Of all the sanctuaries I have been to it was the easiest to spot wildlife in Kaziranga. was it the right time of the year or do the animals feel so safe here that they feel safe venturing out of the core forest or is it just that the rhino- by the nature of the natural armour it wears feels safe and protected?
Larger than life and proud- it looks safe enough and peaceful while at a distance — but let him come closer and look in your direction and you would automatically take a step backwards — poised for flight!
Other wildlife — we saw were boars and hogs, wild buffalo, elephants, turtles and a variety of arial beauties.
Dotted by water bodies — large and small every few kms — there is a lot of birdlife to see- egrets, ruddy shelducks, bar headed geese, fishing eagles, grey headed eagles, pelicans, storks, cormorants, cranes, darters and a variety of ducks- were just a few we could see. Though we were lucky enough to see a fishing eagle catching its breakfast and flying off on a lonely branch to enjoy it
Though the jeeps are great for going deeper into the jungle- the early morning elephant ride inside the grasslands and marshes is a great way to see the rhinos up close- literally a few feet away. There is, however, always present a small danger of getting charged by the rhino if it feels even slightly threatened (as one of the elephant in our party was)- hearing the rhino trumpet in irritation did indeed accelerate the heartbeat.
And If you are lucky you could get surrounded by a pack of swamp deer enjoying their early morning snack- a sight to behold