Tadoba - the land of tigers: April 2010
The first time I got fascinated by tigers was during my trip in 2001 to Ranthambore. However, that was barely a tiger sighting. Lady luck deserted us during that trip. My next encounter with the royal felines was in 2004 at Bandhavgarh. We saw them in 5 out of the 6 safaris we did.......during the very first safari, the legendary B2 (yes, famous tigers too have been given names by the forest dept., either based on the territory they dominate or whose offsprings they are) walked right beside our gypsy and we were mad with happiness. B2 is Bandhavgarh's legend for having defended his territory and fathered many litters. He is no more now but his fans still swear by his regalia. During the same trip we also saw a mating pair of the feline cats which was the ultimate high of the trip. However I only had a point and shoot film camera then and got no noteworthy shots.
Since then I only did birding trips and didn't see the tiger again for 5 years. When I acquired my DSLR in July 2009 the cats beckoned again. I also realized that there might soon be a time they will go extinct, so I must makea trip to tigerland asap. For us in Mumbai, Tadoba is the nearest. But the cats are most seen in summer. One has to be prepared to tolerate temperatures upto 45 C. Who ever said a royal darshan was easy? !! So I had to wait until April 2010. 4 of us planned the trip then, deciding to do 6 safaris. It was Suraj Das, Anup Ranadive, Nishit Gokarn and me. We asked Manish Verma - the local expert, to be with us during the trip. We set out by the Sewagram express on 30th March ( the only train from Mumbai to Chandrapur, the nearest railhead). It was a long wait before we finally reached our destination on 31st noon. It was scorching hot and we felt we would burn. A quick lunch at MTDC and we set out finally on our first safari at 3 pm, wishing each other best luck. As we left the resort campus, something caught my eye. Stopppp !!!! I said. A tree shrew!!!! What a rare sight!!!! We quickly captured some shots and moved ahead towards our mission.
'Luck is on our side today', we talked. Why, you may ask. Well, we had seen the shrew,a rare sight. So what? Nothing, but when you are in pursuit of a wild cat, you start believing in all superstitions, however well-read, educated, sophisticated and whatever you may be. Our guide said, let us go to a rocky spot where a tigress has been coming for rest every noon for the last few days. Well, at any other time we would have said 'Who wants to see a resting or sleeping cat?' But beggars can't be choosers. For someone starved of a tiger darshan for 6 years, any sighting would do. We reached the spot and sure enough there she was, lying down. Of course she was very far from us but my 500 mm lens allowed a close view. Many other vehicles, including some private cars like Mercedes Benzes were there too. We smiled. 'Tiger dekhna hai but luxury mein. Takleef nahi uthani hai'. I took some pictures and she looked beautiful even in sleep. On and off she would raise her head, as if to ascertain, her popularity hadn't dipped a bit and if the paparazzi still waited on her.
The guide said she will walk to the nearby waterhole once the sun sets, to drink water before the end of the day, but it is only 4 pm now. She might sleep another 2 hrs. We can either leave her and go ahead or wait here for 2 hrs. 'Which direction will she walk towards?' we asked. He pointed to a nearby waterhole and said, she will walk towards it from the grass, right in front of us. 'We will wait then' we said. We waited for 2 hrs for the sleeping beauty to wake up.
Sure enough at 6 pm, she woke up and decided to walk. She walked towards us through the golden grass and looked every bit royal.
As she emerged from the grass, she cast a glance at us
At that moment, in a mad rush, as you see ever so often in tiger safaris, the private vehicle owners rushed towards her (to click pictures on their mobiles- would you believe it?). She was visibly disturbed but thankfully didn't charge and simply changed her track. No amount of stern warnings or mature explanations worked with the mad crowd and they mocked at us. What social fabric do we live in? Is everything just meant for the enjoyment of the so-called 'superior' species - us? We call these animals wild, but here she put us to shame. What our species did was wild, but she displayed civilized behavior by quietly changing tracks. Who is more evolved? Us or the animals? A question that needs serious thought.
She emerged again some distance away, very near to the waterhole and stopped. The body language seemed to say - You are my guest and I am taught to behave with respect, despite what you all did. That is our family's value system
Soon she disappeared and on our way back, we chanced upon 2 more tigers/tigresses - one walking away into some bushes and another sleeping in the tall grass, completely camouflaged. The day one was satisfying for we had seen the tiger, but that obnoxious behavior..........
