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Big Cat Trail Leg 3 Ranthambore Tiger Reserve

Ranthambore is my favourite park.", Gaurav reminded me as I spoke to him on the phone. Gaurav Athelyes a friend and runs Jungle Lore - a wildlife tourism outfit. Hed suggested to me that I should definitely visit Ranthambore and promised to help us organise the visit. Our big cat trail landed at the town of Jaipur on 4 May. A harrowingly long drive got us to the town of Sawai Madhopur, where wed camp for the next two days for four drives into the forest.

Our hotel, the Hammir wasnt exactly in the lap of luxury. The fact that the AC wasnt working in the extreme heat when we arrived wasnt very comforting. That said, the hotel manager is quite willing to help guests out and help he did. Id definitely recommend the hotel if youre backpacking and are looking for budget accommodation. Im inclined to try the RTDC hotels or the Ranthambore Bagh the next time I go there, but I wouldnt recommend against the Hammir.

Our first drive was in the absolutely picture postcard - Zone 3. Mind you, Ranthambore is a huge forest (1400+ sq km), but the tiger reserve itself is only 392 sq km. To ensure minimal disruption to wildlife, the reserve is divided into 6 zones and the officials are quite strict to ensure that vehicles dont cross over. Zone 3 is truly a wildlifers dream - we didnt see a tiger (clearly), but the quality of wildlife and bird sightings were to write home about. The zones centerpiece, the Rajbaug lake attracts birds and animals alike. You could sit by its edge for hours and never tire of the sight. Our drive ended with a sighting of T-28 (a.k.a the Star Male) in deep sleep at the hunting palace in the distance. Disappointing drive for tiger sightings, but full marks for everything else.

Our next drive was in Zone 2. Yet again pretty good bird sightings, but nothing out of the ordinary with mammals. Well, let me be fair. For a long time we kept listening to chitals, peacocks and sambars screaming their lungs off with warning calls. After an hour of investigation, we decided to probe further at a bush which we suspected was hosting a tiger. Our driver reversed the jeep into position. Saad, our naturalist cried out "Tiger!". Excited as we were, we squinted but couldnt see a thing. After much pointing and gesturing, we saw the stripes of a tiger as testimony. No, we werent hallucinating. I have a photograph to prove it. Our second drive had gone by without seeing a tiger. Damn!

Our third and penultimate drive on 6th May morning was unusually dry. We had to go to Zone 1, a picturesque, hilly part of the park. Unfortunately for us, the forest chose to show us nothing that morning. For the most part, it was a long drive through the forest, with neither mammal nor bird sightings. I have so little to say about the morning, that Zone 1 remains my least favourite part of not just Ranthambore, but perhaps the entire trail. For some reason, Saad was very stressed that we hadnt seen a tiger. We didnt mind all that much, but it was going to be disappointing to leave without seeing the big cat in action.

Come afternoon, we decided that if we were really desperate to see a tiger, then that called for desperate measures. In India, when on important failure is not an option kind of missions, we often wear a bandana on our heads. I got myself just that from a nearby handicrafts store. We couldnt let Indias most famous tiger reserve let us go without some tiger photos. Our drive had an auspicious beginning- we were heading into zone 4, home to Machili, the worlds most famous tigress.

Our drive however, was quite eventful until we reached the top of a hillocks that seemed to have way too much human activity. "Theres got to be a tiger about.", said Saad. As we made our way to where everyone was looking, we saw a celebrity retinue of vehicles make their way to a better viewing spot. It was Priyanka Vadhra, daughter of one of our ex-prime ministers. That if course was secondary to the fact that we had spotted not one, but two tigers - together possibly to mate. On a second thought, it wasnt. You see, India has no dearth of very important people (VIPs) and people will go to all lengths to please them. So as it turns out, Priyanka and her family got the best viewing positions. Not that we has bad positions, but I wouldnt have complained about being in her jeep that day. As far as the tigers go, they were pretty relaxed even with so many human beings around them. They lazed around for a while, snuggled with one another for a few moments, took a few quick drinks of water and then were promptly on their way to enjoy each others company in seclusion.

As we returned back to our hotel in readiness to hit the road, we talked about how awesome this sighting was. Wed heard no end of the quality of Ranthambore sightings and this one surely lived up to the mark. I personally thought that Id just gotten a sampler of this wonderful, enigmatic forest - Ive got to come back here next year to truly enjoy the forest for an extended duration of time.

