Gharial
I am preparing myself for another adventure in India: two months of fieldwork along one of India’s greatest biodiverse rivers, the Chambal. Each of my trips to India over the past four years has been incredibly different from one another, so I have no way to guess what this trip will have in store for me.
During my first trips, I felt like a whirling dervish among the bustling trains and masses of humanity as I made my way from one metropolis to another. My later trips have found me setting up residence in a small rural village on the banks of the Chambal River, with blast furnace hot days and nights when I felt as if I was sleeping in a walk-in beer cooler.
This is my host family's house and where we slept when it wasn't raining. When it rained we moved into the shed with the water buffalo.
Village life is good, although the children are still scared that I am secretly a medical doctor whose role it is to give vaccination injections when they least expect it. I have grown used to sleeping on a traditional short wooden cot with my feet propped on a plastic lawn chair next to my host family’s water buffalo. And, in turn, I think the buffalo has taken a liking to me (I sneak Loraine, as I affectionately call her, treats when no one is looking). However, I struggle with bathing at the communal well; I just am too bashful to be seen in my skivvies in front of the entire village! So, I wait until the sun has set and no leering eyes are present to have my “bucket shower.” This also saves me from becoming a lobster, as my fair Irish skin burns incredibly easily.
This is a typical large mid-day meal served on metal plates. The plates have edges, as food is eaten with your hands and you need the edges so your food doesn't end up in your lap while you're trying to scoop it up!
My U.S. friends often ask me how I like food while I am away for months on end. I explain to them that Indian food in India is often not like the foods you see in restaurants stateside. There is the typical nan or roti (flat bread) accompanied by lentils and rice, but I do not eat tikka malsala (my personal favorite) for every meal. For breakfast, I really like the fresh yogurt made from buffalo milk, and spicy samosas make a great between-meal treat.
I will be leaving in a few short weeks with my bags stuffed with field gear and plenty of sun block, resting assured that this trip will truly be a new adventure.
Brian Horne, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral fellow for San Diego Zoo Conservation Research. He is working to help endangered red-crowned roof turtles and gharials in India.
Read more about this project
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March 31st, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I hope you have a gratifyingly productive experience in India, Brian. I often visit the zoo’s gharials — favorites of mine — and hope your research will aid in their preservation. Will you be staying with the same family? I’m sure its water buffalo misses you! Don’t believe I’ve ever seen a red-crowned roof turtle. Do we have them at the zoo?
March 31st, 2009 at 8:04 pm
I will indeed be staying with the same family, they are truly wonderful people. I’m even slowly learning a bit of Hindi. The San Diego Zoo doesn’t have red-crowned roof turtles at the moment but we do have some of their close relatives in the gharial exhibit.
April 1st, 2009 at 1:46 pm
brian, I so enjoyed your post about field adventures in India. I must say though that your writings also have quite a bit of humor. I found myself smiling and laughing all the way through it! do keep us posted after you come back from your next trip. any chance of your bringing back a pair of endangered red-crowned roof turtles for the SDZ? or would that not be allowed? enjoy your trip!!!
April 4th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
I won’t be able to bring any turtles back with me on this trip but we are hoping that one day we will. Right now no zoos in the US or Europe have red-crowned roof turtles. These turtles are really beautiful and I am sure they would become a zoo favorite!