Oct. 21^st. 2012 – Growing old

Checked all traps this morning and the results were not what we had hoped for. No cat movement at all. Still, we are all hanging in their with the hope the elusive animal we seek will pass through again, soon.

All of the team members, save me, were born in these mountains, so the experience of living in the sticks and walking through the mountains daily is no big deal for them.  I was born in the city.  Oakland to be exact, and although I enjoy the outdoors and camping, my back is starting to feel the hardness of the earth during the night and longs for something a bit more comfortable. The nights have become increasingly colder as well. In some respects, though, I look forward to walking up a hill (for a short distance) just so that my body will generate some heat.

When I arrived in Nepal I was hoping to purchase rechargeable “C” and “D” batteries for the camera traps I had brought along with me. Purchasing them here instead of bringing them along lightened my travel load.  I did not think it would be a problem locating them in Kathmandu. To my surprise, only AA batteries can be found in a rechargeable form in this country. Since I am leaving the cameras in Nepal, I was hoping to reduce the amount of batteries we commit to garbage heaps in this country as I am pretty sure Nepal does not have a special place they put spent batteries.

On a positive note, we located more old cat scat, scratch markings, and the remains of a goat.  A local villager we met in the area said tigers use this particular area in the summer; during monsoon season.  Good to know.

We'll be placing the cameras traps out again tonight, with our finger's crossed.

Thickness of some parts of the jungle

Old feces

Oct 20th, 2012 - "I See You"
We woke up to another disappointment. No images on the camera traps and no new paw prints. Patience, I keep telling myself. Don't move the cameras just yet. We have no idea the actual size of this animal's territory, so it may be several days before it returns this way. One villager told us tracks are spotted every four or five days. I am hopeful this pattern continues.

We broke camp after breakfast and set out further into the jungle. Travel time for me was about one hour. The direction was southwest. We heard reports of a villager tending her cattle that had recent contact with a tiger.

People find each other out here using a human form of echo location. Loud sounds vocalized in a call and response fashion. It is effectively used to find people and judge distance.

We were able to find the young woman in thirty minutes time and then followed her into her home for tea.. She told us that 3 days ago, she heard a tiger “barking” in the night. Very loud sounds, giving the impression that the animal making these sounds was very large. She said that she went out with a flashlight as her cattle may have been in jeopardy. She was not able to spot the animal. I asked the woman why she believes what she heard was a tiger? Through my translator she told me that this past April she saw a tiger in the day time and heard these same sounds coming from it. She said the tiger would pass through almost every morning. “I know what a tiger sounds like.” she said. I showed the young woman a series of photographs. Tigers, leopard, snow leopards and clouded leopards, I started with leopard photographs. “No, It wasn't this one” she said confidently. “it had stripes, not spots.” I flashed to the photographs of the adult tiger. “It was like this one, only smaller. And the head was smaller, like in the other one.” (photograph of the leopard.) She convinced me that she knew actually what she had seen. We asked her if she had ever seen a leopard in the area. “No” she reported. She then told us that in the village about an hour's walk south (one hour for them, maybe one and one half hour's walk for me) word surfaced of a calf being killed in the night by a tiger a few days ago. She said that villagers ran out and scared the tiger away but it had already killed the calf and was trying to feed upon it. The next morning, the villagers salvaged the meat from the calf. We decided to send one of our team members into the village to investigate.

The rest of our team headed back up north into the jungle and came upon an 80 year woman who has been living in the area for 30 years. Surely, she has knowledge of tiger activity in this area. She invited us into her home for tea and fresh milk. Inviting travelers into your home for tea or the alcoholic brew chung, is very common. She said without wavering that tigers live in this jungle. She told us that she used to see tigers frequently during the daylight hours but that the villagers “discouraged” the tigers to present themselves by harassing them, among other things. Now, she said “I only see and hear them at night.” She said that the last time she actually saw a tiger during the day was seven years ago.