That was also the season when a tigress was bringing up 4 small cubs (they were called the Telia cubs, named by their mother's territory-Telia), who had already become stars in their own right. Tadoba was the star attraction that season due to this family. Sensibly enough, the path where the family was known to spend most of its time, had been closed to tourists by the forest dept, just a few days ago. Of course they sometimes came out to play on the Moharli road and we kept our fingers crossed about our luck with them.
Safari No 2- April 1st, morning: In line with our superstitious belief in good-luck charms, it was decided not to change our seating positions in the gypsy
We set out at 6 am and for about an hour we got some birds, the common ones. We were still on the Moharli road and some wild dogs kept giving us an appearance every few metres. Since it was the first ever sighting of a wild dog- the most ferocious of the wild animals, for all of us, they kept us interested and engaged. Suddenly, something happened. We saw a wild dog, looking at something with a fixed gaze. Following his gaze, we saw a group of wild boars feeding on something. We got excited, thinking we were going to see a live kill for the first time ever. We were sure the dog was thinking of attacking them. Will he succeed or will the boars spot him and run off. Surprisingly he walked towards them and they didn't care a damn. What was this!!! He reached the herd ( we were following behind). We saw the boars were eating a sambar. The dog tried to snatch it from them. What one of the boars did was unimaginable. He attacked the wild dog !!!! The hunter became the hunted.
But the dog wasn't going to forget his wild instincts. He charged back
The boars gave in and the wild dog was on the sambar, to be joined immediately by its kins
But in what is unseen of in the wild, the boars regrouped and came back and snatched away what was rightfully theirs. No animal in the wild would confront a pack of wild dogs,but these boars turned the tides as the dogs watched helplessly.
Any attempt by the dogs to snatch away the meal was met with a charge from the boars
We knew we had captured a rare behavior and were mighty delighted. The rest of the morning didn't yield much more except a delightful sight of a brown fish owl and a crested serpent eagle whose crest feathers stood up and fluttered in the breeze.
Safari No 3, 1st April evening - Once again, the same seating positions.We saw some birds but nothing much. At dusk we had sightings of 2 tigresses but one was far and another resting in an inaccessible spot.
Safari No 4, 2nd April morning - Quite early into the safari we heard some alarm calls. Our drive and guide perfectly sensed where the tiger was and where it was likely to emerge from. We drove a little and just parked at a spot. Sure enough, soon emerged a huge tiger from our left and crossed the path in front of us and vanished into the forest.
The rest of the morning, we had other inhabitants of the forest, notable being the Indian bison (Gaur) with its young.
The rest of the evening was spent in excitement, talking about our close encounter. We didn't see much after that and were soon on our way back to the resort. We were driving leisurely on the Moharli road and suddenly !!!!!........we see a full grown tigress sitting there drinking water from an artificial waterhole. What more, there was not a single vehicle around. The heart kept beating hard and missing some beats here and there too. The cameras started going click, click, click, click.......but I was so excited, it was causing terrible shake of my arms and the shots were lousy. I calmed myself and tried again. BY then many vehicles had reached too, but being first, we were in a vantage position. And then the moment came when she and me locked eyes......I don't know if my heart beat some extra beats or missed some. I clicked about 90 shots in those few minutes. Slowly she got up and walked into the bushes.
That evening, the 4 of us, our cameras loaded with tigers, had turned into chatter boxes and much of the evening was spent comparing pictures.
6th and final safari.3rd April, morning: That morning we decided to stick to the Moharli road, to try our luck with the Telia cubs. It was just 30 mins into the safari and our vehicle developed a snag. We waited for a replacement to be sent but that took 1.5 hrs. In that time we were just idle and could do nothing. Not many vehicles passed us, which made us suspect that some nail-biting action was happening somewhere. But we couldn't do anything. Finally a vehicle arrived and we proceeded straight to the waterhole, only to be told the cubs were playing there for almost an hour and everyone had enjoyed them to their hearts' content. The show had been over just 10 mins ago. It was as if a knife had sawed through our hearts. Just the moments that we needed the vehicle the most, fate had played a cruel game with us. But that is what wildlife trips are all about....some hits and many misses. That last morning we only managed to get some pictures of some wild dog cubs playing in a waterhole and the shy chausinga, making a quick and brief appearance. But that image of the tiger locking eyes with me occupies a place of pride, always, even on my office desk. Birds have always been my main area of interest in wildlife, but when the cats tug at your heart-strings every few years, the call is impossible not to fall to it. Tadoba, I will come again, soon........
