Brazilian Forests To Chilling North Pole, My Wildlife Journey Is Worth It

So in my last blog, I told you how my wildlife journey began…every place I have visited in the past nine years has been special but then there are some which have left an everlasting impression on me. The nights were torture and even under blankets we were getting bitten by big mosquitoes. Only a Kachua Chaap (mosquito coil from India) would help. The days would start with a pleasant breeze from the Cuiaba River, leading into unbearable humidity and heat of over 42 degrees. But it was all worth it! 

Here are my top four destinations in the wild:

My first favourite destination will always be Pantanal in Brazil: 

It is the largest tropical wetland in the world and is a 24-hour long flight away from us in India. I have been here more than five times already to film the big cat, Jaguar. These cats are found only in America and over 4000 of them live in Pantanal. 

A typical day in the Pantanal: Every morning we would wake up at 4:00 am by the whistling of Hyacinth Macaws. Our crew and a few friends would be ready to set sail on the river, surrounded by dense forest which is home to unique species of plants and animals. 

The fresh wind in our face, the sun rising along the river, a perfect setting to drown in deep thoughts…but that would last only a few minutes as suddenly our captain would shout, Jaguar, Jaguar…there would be this beautiful cat, walking along the banks of the river trying to hunt using its most powerful bite amongst big cats. We would see the cats swimming, jumping on Caimans or capybaras for hours on end. Each day they try, and each day we film. When they catch a prey and get lucky, you literally get up and clap for them. This place shows you how difficult it is to earn your meal in the wild. 

These cats give you so much action that there is hardly any time for you to sneak in that afternoon nap. You blink and you miss. This place is special because I have seen and experienced life in wildlife up close: mothers playing and protecting their cubs from other male Jaguars, Otters staying together and screaming so hard to make the Jaguars back off, Capybaras enjoying their time, anacondas (yes, they are gorgeous and not scary like in the movies) swimming away, and birds of all kinds. I have followed Pirata, a one-eyed Jaguar for days while he is hunting, seen two big males fight over a female, cute little cubs coming close to our boat…if this is not life then what is?! 

Svalbard, North Pole: 

This is one of the most gorgeous places on earth with crystal blue water and ice all around you. Huge iceberg structures and on them live the Seals, Walruses, Reindeer, birds and my favourite- Polar Bears. They always looked like these cuddly bears I wanted to get close to and hug, until that changed when I had a close encounter with one of them. 

Svalbard is the northernmost human settlement in the world. We were 8 people living on a small boat for a month, sailing each day closer to the North Pole in search of the wildlife there. The temperatures hovered around -15 degrees in the summer months, but the sun would never set. It was 24 hours of daylight which meant we had to always be on guard to look for polar bears. Spending hours on end looking through binoculars was not always a fun activity. One lucky day, while we were sailing through ice, our captain spotted a bear feasting on a seal on top of a huge iceberg. As we moved a little closer, he acknowledged our presence. I ran with half warm clothes to the deck to start filming thinking it may last a few minutes before the situation changed. 

The bear had something else on his mind… soon he started getting closer to us and while we tried to move back, our boat got stuck between ice. I was with my Canon 100-500 mm lens and looking continuously through the camera and soon I could see only his eye. My captain shouted, “Simran don’t move, stay still!!” 

I lifted my face and there it was, just inches away from me. My heart skipped a beat and the camera continued rolling. And that was it! I think the bear got a liking towards us; the next thing was 12 hours of a date with him. He started playing in the snow, running around chasing birds. He smelt a seal one km away and started to swim towards it. We started following him as he tried to hunt down a seal chilling on the iceberg. As he reached closer, he went underwater. We were all quiet and ready to roll, there he came splashing out of water, the seal startled and ran for her life, while the bear looked at us. 

He had missed it! It was an experience etched in memory. 

Alaska

Imagine a day with blue skies, chilled summer air, walking on a bed of blueberries and suddenly you spot a big Grizzly Bear running and splashing water all over. 

This is Alaska for you. Summertime is sushi time for these bears as the famous Salmon run in Katmai National Park begins where the sock-eyed Salmon come to spawn upstream the river. The Grizzlies catch these fish and fill up their tummies to prepare for the long winter hibernation. 

Living in beautiful cottages in the middle of the Tundra Forest, travelling via seaplanes to various areas, trekking 8-10 km each day with 20 kgs of camera gear on our back on mushy grounds, most days rains lashing at you, eating blueberries from the ground, and seeing the Grizzlies in full action, this is a place you cannot miss visiting. 

And if the bears were done for the day, we would reach islands where the beach would be covered with walruses. Every corner of this place is beautiful, and it is unique. It is a must-visit place.

Antarctica



“23 days at sea as we sail towards Antarctica”

Your happiness knows no bounds when you get a message like this from your friend but reaching the windiest continent on Earth is not at all easy. You need gumption, and above all you need to be a little crazy!!

I was all ready to set sail from Argentina with 50 more people just like me. Initial days at sea were very smooth, we were oblivious of the fact what was in store for us. The weather in this part of the world changes every few hours, all your plans can go for a toss, it is nature showing how powerful it is. 

While we were preparing to land at our first destination, the captain of the ship gave us bad news that there was a hurricane approaching with more than 100 kms per hour wind speed and we all will have to brace this storm and there was no chance we could make it to the island. 

What followed was 3 nights of intense wind, ship swaying, all of us holding whatever would come our way, some refusing to get out of their cabins, puking their guts out. And then there were us 4 Indians who took it as an adventure and would sit for hours inside on the upper deck recording the huge waves hitting us, enjoying our time in the bar and listening to Bollywood songs!

Some people would wonder what we all ate back home that made us so strong. Finally, God heard our prayers, and we had few days of sunshine. We made it to the next Island – South Georgia and we were laughing and crying with joy. It was a relief; we had finally made it alive. 

The days that followed were a spectacle of wildlife and natural beauty. It is the only place in the world where at a given spot you will see millions of penguins and very few humans. What a beautiful feeling that is! We were lucky to see Elephant Seals, many species of Penguins, Whales, dolphins and much more. Above all, I made friends for life as for people who survived many storms… their friendship must be stronger. 

In the last nine years, I have walked with the pumas in Chile, laughed my heart out at Snow Monkeys of Japan, lived with Coastal wolves for 10 days in a remote island, met people who are working hard to protect the Orangutans of Borneo as they lose their habitat due to increase in demand for palm oil across the world and even seen Rhinos in Zimanga National park have their horns cut to protect them from poachers. Wildlife life is a roller coaster of emotions, and I am happy and so grateful to be on this ride!

Views expressed by the author are their own

Simran Gill is a journalist turned independent Wildlife and Non-Fiction filmmaker. Views expressed by the author are their own. All images are provided by the author.