She was able to describe what tigers look like and said that there are also smaller wild cats in the area. Some of the wild cats are feral cats she told us, the males often leaving a village family for the jungle, once they became adults. I was amazed when she told us that she was able to identify tiger scratch posts, scat and paw prints. “The female prints are smaller than the males, and right now we have a female in the area.” Wow.

Now on my second cup of tea, the old woman said “Its good that you are trying to find and protect the tiger. But is the tiger wanted you to find her, she would show herself to you.” Deep, I thought.

Now I couldn't resist.

“Do you know what a Yeti is?”

“Yes”

“Have you ever seen one?”

“No, but my father did. They (Yeti) are all gone now. They aren't around anymore. Died off.”

She told us that her father said they were “pre-human” beings that shared the mountains. She told us that very few of the Yeti were left when she was a child.

Fascinating.

Oct 19th, 2012 – More Camera Trapping
Couldn't sleep last night knowing we blew our first shot at recording this Himalayan predator. I had dreams throughout the night of seeing the image of a tiger captured by the camera trap. Wishful dreaming? Yeah. The movement of wildlife can be unpredictable but I am hoping this cat returns from the east to provide us with another opportunity to capture it on film.

We rose before the sun once again and headed out to collect the five camera traps. I walked out to the two areas closest to camp while two of the young Sherpa guides went to collect the cameras placed further into the jungle. I stepped carefully down the trail. Trying to control my breathing. When walking up hill, hyperventilating is a common occurrence for me at this altitude. Any animal would here me approaching. I kept my eyes on the trail as much as possible. Looking for fresh prints in the dirt. Nothing seen as I neared the first stationary camera. It snapped a photograph of me as I approached. Good to know that even though the temperature was currently below 32 ° F (0 °C) this camera was functioning. A ten minute walk to the next location. No prints seen in the dirt diminished the images in my mind of seeing the face of a tiger looking directly into the camera. “Here I am, John. You can return home now.” As beautiful as it was in these mountains. I was not prepared for the frigid air nor walking up hill everyday. The trek was not easy. I felt as though I were carrying me on my back every step of the way. I would not, however, give up until we photographed a tiger, or our allotted time had expired and I needed to make our way back to Kathmandu for me to be able to fly back to the States. Still, the sooner I could see a tiger with my own eyes, the better. I wondered if Marlin Perkins had issues such as this while filming Wild Kingdom.

The other team also reported that no fresh tracks had been observed and the their cameras did not record any movement. They did, however, find what appeared to be tiger scat and scratch pads. To my great disappointment, nothing was recorded on the camera I had check as well.

We'll be placing the cameras out again in the same locations. One of our cameras is still not working properly. We will be relying on just four cameras to document wildlife movement. We could actually use about five more cameras to adequately cover the trails. These trails our still our best leads given signs of recent movement.

None of the scat samples can be verified until we return to Kathmandu.

Follow established animal trial

Dawa photographs scratch pad

Documenting old feces

Oct 18th, 2012 Camera Trapping
We got up before sunrise this morning in order to go and check the three camera traps we placed out. We placed one in an area we were able to make out paw prints of cats walking an established trail. The second was at a junction, where a Stupa sits. We found cat scratching and old feces here. The third camera was also placed on a well traveled path were cat scratching in the dirt were found. Of the three locations we staked out, only one denoted any movement by cats. We found fresh prints! We were very hopeful to see a tiger on the footage... To our great disappointment, the camera at this location did not function. For some reason, it would not trigger. What a disappointment! Even though we have a few more weeks to find concrete evidence of tigers, I feared that this may have been the moment. An opportunity lost. We placed a different camera at the same location in hopes of capturing something tomorrow.

