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In Nepal's extreme southwest, a different feature appears on the land: phanta, great swathes of natural grassland that could almost be mistaken, albeit on a smaller scale, for the savannahs of East Africa. SUKLA PHANTA WILDLIFE RESERVE , south of Mahendra Nagar, is dotted with them, and touring it is, for once, really like being on safari. The reserve is home to the world's largest population of swamp deer - sightings of 1000 at a time are common - as well as a good concentration of tigers. It's also astonishingly rich in birds, with 470 species having been counted here, one of the highest concentrations in Nepal. Seeing Sukla Phanta independently is relatively expensive, as it entails renting a vehicle, but you'll have the satisfaction of going where few have gone before. It's also possible to visit the reserve on a luxury package tour. Several four-wheel-drive tracks crisscross the reserve, making itineraries flexible, but first stop is bound to be the Sukla Phanta at the southwestern end, a rippling sea of grass that turns silvery-white in October ( sukila means white in the local Tharu dialect). You're guaranteed swamp deer here, and in quantity - make for the view tower in the middle and scan for them with binoculars. As barasingha ("twelve points"), the swamp deer was one of Kipling's beloved Jungle Book animals - "that big deer which is like our red deer, but stronger" - and common throughout the plains and hills. Today it's an endangered species, finding safety in numbers in the phanta and particularly the boggy parts where seasonal fires don't burn off the grasses. The species' high density in Sukla Phanta assures plenty of prey for the reserve's thirty-odd tigers , which for the time being seem healthy. However, a question mark hangs over their long-term survival, as habitat outside the reserve is steadily disappearing, and Sukla Phanta alone isn't large enough to support an independent breeding population. The riparian area along the Chaundhar River from Singpur northwards supports the reserve's greatest concentration of tigers. Having seen your obligatory phanta, make a beeline for Rani Tal (Queen's Lake), near the centre of the reserve. Surrounded by riotous, screeching forest, the lake - a lagoon, really - is like a prehistoric time capsule, with trees leaning out over the shore, deer wading shoulder-deep around the edges and crocodiles occasionally peering out of the water-hyacinth-choked water. The birdlife is like nothing you've ever seen, a dazzling display of cranes, cormorants, eagles and scores of others. You can watch all the comings and goings from a tower by the western shore. Nearby is an overgrown brick circle , 1500m in circumference, which locals say was the fort of Singpal, an ancient Tharu king (Rani Tal is said to have been his queen's favourite spot). The fact that the remains have never been excavated shows how little historical research has been done in western Nepal. Though you'd think they'd be hard to miss, chances are Sukla Phanta's elephant herd will give you the slip - they now seem to spend most of their time in Bardia National Park and India's Corbett National Park. Evidence of their passage is abundant, however, especially along the road south from the entrance, where in places the forest looks like it's been hit by a tornado. The dominant male of this herd, dubbed Thula Hatti ("Big Elephant"), was killed in 1993 by a homemade mine, planted either by poachers or by a farmer trying to protect his crops. Before his demise, Thula Hatti was believed to be the world's biggest Asian elephant, and was even featured in a BBC documentary.
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