Onward from Polchara to Chitwan National Park. Chitwan means “Heart of the Jungle”. To get to this heart, we maneuvered via one lane roads and a protest in the Chitwan region. A Nepali protest focuses on traffic stoppages. No one is allowed to drive except tourist vehicles. This results in major traffic issues (the goal I believe) and intermittent protest barricades manned by largely young males with little else to do that day except stop any vehicle on the road. We taught the kids to “wave and smile boys” as the protesters would peer in the vehicle. It was rather like being in the zoo. Not at the zoo, l but a sideshow IN the zoo. We safely navigated the protest (over a jail fight?) and arrived to Chitwan. We were immediately whisked off by boat to the resort. Promptly we found ourselves clambering aboard large pachyderms and heading out into the jungle.

Chitwan was opened to locals and visitors alike after an intense malaria eradication program in 1952. Prior to that, the local Tharu villagers who have an innate resistance to malaria were the only locals. Chitwan National Park was created in 1973, but was an aristocratic hunting reserve since the 19th century. Once malaria was eradicated, much of the jungle was razed for farming.  The loss of habitat, coupled with animal harvesting for rhino horn, elephant tusk and tiger parts for asian medicinal purposes resulted in a plunge in animal numbers. In the 1960’s, fewer than 100 rhinos and 20 tigers were known to exist.  Intervention by the King of Nepal resulted in the creation of a park security force, a return of farming land to the park and a rebound in animal population.

Tromping through Chitwan, riding an elephant and simultaneously pursuing a glimpse of a irritable One-Horned Indian rhino is the result of this history. Elephants are amazing!  Our crew spotted a wild bull elephant, a sloth bear, an Indian rhino, hog deer, spotted deer and barking deer and a marsh mugger (crocodile type). Birds are enmasse and include cranes, egrets, peacocks and drongos. Let’s get back to those elephants. The kids learned to grab a hold of both ears and the elephant uses its trunk to boost the rider up. Those agile trunks have over 40,000 individual muscles. The domestic elephants used in the park are bred locally. The working cow elephants are usually not bred, but it appears a wild male bull elephant made some nighttime action around over a year ago and several of the working cows are now expecting calves. One of our resorts elephants is due within a few months (22-24 month gestation period for an elephant calf).  Each elephant has a mahout (elephant rider) that is assigned to that elephant for its life. There is a primary mahout, a secondary mahout and a mahout-in-training for each elephant.

Although the elephants are everyone’s favorite, we are basically at camp. Wake up is 5:45 am, followed by a nature walk, then breakfast, then a fully planned day of elephant riding, elephant education, jeep rides, slide presentations and then dinner at 7:45pm. Our walk back to our lodge is with kerosene lantern and everyone is ready for bed!

Jared trying to Ride an Elephant	Elephant Ride
Elephant Riding
Boating in Narayani River
Female Elephant
Eelephants feeding
Elephants feeding	Elephants briefing