After breakfast, we headed southwest to meet with a village family living in the area. These people told us that they have seen many tigers in the area over the years. The family successfully identified images of tigers and the sounds they said the animals made. They told us that two to three months ago, their children happened upon a tiger den holding 2 or 3 cubs. The father said that his kids through things at the cubs, chasing them off. Unfortunately these kids where not in the area for us to interview. The couple did, however, tell us the general location of the den and pointed us to an area they said tigers pass through regularly. Upon investigating the area pointed out to us, we found two sets of paw prints close to one another, which could indicate the presence of a female tiger and cub. The paw sizes measured approximately 3x4 inches (7.6 cm x 10.1 cm) and 4x5 inches (10.1 cm x 12.7 cm). We set up two camera traps at this location. All five traps are now in place and our finger's are crossed.

Oct 17th, 2012 - Witness accounts 
We broke camp and moved further into the jungle, camping out in the grounds of an abandoned Buddhist monastery. This monastery is smaller than the active one we had just left and, again, has no inhabitants.

New camp site at abandoned monastery

Two young Sherpa girls are tending their cattle just below our location and today, we had the opportunity to talk with them, asking if they had ever seen tigers in the area. They both indicated that they have seen tigers in the area. Actually, a family of tigers. I listened to their stories and showed them a series of photographs of cats native to the area. The oldest of the two girls identified both tigers and leopards, saying she has seen and heard both species in these mountains. She also said that a tiger recently killed two of their calves and that she saw a tiger feeding on one of them. The calf was two years old. She took us to the kill site so that we could look for evidence of a tiger kill. The carcass had been picked clean. It had been killed approximately 20 days earlier. We were only able to find dried skin and bones. Even though the witness' story appeared to be credible, we decided not to set up a camera in the area, as the site was too remote and off any established wildlife trail.

Cattle owned by a Sherpa family

Guide locating feline scat

Cat paw print

We placed three camera traps in areas where we documented recently placed paw prints and where witnesses stated they have seen tiger activity. We'll check them in the morning.

Oct. 15^th, 2012 – The Milk Man Cometh

Again, up at 0500 hours. The sun made it safe to get out of the tent and the monks have begun their practice.

As we were heading out this morning, one of the team meeting chatted with a man who was bring fresh yak milk down to the monks. He claimed he has just been attacked by a tiger on the trail, east, leading into the monastery. A credible story? Perhaps. The man is in is '80's and had already had a few cups of chung, a locally brewed alcohol all that Sherpa people drink throughout the day. Thus, his perception may have been... clouded. Nonetheless, this is a lead we needed to follow up on, immediately. We gathered as much details as possible from the man and headed east, into the jungle, well outside our intended target area.

We climbed to over 3,000 meters. I was dying but determined to not stop. This jungle was beautiful. Lush green moss was ever present in the undergrowth. Many dense, as well as open areas. Suitable tiger habitat.

Location of pug mark

 Within an hour, we arrived at the alleged attack site. Fresh prints in the sand. The man had indeed, saw something. We were able to ID fresh pug marks (paw prints) in some of the sand present on the trail as well as feline scat. The prints were small (in the 3X4 inch range) indicating a young tiger or adult leopard. The scat and scratch post were old and may not have been dropped by the cat we were presently looking to locate.

Pug mark spotted on 10-15-12

Sample of known tiger Pug mark

Difference between tiger cub and leopard pug marks

We also met with a villager tending her cattle in the same area. She claimed that a tiger has been harassing her cattle for the past three nights and that she actually saw the tiger resting on the hill just below her a few days ago. She said she was frightened and once the tiger saw her, it moved off. We had the young woman look at a series of photograph of various cats that were historically found in the area. The young woman identified a leopard as the animal she saw. Its important to note that the woman's identification of a leopard does not mean she has never seen a tiger or know what one looks like. These people speak Sherpa language, which is different from Nepalese. Sherpa, literally means, the people from the east. They migrated down from the east and settled in these mountains. Their language, culture, and features are more in line with the people of Tibet, than the those of Nepal. In their language “Zeek” (tiger) is a big cat. That would also include a leopard.

Old scat found in the area of the "tiger" sighting

Feline scratching in ground, common
for both tigers and leopards.

