Visit to King Kobra Man Mr. Gowri Shankar
Visit to Kalinga Center for Rain Forest Ecology (KCRE)
Writer, Traveler & Photographer:
Dr. Akash Akinwar
Email:drakashakinwar@gmail.com
Website: www.drakashakinwar.com
Date of Visit: 22nd March -23rd March 2014 (1 Night & 2 Days Trip)
Group: Dr. Akash Akinwar, Mr. Suraj Ravindra Das, Mr. Jitendra Jain, Mr. Nandu Tambe & Mr. Priyam Fernandes (Total 5 travellers)
Visit to : Kalinga Center for Rain Forest Ecology, Karnataka State, India
Website for details: www.kalingacre.com
Camp Site Address: Kālinga Mane, Churrchihakklu, Agumbe Hobli, Hosur Grama, Guddekere, Shimoga -577411
When to visit????
March - April is the mating season of King Kobra.
June -August is the nesting period of king kobra & also best time to see other species.
Activities at Camp Site
1) Information & Orientation of Kalinga Center for Rain Forest Ecology
2) Information & Live Encounter with King Kobra Snake (if there is any rescue call)
3) Day & Night trails of Agumbe Rain Forest in search of The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) & other reptiles (species)
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| Kalinga Center for Rain Forest Ecology, Agumbe Rain Forest,Karnataka State, India |
About Gowri Shankar: A Glimpse of Gowri Shankar's Life! (Must Read)
“Within our dreams and aspirations we find our opportunities” this saying by Sue Atchley Ebaugh summarizes Gowri's life so far. It was during his early teenage years that he dreamt of living in a forest and working on snakes, and these dreams paved the way to doors of opportunities which he embraced. Its been over two decades now and he is happy to say that he am living his passion everyday!
He started handling reptiles at the age of thirteen and never looked back since. His stint as an animal inspector (at KARUNA, formerly BSPCA, Bangalore Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) , education officer (at the Center for Herpetology, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Mamalapuram Chennai),a Conservation Officer at the Agumbe Rain forest Research Station (ARRS), molded him well for his current profile as a conservationist.
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| Dr. Akash Akinwar (Left) with Mr. Gowri Shankar (Right)...King Kobra Rescuer & Researcher |
Based at Agumbe and focus primarily on studying and conserving king cobras. He has been staying at Agumbe for over five years and during this time had life time opportunities of observing and documenting the nesting, male combat, courtship, mating and cannibalistic behaviors of king cobras in the wild. He was also instrumental in the pioneer efforts of ARRS in conducting radio telemetry study on king cobras.
He has worked for several wildlife documentaries behind screen, and featured along side Rom in two wildlife documentaries, ‘The King and I’, ‘Secrets of the King Cobra ‘, ‘Asia’s Deadliest Snake’ , ‘One Million Snake Bites’ and ‘Wildest India’ by BBC, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild and Discovery channel respectively.
Apart from rescuing over hundred king cobras from distress situations he has collected vital scientific data which has led to new insights into the life of a king cobra. His interests lie in studying the ecology, breeding biology, and conservation biology of king cobras. He also find it very important and satisfying in reaching out to masses through education programs.
Going towards Kalinga Center for Rain Forest Ecology, Karnataka State, India
We left Mumbai on 21st March 2014 for Agumbe by Train from Mumbai at around 5pm (there are many trains for Udupi), After getting down at Udupi Railway station we caught the vehicle (already arranged by Mr. Gowri Shankar for us) till the Agumbe Rain Forest. We left our vehicle and got into another vehicle sent by Kalinga Center for Rain forest Ecology. After one point you need to walk for approximately 1km to reach the camp site.
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| Walking way towards camp site at Kalinga Center for Rain Forest Ecology |
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| Walking way towards camp site at Kalinga Center for Rain Forest Ecology |
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| Camp site at Kalinga Center for Rain Forest Ecology |
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| Tents at the Camp Site |
Encounter with King Kobra (Ophiophagus hannah)
The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's longest venomous snake, with a length up to 18.5 to 18.8 ft (5.6 to 5.7 m).This species, which preys chiefly on other snakes, is found predominantly in forests from India through Southeast Asia. Despite the word "cobra" in its name, this snake is not a member of Naja ("true cobras") but belongs to its own genus. The king cobra is considered to be a dangerous snake and has a fearsome reputation in its range, although it typically avoids confrontation with humans if possible. It is also considered culturally significant and has many superstitions around it.
To search King Kobra in Agumbe Rain Forest is almost impossible until & unless one spends 1 month and try to find out King Kobra day & night (even after that chances are doubtful). To see King Kobra for sure, Only thing you can depend upon is "RESCUE CALL". Whenever King Kobra is seen at near by villages they call Mr. Gowrishankar & his associate to catch the snake and thats the best time to see King Kobra.
For details about King Kobra you can click or copy the following link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_cobra
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| Group briefing session by Gowri Shankar before King Kobra encounter |
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| Gowri Shankar handling the rescued King Kobra |
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| The Male king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah): 11 feet long & weight about 10 Kg |
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| The Male king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) |
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| The Male king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) |
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| The Male king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) |
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| Draco or Flying Lizard |
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| Malabar Giant Squirrel (Rutufa indica) |
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| The Brahminy Kite (Haliastur indus) |
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| Common Cat Snake ( Boiga trigonata) |
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| Colorful Lizard
Agumbe Rain forest is dense & consists of huge canopies. Its full of various species of reptiles, birds & mammals. Everyone will find the species of his/her own interest.
Night Trail
Night Trail is must to do activity for nature & wildlife photographers. Agumbe forest will never disappoint you when it comes to sighting of reptiles. We spotted various frogs, spiders,snakes & insects during our night trail even though it was summer. June to august is supposed to be golden period for Macro photography especially during night trail.Night trail is not to miss fun for photographers. [Macro lens is must!]
Agumbe Rain Forest
  
The Team
From left Mr. Prashant (Gowri's friend & naturalist), Mr. Priyam Fernandes (Traveler & photographer), Mr. Nandu Tambe (Traveler, Naturalist & photographer), Mr. Jitendra Jain (Traveler & photographer), Mr. Gowri Shankar (Naturalist. King Kobra Rescuer & Researcher), Dr. Akash Akinwar (Traveler & photographer) & Mr. Suraj Ravindra Das (Traveler & photographer)
Thank you for reading my blog. Keep travelling friends.
Writer, Traveler & Photographer:
Dr. Akash Akinwar
Email:drakashakinwar@gmail.com
Website: www.drakashakinwar.com
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