Valparai Surprise II - Wanderoo In Kurangumudi ?

Valparai, Tamil Nadu

I’d pretty much seen all of my main targets for the trip by the time the fog and rain caught up to me on my 2nd day in Valparai as I was telling you in “ Public Enemy No. 1 ”and then I guess I got to see what the place was really famous for. It’s amazing how the fog meanders through those stout, rounded, rolling hills and then engulfs it all gradually for gradual release again in time. It’s nothing like the pointy mountains of Shillong where I grew up and I was pretty thankful that I’d picked a room on top of a hill and with a view. I needed that day and a half of doing nothing. Wildlife is a hectic hobby and I was there right after 5 of the busiest months in the annual work calendar. What can I say? Mother Nature always provides even when you don’t think you need it. Maybe we just need to be in tune to see it. Kinda hard to do though with so many ‘other instruments’ ( read priorities ) blaring in your ears but yeah, anxiety about the trip was constantly on my mind none the less. I’d taken what I’d called calculated risks.

My 4th morning in Valparai was clear and man, I was so happy to wake up to the calls of birds out on my balcony. I’d looked at my photos from the trip enough and knew that I needed more of the Wanderoo. There was no scope of trying for the Grey Hornbills anymore. It’s the Lion Tailed Macaques who’d brought me here and that was where I was lacking. As planned, Anees and I were at the bridge at Puthuthottam where we had found them on the first day but to no luck. Well, the sky was clear and it was my last day so I didn’t wait around too long. Kurangumudi and the Nilgiri Langurs would have to do I reckoned and we found them just as expected and on the same side of the road as before, ie the right side on your way down. But as we went down the road, I noted that their numbers seemed to have thinned out that morning for some reason.

Realization of the obvious hits me like a sack of bricks to the head every time and this “Eureka” sack hit when I realized that the Langurs had thinned out cause the Wanderoo were out at play across the road and man, these guys weren’t as docile. I also realized that I hadn’t seen any Langurs to the left of the road (when going down) on my two previous trips. It’s that side which led to human settlements. Macaques around these parts were more Human friendly because of their omnivorous diet and their tendency to forage around Human settlements. The Langurs are exclusively leaf eating monkeys who didn’t need humans as much especially since “Black Monkey Soup” had been on the menu in these parts till around 40 years or so ago ( Ref : Valparai Surprise I ). What was super fun for me was that the whole jigsaw fit into place like a video game graphic in my head while I was making pictures of the first of the Wanderoo who I found playing around in a huge tree on their side of the road ( Pics : 13 – 15 ). What an Oooh ! Moment. I have to say that this was one of the sweetest sacks that I’ve taken to the head with regards to wildlife so far for sure.

As we continued down the road that morning there was literally no action on the other side where we’d seen the Langurs on our previous visits and as we reached the end of the road where the tarmac ends and dirt begins, we noticed a lone male Wanderoo scoping out the lane that approaches the road from the left ( Pics : 1 – 5 ). There are a couple of shops there and upon enquiry, Anees discovered that the area was about to be taken over by the Wanderoo. There are a few houses there and these Lion Tailed Macaques were gonna walk through those like they did often these days. We had inadvertently stumbled upon the Wanderoo of Kurangumudi and interestingly, I was gonna get the action that I was expecting in Puthuthottam after all, but 15 Kms away.

All my queries on the phone and the old literature I’d read spoke of only Langur sightings at this location and here we had this Wanderoo, walking up alone and checking out the surroundings. He was followed soon by another male ( Pics : 6 – 12 ) who did the same scope out and then back tracked to follow his leader off towards the homes and then the whole group of about 20 or so followed. Their modus operandi remained the same that I’d seen a couple of days ago with the other group. The leading males would walk up in a hurry and take positions around a central empty area first. The females with the children would then move to and settle there and they’d chill there for a bit, allowing the males at the end of the line to reach the spot and then the whole exercise was repeated for the next flag point or such. Even an injured male ( Pics : 16 - 18 ) had his duties. What beats me is how they go about allocating the duties though? Does the role of an injured member like my guy in Pics : 16 - 18 change due to his injury in this structured migration? I’ll be sure to let you know if and when I find out for sure cause I just can’t seem to find any leads on that as of now.

Anees and I stayed at the entrance area to the group of homes that the Wanderoo pretty much invaded then. The lookouts moved to the roofs ( Pics : 19 - 22 ). They climbed all over the walls ( Pic : 23 ) and we could hear an old man shooing from inside one of the homes while others who lived there just ignored the whole proceedings or went about their chores like pulling clothes off the clotheslines in a hurry. The females and infant Wanderoo walked hurriedly through the area and my injured friend ( Pic : 24 ) brought up the rear of the troop. Although injured, he didn’t hesitate to painstakingly climb to deliver on his responsibilities none the less and just like that, the Wanderoo moved through the group of homes to where they were headed.

I’d gotten my chance to see the Wanderoo up close and their interactions within their troop and with Humans in the most unexpected and surprising way possible and this was truly the most awesome surprise that I could’ve gotten from this trip. It was at a better location which let me view them for a lot longer than Id’ve ever managed where I’d initially thought I’d see them at. As we started on our journey back, it kinda made sense to me why the famous Puthuthottam troop had possibly split. There was just more forest here and no main roads with traffic. This group had traded walking across one busy tea garden for walking across a more peaceful one albeit 15 kms or so away.

I didn’t look out for subjects on the way back and neither did Anees call out on seeing any. In fact, I think we were both a little lost in what we had just witnessed. That, and also that the Macaques had kept us well beyond when we’d usually go back for lunch. The Lion Tailed Macaque sighting had been quite the experience obviously and I decided that it was perhaps best for me to end on a high. No matter what I saw next, it wouldn’t beat this discovery of Wanderoo in Kurangumudi.

I’d pulled it off somehow. Despite the language barrier, lack of a professional driver or guide and the rain, I’d somehow found my Primates of Valparai and discovered a primo sighting location that I’d never read about. I’d try for The Grey Hornbills in Thattekad. I felt ready to go home and actually check out my pictures. I chilled that afternoon back in my room overlooking the hills and without the clouds of possible failure hanging over my head. Valparai looked much better now that the “Tick Tock, Tick Tock” in my head had disappeared. This trip was a success. The calculated chance had paid off.

As I chilled on my balcony that evening watching the sun set behind those rolling, stout hills while random scrolling on my phone, I stumbled upon a quote by Christopher Walken who says, “At it’s best, life is completely unpredictable” and instantly thought, "So true Sir. Indeed it is. At it's worst too though."