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The Wonders of Middle India
- Thread starter GDB
- Start date
This is one of my favourite tiger photos taken again in Bandhavgarh National Park in Middle India. It is probably the most prolific in terms of actual tiger sightings. There are many figures bandied around about tiger numbers in individual parks, but the real truth is you are, that is the general public, limited to just 20% of the total area of each park. Assuming that the tigers are evenly distributed that means out of a total of say 40 tigers, you are likely only to see a maximum of 8, if you were extremely lucky. However, whilst there is no guarantee of a tiger sighting, you would be unlucky not to see one over a two/three day period with say 4/5 games drives.
This particular tigress is quite young and not in the least afraid of humans; she suddenly appeared from behind the tree about 40 yards away and walked up quite close.... it was quite breathtaking.
This particular tigress is quite young and not in the least afraid of humans; she suddenly appeared from behind the tree about 40 yards away and walked up quite close.... it was quite breathtaking.
And this is an older tigress in Bandhavgarh, probably about 4-5 years old, in her prime. There was nobody else on this track, we were driving slowly and came upon her in the fading light. She was about 40-50 yds away. Our driver wanted to get closer, but we didn't want to disturb her, so we stayed where we were, turned off the engine, and just watched her for 10 minutes until she decided to move off....
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And while we are on tigers, this beautiful girl was seen by us over 4 years ago in the Tadoba Andari National Park in the state of Maharashtra. We had just entered the park quite early in the morning, when our driver /guide stopped the jeep and told us to look directly ahead in the long grass.... we could just about see two ears.! We waited while she got up and started to walk in the opposite direction... she was about 100 yds away. Then she decided to turn round and walk almost straight towards us. She was just being curious; she got to within 30 yds of us, stopped momentarily and stared at us, then veered off and back into the undergrowth.
We did see her again 2 years later with her three cubs but she was 300-400 yds away and there was a large crowd of noisy locals around ... she was not coming any closer this time. However, it was wonderful to see a young tigress of 2 years old develop into a mature female and breeding.
Hopefully she is still thriving at nearly 7 years old...........
We did see her again 2 years later with her three cubs but she was 300-400 yds away and there was a large crowd of noisy locals around ... she was not coming any closer this time. However, it was wonderful to see a young tigress of 2 years old develop into a mature female and breeding.
Hopefully she is still thriving at nearly 7 years old...........
In case you might be bored with tiger pictures, this is my favourite Indian bird, the Crested Serpent Eagle. We have seen many of them over the years; they are quite widespread, but this one was a little surprised to see us. They are normally sitting in trees either resting or watching for prey.... this one looked embarrassed as we had caught him having a paddle !
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Back to the furry end of the sprectrum..... you may ask the eternal question... why did the leopard cross the road ?.... and the answer is , because he was after his supper.
We were at the end of our drive in Tadoba National park one evening at dusk, we heard alarm calls from monkeys and peacocks, and then a few minutes later we saw a male peacock scuttling out of the dense bamboo at one side of the gravel track. We knew that there was a big cat somewhere close by, and our guide told us to watch out.... then the big male leopard suddenly appeared, and looked as surprised as we were. he was about 30 yds away, but in poor light. It was a great moment as you don't see leopards that close very often, if at all....
The postscript is that he didn't catch the peacock....
We were at the end of our drive in Tadoba National park one evening at dusk, we heard alarm calls from monkeys and peacocks, and then a few minutes later we saw a male peacock scuttling out of the dense bamboo at one side of the gravel track. We knew that there was a big cat somewhere close by, and our guide told us to watch out.... then the big male leopard suddenly appeared, and looked as surprised as we were. he was about 30 yds away, but in poor light. It was a great moment as you don't see leopards that close very often, if at all....
The postscript is that he didn't catch the peacock....
Yes, he managed to get high enough in a tree. Leopards are agile and can climb trees very well; they sometimes just rest or take their kill up in a tree for safe keeping. A tiger or the wild dogs would move in otherwise.
Tigers will use trees to mark their territory. Ocassionally you will see deep claw marks ground in to the hard bark of a tree about 8 -10' off the ground.... it makes you shudder.
Tigers will use trees to mark their territory. Ocassionally you will see deep claw marks ground in to the hard bark of a tree about 8 -10' off the ground.... it makes you shudder.
There are many species of deer in India.
Here are two... the first is the more common Barking Deer, very similar to our own Muntjac. The second is a family of Barasingha or Swamp Deer, found in very few places now. These were seen at a great distance in the beautiful Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, one of the states in Middle India where a number of the best national parks are. They are about the same size as our Roe Deer.
Here are two... the first is the more common Barking Deer, very similar to our own Muntjac. The second is a family of Barasingha or Swamp Deer, found in very few places now. These were seen at a great distance in the beautiful Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, one of the states in Middle India where a number of the best national parks are. They are about the same size as our Roe Deer.
This another of the common deer, this time seen in Panna National Park... he is a Samba Deer, one of the largest, probably the size of our Red Deer. Note how his colouring blends in to the general background, so although he is a large person, he can be difficult to spot when he stands still. He was about 30 yds away at the time.
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