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If you wish to visit Ranthambore, remember that its one of the most tourist friendly parks of the country. Finding accommodation is quite easy as is booking safaris. The only catch is that youre likely to get a different driver and a guide each drive unless you do something about it. Especially when youre new to a forest, youre better off having the same naturalist guiding you through all your drives. The way to do this is to ask your hotel or to contact a wildlife tourism outfit such as Jungle Lore. That apart, just enjoy the Ranthambore forest (photos here) and the several surprises it keeps throwing at you. As far as we are concerned, were now heading to Delhi so we can get our connection to Bandavgarh, our next stop on the big cat trail.

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Big Cat Trail Leg 1 Kanha Tiger Reserve

The tiger is not the only important animal in the forest. Spotted deer, sambhar, bears, jackals, and several other animals dot the jungle landscape. Add to that the avifauna of Kanha National Park, and the tigers perhaps a minority amongst the wild attractions of this reserve. All this said, theres something that sets your blood racing when you come face to face with this large, magnificent, enigmatic predator. The fact that it is so elusive makes the whole act of tracking no less than a Sherlock Holmes whodunit mystery, and the act of finding one something to write home about.

The first leg of my vacation was with a few friends I was meeting for the first time. Sahana and I has been to Kanha earlier and were familiar with what to expect. Sowmya, Pratima, Santosh and Pramod joined us as first time visitors to this amazing forest. I was particularly excited about this visit given my success spotting animals in the thick November forest last year. Javed, our trusty driver from last time was in tow - as always with a keen eye for any signs that the dusty forest roads or the dry tree branches offered.

If youve been on an African safari, youll perhaps find the notion of having to find animals quite weird. As it turns out, animals in the subcontinent are quite different from animals in Africa. Lions and cheetahs display sociable traits and are more accommodating of human presence than tigers who are reclusive and avoid human beings like the plague. I believe theyre also developing an evolutionary response to poaching by staying away from humans as far as possible. Also, the dense Sal forests of Kanha and their expansive, tall grasslands provide a challenge for animal viewing at just about any time of the year.

Theres something magical about spotting animals in the wild despite these challenges though; I can say that in particular about our first tiger sighting of this trip. It was in the early hours of morning, 7:45 AM to be precise. We were scouring the forest for signs of predators. Wed run into a bunch of handsome barasinghas (swamp deer) and captured some great snaps. Our disappointment from the last day of not seeing tigers on the previous day was palpable. Three people in the group were still awaiting their first ever tiger sighting and there was a strange tension in the air. "Im feeling lucky today.", I told Sowmya. She hadnt taken me seriously until we ran into another safari vehicle that told us theyd crossed paths with a tigress. "She crossed over to the right", said the other driver. Javed is a keen naturalist himself and his instincts told him that this was a mother on the move to rendezvous with her children. "I think shell cross over to that road", he said.

We wasted no time taking a turn and then we all held our breath and waited. "Tiger... look there, shes moving", said Javed. I must tell you, I saw nothing. I marvel at the eyesight of these local people - they see things that us city dwellers can never notice. "Dont worry, shes coming this way, right behind our vehicle." said Javed. I kept my camera trained at the fire line where we were expecting her to emerge. And emerge she did, resplendent in the red morning sun - the play of light enhancing her beauty. This was Collar-wali, Kanhas only collared tigress at the moment and a bold, breeding female. She seemed unperturbed at the sight of the safari vehicles around her, a quick disdainful look at all of us and off she was; disappearing into the bushes on our side. A few moments earlier, we were shivering in the early morning wind. Now, some of us were breaking a sweat!

That encounter turned a corner for us, though the sightings that followed didnt necessarily measure up to her elegance. We saw her adolescent cub and another bold tigress in the Mukki zone in the following drives. Our trip was generally a pretty good one, though weather chose to play spoilsport for most of the afternoon drives. We saw most of the animals of any repute except sloth bears, leopards and wild dogs. Amongst birds, we saw and photographed several species as well. Youll have to take a look at my photographs for a more visual storyline.

