Nepal
Bardia NP
Bardia National Park is located in the Terai belt in south-west Nepal. This low lying forested area is home to an abundance of wildlife, which includes five deer species, asean elephant, indian one-horned rhino and bengal tiger. Thanks to effective patrols by the nepalese army, highly endangered species like gharial, rhino and tiger thrive in this park. Different from almost all other places wildlife viewing in Bardia is mainly done on foot, but hiring a jeep is also an option. A stick armored guide is required on hikes, who reads tracks and very importantly listens to the sounds of the jungle. This is key to find predators and at the same time avoid potential danger. Walking can be tiring with typically 10 - 15 km trailing on a full day and not necessarily gives the best photographic possibilities, but it leaves a unique and lasting wilderness impression. We had the opportunity to visit this great wilderness with guides Deep and Krishna for a total of 4 weeks in the years 2018, 2019 and 2023.
Several rivers originating in the Himalayas cross Bardia. Approaching Bardia by road from Nepalgunj the Babai has to be crossed on a large bridge. This section is already part of the park and the bridge offers some good wildlife viewing. The relatively warm waters of the Babai river are home to large soft shell turtles, mugger crocodiles and the critically endangered gharials. These specialized fish eating crocodiles with characteristic elongated snouts grow up to 6 m long (females 4.5 m).
mugger crocodile (back with open mouth) and female gharial (front) on a sandbank in the Babai river
In February 2023 we saw a large male entangled in a fishing net, which surely disabled it from feeding. Park officials tried to catch that animal and remove the net during our stay, but did not yet succeed, when we left.
male gharials have a distinct boss at the end of their snouts
Indian softshell turtles are likewise endangered, they reach impressive size in the Babai.
Gangetic dolphins are another endangered aquatic species. As warm blooded mammals they prefer the cooler and fish rich waters of the Karnali river. This individual could be watched from a vantage point high above the river in the northwest of the park. Interesting is the similarity of the snouts between dolphins and gharials, both specialized fish hunters.
Every few minutes the dolphin surfaced for breathing through its blowhole, which can be seen here.
Interspersed with large tracts of Sal forest are grassy plains, home to herds of spotted deer (chital).
group of chital antlers in the Sal forest
The back of this male makes a good vantage point for a jungle mynah hunting for insects being flushed up from the grass by the moving deer.
Swamp or barasingha deer today have a small and fragmented range, mainly in the border area of India and Nepal. Contrary to all other deer in the region antlers may carry more than three tines. As the name suggests these deer are restricted to swamps and floodplains, where they feed on grasses and aquatic plants.
Hog deer are distributed in a belt from Pakistan through northern India and Nepal (including Bardia) to Myanmar and Thailand. Preferred habitat are open floodplains and in Bardia they are frequently encountered in the grasslands adjoining most rivers. Like other deer only the males possess horns, which mainly serve in battles for territory and females.
Sambar are large deer, mostly restricted to the forested areas
male sambar crossing the Babai river at dawn
Barking deer are the smallest of Bardia's five deer species. They prefer dense undergrouth, are shy and not easy to observe.
Langur monkeys are widespread in Bardia. They can often be found on the ground but prefer the safety of trees. These monkeys reliably give an alarm call when spotting a predator like a leopard or tiger, which comes very handy, when looking for these cats (also macaques, peacocks, chital and other deer - most reliably sambar - do).
Rhesus macaques mostly frequent the grassy areas especially, when some interspersed cotton trees are flowering. This individual seems more interested in water plants at one of Bardia's artificial waterholes.
A colony of large, fruit eating bats can be found in the vicinity of Bardia.
This bull - drinking from a small river - gave a clear warning not to approach any further by trumpeting, noisily splashing water and running a few meters towards us.
Elefants freely travel between Bardia and northern India using buffer zones and a wildlife corridor.
Late one afternoon in march 2018 this herd had left the forest and we were lucky enough to observe them in the open.
Only bulls, but not all of them, carry tusks. Conflict with farmers poses a threat for these pachyderms in many regions.
Solitary bulls can be bad tempered on times and pose a problem then to hikers walking in high grass. It is import to listen for braking branches and grass being pulled out in order to avoid a too close contact.
In feb 2023 a breeding herd - 40 head strong in total - came out of the forest for a refreshment in the river.
The indian one-horned rhinocerus is - like all rhinos - critically endangered. Still today people in eastern asia believe in healing powers of the horns, even though they are purely made up of keratin like human fingernails. Demand led to staggering prices and poaching is a great threat. It is a handful locations, where these impressive animals can still be found. In Nepal the army took over antipoaching tasks and has been very successful. Today thriving populations exist in Chitwan NP and also Bardia NP, where a repopulation of the large Babai wilderness section is currently ongoing.
These rhinos are exceptionally water loving and during the warmer months spend hours almost entirely submerged. They also feed on aquatic plants with grass supplementing their diet.
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No tiger would dare to mess around with a two ton rhino, but calfs, in particular newborns, are vulnerable. In recent years the calf of a mother released into the Babai section fell victim to tigers.
Similar to all rhino species eyesight is poor, but senses of hearing and smelling are acute.
On occasion these usually relaxed giants, which can weigh two tons, react a little nervous towards people approaching on foot. Such mock charges (serious attacks are rare) nevertheless leave a lasting experience.
These carnivores are close relatives to wolfs but at a weight of about 15 kg much smaller. They are omnivores, actively hunting rodents, other smaller mammals and reptiles, but also feed on fruits and carrion.
Golden jackals usually live in pairs, seeing more than two adults together - there have actually been four on this occasion - is unusual.
Striped hyenas are only very rarely seen in Bardia. This encounter in feb 2023 was actually the first after several years and caused some exitement amongst guides and researchers. Striped hyenas are predominantly scavengers feeding opportunistically from the remains of larger predators.
Deep, our guide in 2023, spotted this large male in high grass from a long distance. We could not get close but enjoyed the sighting for some time.
Encoutering a wild tiger on foot is certainly the ultimate price of a Bardia safari. While walking in the jungle tiger tracks are a common sight. These large cats are well protected in Nepal and numbers significantly increased over the last years. Unfortunately there have been a number of accidents with humans recently - many of them fatal -, both inside and outside park boundaries. Victims have almost exclusively been locals going alone into the jungle and displaying a certain element of carelessness. It is important to walk in a group and 'read' carefully signs and sounds in the jungle. Tigers are usually shy and give a clear warning before charging. Any sighting needs luck, patience and a good guide.
We heard this tigress roar in the distance before carefully approaching and finally seeing her lying on a riverbank.
In march 2018 we had been sitting for hours with our host John and guide Deep at a known river crossing, when just before dark the jungle awoke. An elefant loudly trumpeted closeby and soon after a sambar gave an alarm call. Just when we had found a good vantage point and quietly sat down, this magnificent tigress left the thicket and entered a grassy plain. It did not take her long to discover our hideout using her incredibly sharp eyes. After some precious seconds it disappeared back into thick bush and we happily left the scene to return to the gate on time.
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