Since then I only did birding trips and didn't see the tiger again for 5 years. When I acquired my DSLR in July 2009 the cats beckoned again. I also realized that there might soon be a time they will go extinct, so I must makea trip to tigerland asap. For us in Mumbai, Tadoba is the nearest. But the cats are most seen in summer. One has to be prepared to tolerate temperatures upto 45 C. Who ever said a royal darshan was easy? !! So I had to wait until April 2010. 4 of us planned the trip then, deciding to do 6 safaris. It was Suraj Das, Anup Ranadive, Nishit Gokarn and me. We asked Manish Verma - the local expert, to be with us during the trip. We set out by the Sewagram express on 30th March ( the only train from Mumbai to Chandrapur, the nearest railhead). It was a long wait before we finally reached our destination on 31st noon. It was scorching hot and we felt we would burn. A quick lunch at MTDC and we set out finally on our first safari at 3 pm, wishing each other best luck. As we left the resort campus, something caught my eye. Stopppp !!!! I said. A tree shrew!!!! What a rare sight!!!! We quickly captured some shots and moved ahead towards our mission.
 |
| The tree shrew scurrying down |
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| Searching for food |
 |
'Luck is on our side today', we talked. Why, you may ask. Well, we had seen the shrew,a rare sight. So what? Nothing, but when you are in pursuit of a wild cat, you start believing in all superstitions, however well-read, educated, sophisticated and whatever you may be. Our guide said, let us go to a rocky spot where a tigress has been coming for rest every noon for the last few days. Well, at any other time we would have said 'Who wants to see a resting or sleeping cat?' But beggars can't be choosers. For someone starved of a tiger darshan for 6 years, any sighting would do. We reached the spot and sure enough there she was, lying down. Of course she was very far from us but my 500 mm lens allowed a close view. Many other vehicles, including some private cars like Mercedes Benzes were there too. We smiled. 'Tiger dekhna hai but luxury mein. Takleef nahi uthani hai'. I took some pictures and she looked beautiful even in sleep. On and off she would raise her head, as if to ascertain, her popularity hadn't dipped a bit and if the paparazzi still waited on her.
The guide said she will walk to the nearby waterhole once the sun sets, to drink water before the end of the day, but it is only 4 pm now. She might sleep another 2 hrs. We can either leave her and go ahead or wait here for 2 hrs. 'Which direction will she walk towards?' we asked. He pointed to a nearby waterhole and said, she will walk towards it from the grass, right in front of us. 'We will wait then' we said. We waited for 2 hrs for the sleeping beauty to wake up.
Sure enough at 6 pm, she woke up and decided to walk. She walked towards us through the golden grass and looked every bit royal.
As she emerged from the grass, she cast a glance at us
At that moment, in a mad rush, as you see ever so often in tiger safaris, the private vehicle owners rushed towards her (to click pictures on their mobiles- would you believe it?). She was visibly disturbed but thankfully didn't charge and simply changed her track. No amount of stern warnings or mature explanations worked with the mad crowd and they mocked at us. What social fabric do we live in? Is everything just meant for the enjoyment of the so-called 'superior' species - us? We call these animals wild, but here she put us to shame. What our species did was wild, but she displayed civilized behavior by quietly changing tracks. Who is more evolved? Us or the animals? A question that needs serious thought.
She emerged again some distance away, very near to the waterhole and stopped. The body language seemed to say - You are my guest and I am taught to behave with respect, despite what you all did. That is our family's value system
Soon she disappeared and on our way back, we chanced upon 2 more tigers/tigresses - one walking away into some bushes and another sleeping in the tall grass, completely camouflaged. The day one was satisfying for we had seen the tiger, but that obnoxious behavior..........
That was also the season when a tigress was bringing up 4 small cubs (they were called the Telia cubs, named by their mother's territory-Telia), who had already become stars in their own right. Tadoba was the star attraction that season due to this family. Sensibly enough, the path where the family was known to spend most of its time, had been closed to tourists by the forest dept, just a few days ago. Of course they sometimes came out to play on the Moharli road and we kept our fingers crossed about our luck with them.
