Tadoba April 2022

 I was planning  a Tadoba visit in early 2022 but spurts of Covid  followed by park closures and travel restrictions spoiled the schedule. As a result my February program was cancelled.

Finally it materialized in April.. Reached Nagpur at 12 midnight , thanks to Indigo which kept advancing flight departure on and on,  and by the time I reached Svasara it  was 2.00 a.m. There  hardly was any time left for a good  sleep and  by 5.00 a.m. it was again time to get ready for the safari.

My safari was in Kolara buffer from Madnapur gate . For me, visiting Tadoba after a gap of 2 years , it was a new gate. I drove around Madanapur lake in search of Lara and her cubs but in vain. Finally around 9.00 a.m. a returning jeep informed that Matkasur has been sighted at Lainbodi water hole. All jeeps then headed to the destination described.

And there was Matkasur, the famous and fearsome erstwhile King of Panderpavni area in 2016-2017. Now driven out from his native territory, he seem to be living in exile. But it was good to see the battle hardened Matkasur resting under the shade of a wild Jamun tree.

The next day safari was in Kolara core and as luck would have it , a tigress was sighted at a waterhole just 10 minutes after start. Light conditions were poor but nevertheless a record shot was taken, She came out in open for a few seconds after finishing her sip.

                                                                                 

                                                                                       

That was a good start. My guide, a local girl, was very enthused. We then headed towards Panderpavni #2 and  hardly had driven for about 10 minutes  when she asked the driver to stop. On the bifurcating road, that we had  passed a little,  there was the famous Tadoba tigress Maya with her beau Balram in a mating courtship sitting some 20-30 feet apart from each other. Later Maya came to her beau and went in to sleep

                                                                                  

The couple sat there for about 45 minutes or so . There was a long line of tourist vehicles on the jungle road. Then Maya got up from her slumber and started walking towards  Pandrpavni #2 with Balram in tow. Experienced photographers anticipating the opportunity rushed to the waterhole in order to secure vantage points for photographing the duo when they descend to  waters. After some time that moment arrived  and then shutters clicked continuously for sometime.

In the  afternoon I was advised to check Teliya lake area . In the morning a tigress and her cubs were sighted there. The dominant male tiger of that area known as "Bajrang"was also seen .  So I proceeded to Teliya lake.

Teliya lake is quite far off from Kolara gate and due to prescribed vehicle speed limit of 20 kmph the distance felt never ending . The slow drive soon became boring. But fortunately I met tigress Lara sitting under a tree on the roadside. There were two other tourist vehicles also. The tigress seemed to be warding off April heat in her short slumbers . She yawned and revealed her age. A broken canine , missing incisor and yellowing teeth line surely indicated of her getting old. I had seen her first  in December 2012 when she was a sub-adult.

                                                                                

My next and last safari was at Alizanza buffer of the tiger reserve. I drove past the Kinichua waterhole ;which once used to be central point of the photographers because its being the favorite place of the male tiger called 'Rana'.  Besides it was a  green shaded area and close proximity to water provided many birding opportunities in the summers. However some 3 years ago forest department's development work in the area changed the entire facade of Kinichua. It  lost is old charm.

My guide opined that we stop on the jungle road by the side of a flowing narrow nala where he said male tiger "Chota Matka" was seen in the morning. I stopped there and waited for about 3 hours and then out of sheer boredom  asked the jeep driver to move ahead. There was some bird activity in the nala vegetation and I  clicked a Paradise Fly Catcher. I had driven for about 2 km form the previous halting point .
                                                                                

Then all of a sudden some activity was sensed in the wild and my guide told the jeep driver to reverse and rush to the old spot. All tourist jeeps standing dormant so far came to life and started making a beeline 

towards our going.

I had cautioned my jeep driver not to go too close as I was was using a 400 mm lens but the driver, in the haste of reaching to the animal first , lost the caution and stopped too close to "Chota Matka"who after crossing the nala, was trying to come on the jungle road.

I lost a wonderful photo opportunity and be content with a record shot. ' Chota Matka' is a huge 10 feet male tiger. Watching him walk just 3 feet away from the jeep was a thrill of super kind.

                                                                              

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Panna Tiger Reserve

 My Singapore based friend  was very keen  visiting Panna Tiger Reserve for long but due to   COVID restrictions placed by Singapore government he could come to India only in December 2021. I made arrangements then and we are were off to Panna.

We drove to Tenduleaf Resort , our stay at Panna ,   which is about 312 km from my place. Leaving early in the morning we covered Kanpur in 90 minutes but thereafter traffic up to Ghatampur and 30 km beyond was horrible. We wasted about 2 hours in the traffic jam, reaching our destination around 5 pm.

Panna Tiger Reserve is located in north MP and spreads in districts of Panna and Chatarpur over an area of 1645 km of which about 542 km is the core area. Only 20% of the core is open for tourism. River Ken meanders through  for about 55 km from South to North acting as a lifeline to the Reserve and dividing it in to two. It is a picturesque deciduous forest with large open Savanna grasslands.

Panna enjoys a very special place in the history of tiger conservation in India. From zero tiger count in 2009 to 70 tigers of now ,  Panna is the testimony of  brilliant and determined work done by the forest personnel under the leadership of Mr. R S Murthy , the then Director of PTR. It became a Project Tiger Reserve in 1994. 

PTR houses a very rich and varied wildlife right from Tigers to Leopards , incidentally Panna has richest concentration of Leopards among all wildlife parks in India , around 270 ,  Sloth Bears, Wild Cat, Dholes, and a variety of Deer . Some of the most healthy Sambhar Deer specimen can be seen here. It is also very rich in avian life and is a breeding place of red billed King Vultures.

My 27th December morning safari started from Madla gate with the sighting of a male Leopard who was on the prowl in the  early hours.

                                                                      

That was a good sighting. Moving further and after about 25 minutes we came across Tigress T-151 with her two 10-11 month old cubs. She came upon the jungle road and sat down hardly some 15-20 feet distant from our jeep. One of her more playful cubs climbed up upon a nearby tree branch.

                                                                                  

                                                                                        

We met Tigress T-151 and her cubs again in the late evening near Chauka Rapta area . They were crossing the river on their way to the other part of the jungle.

                                                                            

                                                                                  

                                                                                      

Thus the first day was quite entertaining. But the weather God brought rains in the night and that wet spell continued for the next two days. Rains and poor light made photography difficult. However on the the third day morning, when the rains had subsided a lot and day light  improved somewhat ,we met the cubs of Tigress T-141. These two cubs are almost adults but still accompany their mother. So the expectation was very high that the Tigress T - 141 may also be somewhere in the vicinity.

                                                                         

                                                                                    

                                                                                  

In the afternoon, search for the trio continued and ultimately all were spotted in a thicket by the side of the jungle road. In no time all safari jeeps converged near the spot on the narrow  road in order to have look of the T-141 family when they cross the road.

My Guide did some smart thinking. He estimated that it would be some time before the T-141 family comes out of its hide and cross the road and in the meanwhile he would approach from the other end of the road so that we get a front view when the tiger crossing takes place.

I must admit his estimation was 100% accurate. In 10 minutes we made a turn around positioning ourselves on the jungle road about 25 feet distant and just opposite the rest of the safari jeeps waiting for the grand spectacle to happen.  And lo, the family crossed the road after about 10 minutes ; first the mother T-141 followed by her two cubs.

That moment I decided to rest my camera and give a chance to my phone. Enjoy the video. Click the blue.

                                                                             

Tiger Family

                                                                          

                                                                          
                                                                    

                                                                     

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