Dachigam Diary

The weather was clear and we were ready for our first day at Srinagar after reaching previous evening from Kolkata. Dachigam was supposed to be a surprise to my family that started with a disappointment. We were told that the Chief Minister is visiting the park with his guests so it is out of bound for tourists. We took the small bridge over the fast & furious Dagwan trickling down the hills above. Somewhere in the snowline over the green hills is the origin of one of the many streams that flows down to the valley.

A bold Blue Whistling Thrush greeted us by its sharp call declaring its presence and territory. We walked opposite the trekker’s-route through the deep & dark green foliage that was alive with bird calls & the sound from the river. A few minutes’ walk took us to a few enclosures of the rescue center. They have two leopards & two bears claimed to have been rescued by Army from different frontier areas and kept separately here. The female leopard was resting but the male paced along the lengths of the fully covered rectangular cage of about 60/30 ft.  Both had one water hole each and lot of greenery with a few wooden logs erected. They have named them Raki & Jaggu respectively. The person showing us the place told us that the leopards were abandoned young just like the ever sleeping Himalayan Black Bears in other open & bigger enclosures. The male leopard frantically clawed the logs & fast walked all along showing signs that confinement brings about on any animals we have seen in zoo.

The female came close to the bordering net seeing us & was caressed by the caretaker with the later reciprocating like a house cat by putting the head down & eyes closed. Then they were fed raw meat by hand which they licked & cherished before the pacing started once again by the male and the female went for a rest.

 A Yellow-billed Blue Magpie startled our thoughts about the caged ones as it flew over the cage. The department seems not to have any plan for their release into the wild and feels that they will not survive in wilderness. Both the adults are at their prime and seemed to be in good health & taken care of well by the forest department. But why they are not free then? The question that pinched us inside was voiced openly by my six year old son and we moved him to the other part of that area.

The place was full of color from the blooming flora all around. A Himalayan Bulbul feasted on one of the fruit bearing trees. We refrained the over enthusiastic caretaker of the bear enclosure from waking the Himalayan Black Bear from its sleep just for a show to us. The other one kept separately away in another nearby open enclosure, couldn’t be located. We wished for their freedom like the birds around. The forest department officials assured us that when we visit them next time, they will allow us to explore deeper.

Later that day on reaching our houseboat on the bank of Nigeen Lake, a web search confirmed that many shared our thoughts for the animals kept in captivity for many years now & displayed regularly to tourists visiting the park who took pleasure in even touching them. It is never appealing to take photograph of caged animals but I did so to share them one day with someone who might have enough influence to bring freedom to all caged animals around the world.

Pratim Majumdar, New Jacqueline Heritage Houseboats, Nigeen Lake; 8^th June 2015