While the capacity building programme kept me really busy I did find a few days to visit some of the other areas of the reserve especially those bordering the north of the reservoir. I was keen to head to Gaujeda as the monsoons had been particularly heavy this year and the reservoir water horizontal and vertical spread was perhaps at its high for this time of the year. Accompanied by the boat operator we set out to Gaujeda skirting the northern portion of the 84 sq. km. Kalagarh Reservoir.
The run into Gaujeda was interesting with the backwaters of the reservoir stretching quite a bit into Gaujeda. There were some basking sites which were more muddy than sandy and there was a large fish population in the area.
During my run through Gaujeda I recorded some large freshwater turtles and mugger in the area.
One of the mugger was really huge....easily atleast 10 ft long and was heading into the water as I photographed him......I definitely don't wanna ever fall of the boat with these guys lurking around......!!!!!!!
As dam waters recede in a horizontal and vertical manner more habitat would be exposed in March and April coinciding with the nesting seasons of gharial. It's going to be interesting to see how the creatures adapt to fluctuating water spreads for nesting as we study nesting success or failure over the next few years in Corbett!!!
