We’re all familiar with the phrase ‘You scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours’, which essentially means if you do something for me, I’ll return the favour.  Well I was reminded of this idiom when I spotted a Sloth Bear during a safari scratching his back by rubbing it against a tree.

Sloth Bear

I was in no mood to get out of the vehicle and help him reach those frustratingly inaccessible spots that were itching, but remained out of reach even for Yoga experts. Nor was I in a hurry to permit him to reciprocate the favour.

Kabini’s home to the Kadu Kurubas, an indigenous tribe sheltered from the mainstream, and hence practicing a way of life that synchronizes with that of the wildlife in the region, rather than the outside world.

Kadu Kurubas abide in little abodes called Hadi or Hatti. Originally hunter gatherers, the Kurubas switched to swidden agriculture, and later, to weaving baskets and collection of minor forest produce.

A Kadu Kuruba outside His Hut

So the next time you decide to visit Orange County, Kabini, seek out Manju Admal, a proud member of the Kuruba community. His knowledge of the forest is simply matchless.

Vikram Nanjappa

Vikram Nanjappa likes to be described as an interested and well-informed amateur. He draws his inspiration from the band of men called the Orientalists, most of whom were amateurs. By profession, they were soldiers and administrators. However, today, they are remembered as giants of scholarship. Like them, his field of enquiry is ‘Man and Nature; (with an emphasis on Nature) whatever is performed by the one or produced by the other’. He currently resides in Bangalore and freelances as a writer and photographer. He can be contacted at nanjappavikram@yahoo.co.in.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 24th, 2012 at 12:00 am and is filed under Carnivore, Destinations, Mammal, Nature, Predators. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.