (barking deer, kadaman,etc).

We returned to our camp by

6.30 PM. After tea and refreshmentwe relaxed for a while , followedby a slide show on snakes andother wild animal species ofAnamalai Reserve by Thiru.Prestone. Dinner was served at9.00 PM followed by a briefdiscussion on journal writing wewere sent to bed by 10.00 PM.

Day IIIThis day started with a trailto Kariyan Chola where we were alltaken on a trekking to the denseforest with an escort from theForest Department Mr. Prestone,Mr. Gopalakrishnan gave usdetailed explanation on thetrekking expedition. We alsospotted a few droppings (Excreta)of wild cheetah and wild dogs.


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We then reached a watch tower,from where we had an aeriel

glimpse of the water reserve andthe wild forest. We all shared ourexperiences before the WWFpersonnel and then came back by2.00 PM for Lunch. The post Lunchsession was once again a thanksgiving session where we expressedour thanks to the WWF Personneland the NGO for their livelyinteraction and explanation .Certificates were distributed

followed by a photo session. TheWWF Personnel also distributedTShirts depicting save our tigersto all the Students Participants.After a Thanks giving session wedeparted for Coimbatore andreached Coimabatore by 8.00 PMhad an excellent dinner andboarded the Sharma Travels at9.45 PM and we reached back

home at 6.30 AM on 22.01.2011.

This camp was organized inan excellent manner and it wasmeticulously planned. There wasno drawback in any aspect. All theparticipants expressed theirsincere thanks to the Secretary,

Director, Department of ScienceTechnology and Environment forgiving us this rare andunforgettable experience. We alsoowe our thanks to the Officer onSpecial Duty, STC and Thiru. V.Ramalingam, EEC I/c for thepainstaking efforts. Our gratitudeis also expressed to the WWFpersonnel and the resource personfrom Evergreen NGO for all theirsupport and guidance. We lookforward for many suchprogrammes to other students andteachers in the near future.


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