Driving down a hill is a wonderful experience. One cannot be numb to the thrill it gives. There is a feeling of churning in the stomach, yet it gives excitement. Driving down a hill jeep in the early dawn, Jack felt the same. – for an adventure
Jack and his friends were returning from their weekend trekking program. In spite of the tiredness, they were boisterous, they yelled at a high pitch whenever the jeep negotiated a hairpin bend. Jack always loved driving and driving in the hills is always a challenge. The smell of nocturnal flowers spread across and the heart captivating songs of the early risers filled the air.
Jack’s friend spotted a beautiful Blackpoll Warbler, which belonged to the family of Wood Warblers. Warblers are active birds, and it is always difficult to spot them. They parked the jeep on the slope of the hill and silently listened to the song of the Wood Warbler.
The song of the Blackpoll Warbler starts out as a thin, one pitch, zee-zee-zee-zee or tsi-tsi-tsi-tsi which gets louder and then diminishes. Bird watching gives much pleasure during the trekking trips and Jack always looked for it.
Jack took out his new camera and tried to take a few snaps of the bird. The bird, so active, hopped among the thick foliage of the trees. Jack felt it really made fun of him by hopping like that.
Jack took down his pocket book and made a note of the features of the bird. The song of the Blackpoll Warbler echoed down the hill slopes and soon a harmony of songs of different birds as if in a choir started.
Whistling softly to himself, Jack starts the jeep. They now decided to stop at places where they could spot colorful birds or animals on their way. Some of them decided to look to the right and others to look to the left which will not let them miss anything on their way as they drove on.
Insects commonly found in hilly places screeched from the thick hedges growing on both sides of the hill. Jack slowed down the jeep when he spotted the shining eyes of a mountain goat. Startled by the sound of the jeep, it stood there motionless. A few yards away from the place, they could see a herd of wild bison resting.
It was dimly lit as the early rays of the sun had just started to arrive. Suddenly it began to drizzle and the streaks of rain entered the jeep and made them shiver with cold.
Jack felt something odd. Some of the protruding rocks from the side had rolled down and were lying on the path. One of the front tires of the jeep got punctured and they were really lucky to stop there. Driving down a mountain slope is a difficult task. The brakes should always be applied and the real skill lies in controlling the speed of the vehicle.
While Jack was changing the punctured tires, his friends slowly walked towards the railings. Standing there, they began to take photographs. In the valley below, they could see a bustle of activity. As it was still dark, they were not able to see clearly.
Stephen, Jack’s brother, took out the torchlight and turned it towards it to see what was happening. They could see a mountain lion chasing a wild sheep. The mountain lion sprinted after the fleeing prey for a while and then stalled its prey by pouncing on the wild sheep’s back with a powerful leap and knocked it to the ground.
Then it killed the prey with a single bite on the nape of the neck. Everyone felt a shock go down their spine. They also called Jack to come and join them. Jack got his handy cam and started to shoot.
Thrills and Chills: Jack’s Hilltop for an adventure
Mountain lions are most active at dawn and dusk. However, they do roam and hunt at all times of the day and in all seasons. Deer is their main prey. Other preys for the mountain lion are: wild sheep, raccoons, beavers, elk, rabbits and other wild animals, and livestock.
The mountain lion is a solitary animal, and because of this, it has a customized manner for hunting. It sneaks to within about 5 yards of its prey and jumps on the animal and breaks its neck with a powerful bite below the base of the skull.
Mountain lions utilise their keen sense of eyesight for the hunt. Their extraordinary vision is due to the size of the eyeball. It is proportionately larger (including pupil and lens size) as compared to other carnivores.
Mountain lions do not permanently occupy dens. They find shelter in caves, vegetation, and any rocky areas near them. Mountain lions don’t stay in one spot. They migrate, following deer and other prey. Mountain lion is called America’s wild cat.
Jack and his friends returned to the jeep. They had never seen a hunt in real life. Jack’s friend Robert usually spends his leisure time bird watching or following the tracks of wild animals in the forest near his home. Once he encountered a mountain lion while hiking. He was resting on the trail. His friend had hiked on ahead to see if the trail was safe.
They had left the trail head quite early in the morning and were almost 4 miles from the trail head with nobody in site. Suddenly out of the corner of his eye, he saw a movement and turned. He saw a mountain lion about 200 feet up the trail. Hey froze. Though he knew all the ‘rules’ for encountering a mountain lion, he was pretty scared.
The mountain lion had stopped on the trail and was looking at him. He stood up as tall as he could. The lion turned away from him and disappeared into the bush. This experience was a bit alarming but he didn’t feel that he was in any danger. He just practiced the safety rules he had been taught and the lion went away.
For some time, there was silence in the jeep. While traveling along the hill slopes, it is fun to watch animals and birds. But once that changes into a dangerous encounter, one must be ready to face it also. After having seen a mountain lion with its hunt, everyone wished that they could reach the foothill very soon. To their relief, the sun slowly came up, and the place was now bright with morning light. Usually, nocturnal animals go to sleep in their hideouts during the day. Now, some more jeeps joined them, and they cheered one another up.
“It is really fantastic to see the puma hunt”, exclaimed Jack.
Stephen quoted some lines from a famous poet with a note, “It is true, nature sometimes stirs fear in you”
“Yeh!” Everyone responded with a single nod.
“How would it be if you really encountered a wild animal on your way?” Jack questioned.
“It won’t be fun”, snapped back Stephen.
“I really wonder how Robert felt when he encountered that mountain lion.”
“It must be a blood-curdling experience”
“After seeing this mountain lion hunt, I think it should be like that only”
“Yeh! Wilderness is full of challenging experiences. I feel, once you are capable of handling these wild animals, you will be able to handle the human beings in a better way”
“Ha-Ha” Everyone laughed.
“What a striking difference! On our way back, we first spotted a beautiful Warbler. I feel that told me, life is beautiful, and so enjoy it. A few yards later, we saw a mountain lion chasing its prey and killing it. That told me, life is always an encounter with challenges and so be ready to face them”
“Reminds me of Darwin’s theory of Survival of the fittest”, Jack replied.
“Yeh!”
“That’s true. Now I think we can plan our next trip to a place by the sea. Let us get into the sea and enjoy a different piece of adventure there”
“That’s a brilliant idea”
“I love scuba diving and windsurfing”
“I will take you all to the part of the sea where we can really see dolphins. I hope we will be lucky to meet a friendly dolphin there”
“Yes, Jack, get ready for another thrilling adventure in the water. I hope we will meet sea gulls, dolphins and also terrible sharks”
“And also be alive to cherish those memories in the days to come”
“Ai, Shut up! Stephen yelled back.
“What Ryan is telling is true. Life is always like that.”
Jack stopped the jeep near the exit gate for the check-out, and everyone sincerely looked ahead for an adventurous trip.
Growing up in an environment enriched with colours of nature adorned with sounds of machines, I enjoyed life with all challenges. Nature is always a great teacher that teaches empathy to live and let live others. Though I am now living in an urban environment, the lesson that nature taught me motivates and allows me to keep on writing. I will always remember the cool afternoons in the shades of trees that made me write more on love.