We decided to set up a camera trap on this trail to catch a look at what may have “attacked” the man.

We walked back down to the monastery to interview the milk man, who had decided to take a well needed nap. He was of little help in this department, calling the photograph of the tiger, an elephant.

Oct. 14th, 2012

We camped out at 2,920 meters on the grounds of a Buddhist monastery high in the mountains. I met with the lead Rinpoche and explained to him our quest. He firmly supported our venture and also stated that he knew tigers were present in the jungle surrounding the monastery. The monastery housed several monastic Buddhist practitioners, but has seen better days. Not as many families are sending their sons to the monastery to engage in a life of meditation and contemplation as in the past. Although Buddhism continues to be practice in the homes of the village people, the Rinpoche does not believe the monastery will stay open indefinitely.

Buddhist Monastery 

Buddhist Monastery  at 2,800 Meters

After breakfast, we talked with some of the residents and again heard tales of recent tiger activity. Including a family of tigers. We again broke off into two teams and headed into the jungle. On my route, close to the monastery, we came across an abandoned homestead. The hillside in which this family had decided to call home, turned out to be not suitable for growing crops sustainable to provide for the families long tern needs. I was told that once the children had grown up, the family relocated to another area. I found myself strangely attracted to this site. Its proximity to the jungle where tigers are said to roam, would make a great base of operation, once we were able to confirm the presence of tigers. Providing beyond a reasonable doubt that tigers inhabit this jungle would actually be the easiest part of any long term project. Mapping out their numbers, territory, prey base,habits, and overall health, not to mention an education program for local residence, would prove to be the long term challenge. This homestead could do much for making that task a bit easier, allowing teams to move in and out of the study area with a bit more ease and comfort. Therefore, if our quest is successful, we'd be interested in obtaining this site.

The second team learn of a tiger sighting northeast of or location and not within our original target area. They decided to investigate to see if it would be suitable to set up a camera trap. We, unfortunately, only have five cameras and must, therefore, choose are locations wisely. Recent paw prints (pug marks) scratch posts, and feces samples would all play a part in aiding in the decision making process.

After lunch, we traveled down to the local school house grounds to meet with the head School Master. The land was donated by a villager, in order to build this school to provide the youngest with some basic form of education. If they are lucky, the average village child will receive 10 years of education before leaving for Kathmandu, or taking up a life of farming. In most cases, the education received in these villages is far inferior to that children receive in Kathmandu. Thus, a kid arriving in the city soon learns they are ill equip to take on the most basic job, Many are talked into taking employment overseas is countries such as Kuwait, or India, where the exploitation rate is high.

Village School

When I saw the school, I thought of Little House on the Prairie, but worse. The school walls provided little protection from the elements ad heat is non existent. The floors where either compact soil or unevenly placed slate rock. Many of the records were recorded by hand and not protected in cabinets, or even boxes. The last monsoon rains were so strong, that the official records became wet and now show clear signs of mildew. I looked at all of this and could not help but to think how fortunate I was to have been born in a country, and a time, where I could receive a quality education, under optimal conditions. But here's the trick, these kids, having never been exposed to another way of living, may be thinking the same thoughts. How lucky they are to be able to receive ten years of education. Sure, they may still have to walk hours each day through the mountains to arrive at school, and still work the fields and tend to the livestock, but they have a school in the village.

Meeting with Head Master

The School Master was very pleased that we had taken an interest in improving the education level, and learning conditions of the village children. He told of his pressing needs. “During the winter months, it is very cold and the younger children find it difficult to focus.” Heat. He needed some form of heat, other than an open fire inside the classroom. I provided suggestions on little ways they could improve the insulation factor of the class room, using local materials. We also talked about installing a wood burning stove, as a short term fix to the heating situation. Wind turbines and solar collectors would become our long term project goals, however. I also committed to donating two laptop computers to the school, along with basic computer training. One computer would be used to back up school records and the other to assist in English and conservation training.

Education is the key to a healthy life.

Inside classroom

School sign