Sunderbans: Skipping & Fiddling & Coming Up For Air

About 80 miles (130 km) south of Kolkata, at the mouth of the Ganges river and spilling over into Bangladesh, is an area called the Sunderbans, home to the Royal Bengal tiger and to the largest mangrove forest in the world.

Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow in tropical saline wetlands, roots submerged by water or on the adjoining mud flats (above).

In contrast to the banyan tree, which puts out branches that go downward and turn into roots, mangroves sprout roots that extend up into the air above the water level (above).

The only way to get around the Sunderbans is by boat.  I spent several nights on this launch (above) as it meandered around the tiny islands that make up the delta. (Rema -- this is what the boat you will be going on looks like...)

The Sunderbans is home to the beautiful Bengal tiger, the national animal of both India and Bangladesh.  I was hoping to spot one on our trip, but they are rarely seen.  It was not surprising, since there are only about 250 of them left, spread out over an area of thousands of square kilometers.  We did see this jumbo-sized crocodile (above) snoozing on the banks.

At several points, we transferred to a smaller boat (that's part of our group, above) for brief excursions on land.  Land access is severely restricted however, since this is a protected area where the tigers, crocodiles, and other animals roam freely.

Red fiddler crabs (above) scurried around in the mud. I was especially intrigued by these creatures, because many years ago, I had done a research project on fiddler crabs, although they had been a dull brown color rather than this vibrant red. They are called fiddler crabs because the males have asymmetric claws, one of which is enlarged and makes it seem like the animal is playing a fiddle. (You can watch a demo here...)  During mating, they wave their large claws to attract females.

Amphibious mudskippers (above) slithered across the mud.  They are fish, but they spend more time skipping around on the mud than in the water--hence their "fish out of water" nickname. They can even climb trees.

   
Sunset and sunrise on the Sunderbans delta provided some very photogenic moments!

tags: india  west bengal  sunderbans  mangrove  crocodile  fiddler crab  mudskipper