Quick Update from GHNP

After 21 days since last connecting to the internet, 40 days without a proper bath (river water is unbearably cold), and 74 days since my last true shower (in the US), I decided to head to Manali and reconnect with civilization for three days before finishing the last half of my fieldwork in the park.

A few highlights from the last month:

We've seen and heard more pheasants than expected, so the bird populations are recovering. Yahoo! I even saw with my very own eyes a beautiful rare male tragopan with a brilliant red throat lappet, merely 20 meters from me.

I almost burned down my assistant's new wooden house while trying to light our kerosine stove to make pancakes, which turned out tasting bad anyway.

I squatted in thistle at 2am and had nasty welts on my bum for a few hours.

I had a strange allergic reaction to some unknown substance, which left a red rash on the forefinger and thumb of both my hands, then blistered, then dried, and finally peeled, leaving bright pink skin beneath. Everyone (literally, EVERYONE) I interact with comments on it and offers me cream. One forest guard even conducted a puja (ceremony) on my hands and told me to use the top leaves from a local tree, which would heal my allergy in 3 days but leave my skin black. Needless to say, I didn't look for the tree.

Overall, I've had a challenging month full of mental and physical stress. More of an anthropological study of the local people rather than an ecological study of the pheasants, in my mind at least. But since the sun came out last week, I am feeling more optimistic and happy. I have only 2 rounds of research in the park (8 days) and three weeks left (one includes attending a huge festival in the near town), so things are looking good.

More detailed descriptions and stories to come when I return to Dehradun around May 30th. Once again, I will likely have no further internet connection until then, so I apologize for not responding to your emails, but keep 'em coming!