Safari No 2- April 1st, morning: In line with our superstitious belief in good-luck charms, it was decided not to change our seating positions in the gypsy
We set out at 6 am and for about an hour we got some birds, the common ones. We were still on the Moharli road and some wild dogs kept giving us an appearance every few metres. Since it was the first ever sighting of a wild dog- the most ferocious of the wild animals, for all of us, they kept us interested and engaged. Suddenly, something happened. We saw a wild dog, looking at something with a fixed gaze. Following his gaze, we saw a group of wild boars feeding on something. We got excited, thinking we were going to see a live kill for the first time ever. We were sure the dog was thinking of attacking them. Will he succeed or will the boars spot him and run off. Surprisingly he walked towards them and they didn't care a damn. What was this!!! He reached the herd ( we were following behind). We saw the boars were eating a sambar. The dog tried to snatch it from them. What one of the boars did was unimaginable. He attacked the wild dog !!!! The hunter became the hunted.
But the dog wasn't going to forget his wild instincts. He charged back
The boars gave in and the wild dog was on the sambar, to be joined immediately by its kins
But in what is unseen of in the wild, the boars regrouped and came back and snatched away what was rightfully theirs. No animal in the wild would confront a pack of wild dogs,but these boars turned the tides as the dogs watched helplessly.
Any attempt by the dogs to snatch away the meal was met with a charge from the boars
We knew we had captured a rare behavior and were mighty delighted. The rest of the morning didn't yield much more except a delightful sight of a brown fish owl and a crested serpent eagle whose crest feathers stood up and fluttered in the breeze.
Safari No 3, 1st April evening - Once again, the same seating positions.We saw some birds but nothing much. At dusk we had sightings of 2 tigresses but one was far and another resting in an inaccessible spot.
Safari No 4, 2nd April morning - Quite early into the safari we heard some alarm calls. Our drive and guide perfectly sensed where the tiger was and where it was likely to emerge from. We drove a little and just parked at a spot. Sure enough, soon emerged a huge tiger from our left and crossed the path in front of us and vanished into the forest.
The rest of the morning, we had other inhabitants of the forest, notable being the Indian bison (Gaur) with its young.
Safari No 5, April 2nd, evening: We decided to visit our sleeping beauty again. When we reached, we saw a convoy of vehicles lined up. We thought there was no point in being a part of this mela and were about to turn back. Just then she got up and walked right towards us. Wow!!! We stopped where we were and could see the envious looks on others' faces :). As she walked royally, my heart kept beating faster in excitement. Why? Because I was on the right side of the gypsy and if she did not change her direction, she would emerge right in front of me just a few feet away. My wishes came true and she came so close, I could have actually touched her if I extended my arms. As I aimed my camera, I realized she was so close that I was only able to get her face in the frame. Whoa.....that was the closest brush with a tiger, and hair-raising. She walked past and slowly walked away.
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| When she looked at me......WOW!!! |
That evening, the 4 of us, our cameras loaded with tigers, had turned into chatter boxes and much of the evening was spent comparing pictures.
6th and final safari.3rd April, morning: That morning we decided to stick to the Moharli road, to try our luck with the Telia cubs. It was just 30 mins into the safari and our vehicle developed a snag. We waited for a replacement to be sent but that took 1.5 hrs. In that time we were just idle and could do nothing. Not many vehicles passed us, which made us suspect that some nail-biting action was happening somewhere. But we couldn't do anything. Finally a vehicle arrived and we proceeded straight to the waterhole, only to be told the cubs were playing there for almost an hour and everyone had enjoyed them to their hearts' content. The show had been over just 10 mins ago. It was as if a knife had sawed through our hearts. Just the moments that we needed the vehicle the most, fate had played a cruel game with us. But that is what wildlife trips are all about....some hits and many misses. That last morning we only managed to get some pictures of some wild dog cubs playing in a waterhole and the shy chausinga, making a quick and brief appearance. But that image of the tiger locking eyes with me occupies a place of pride, always, even on my office desk. Birds have always been my main area of interest in wildlife, but when the cats tug at your heart-strings every few years, the call is impossible not to fall to it. Tadoba, I will come again, soon........
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