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Im now on the train to Junagadh to reach our next destination, Gir Forest National Park - the last home of the great Asiatic Lions. I can tell you Id be jumping up and down in excitement if this cooped up railway compartment allowed me. The excitement of seeing these amazing beasts in the wild is giving me goose bumps already. More on that in a few days when I leave that destination.

If you want to visit Kanha, talk to Gaurav Athelye of Jungle Lore to arrange Javed or his brother Shakirs services. He can arrange transfers for you and also help you select accommodation of your choice. For what its worth, we stayed stour usual haunt, the Madhya Pradesh Tourism Hostel inside the forest, right beside the Kisli gate. I strongly recommend staying either there or at the Baghira Log Huts, a far more comfortable resort of the state tourism corporation. Both these places are in the middle of the forest and youll often be lucky to see jackals, Indian bison, sambhar deer, chital and several birds in the vicinity. When night falls, the entire area goes pitch dark - leaving just you and the starlit sky for company!

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Big Cat Trail Leg 2 Gir Forest National Park

If youve never seen lions in the wild, its quite something to be less than six feet away from one. If you have seen lions in the wild, then to see them crouch, stalk and get into the hunt is like watching poetry in motion. The big cat trail made its second stop at Gir. Sowmya, Pratima, Pradeep and Santosh had headed back to Bangalore. That left Sahana and me to make the long journey to Junagadh, so we could connect to the last home of the Asiatic Lions (Panthera Leo Persica). Our journey took longer than expected and the comfortable, air-conditioned drive from Junagadh to the Club Mahindra resort was just the thing that we needed to soothe our muscles.

The next morning we were on safari. Gir has a clearly demarcated tourism zone that has 8 separate routes. This is a small section of the 1412 sq km forest, and that affords the animals a really large inviolate area. Unabashedly so, we had our eyes set on lion sightings. I asked our guide Bali about lion sightings and he said, "Ill show you so many lions that by the end of your nine drives, youll be tired of them!" I cant say Im tired of lions, but having seen 28 of them, I can safely say my eyes have had their fill for this time.

There are a few things you should know about Gir. First, lion spottings are aplenty on route 6 and route 2. This is because these are tracker assisted routes. From what I hear, Sandeep Kumar - the deputy conservator of forests at Gir is a pro-tourism administrator. Not only has he been instrumental in doubling the daily permit quotas to enter the forest, hes also made a significant change to assure visitors of lion sightings.

Lions are social animals. Having brushed shoulders with the local Maldhari and Negro tribesmen, theyve also become used to human presence. The local people are heavily involved in the conservation of this magnificent animal, which explains the evident disappearance of poaching and the continually rising population of big cats (411 in the last census). This being said, its never easy to spot them, because lions like most cats, can relax in the shade for unto 16 hours a day. They go on the hunt or to patrol their territories mostly in the darkness of night. This means that your chances of spotting a lion by following pug marks or by driving down a route are quite slim. This is where the trackers come into play.

Girs trackers are men from the local tribes whove grown up in the forest. They dont just know the forest like the back of their hands, they know the habits and haunts of the lions. With Gir being the last home for Asiatic lions, conservation efforts need to be more than just the usual stuff. The trackers do a 14 hour job in the forest, traveling on foot, motorbikes or bicycles to personally monitor the health of various lions in the forest. If a lion looks ill or needs medical attention, theyll inform a crew so they can get to the spot and help the beast. Its no wonder that Girs male lions enjoy a long life despite their violent lives.

Coming back to route 6 and route 2, Sandeep Kumar has instructed the trackers to assist safari jeeps with sightings whenever possible, especially if the sighting doesnt interfere with the natural behaviour of the animal. Let me put this into some perspectives. We did four of our safaris on non tracker assisted routes and we ended up seeing two lions. On the remaining five safaris we saw 26 lions. I personally think this is a wonderful move from the forest department as long as visitors dont make a circus out of it.

The lions apart, Gir is home to over 300 leopards and the numerous warning calls we heard for this elusive beast is testimony to their invisible presence. We could only spot one though - perhaps thats a reason for us to return. Combine that with the several species of birds and the great sightings of Asian paradise flycatchers and several birds of prey, and Gir becomes truly a wildlifers heaven.

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If you want to visit Gir, consider staying at the Club Mahindra Safari Resort. Its not exactly close to the forest, but I must say their service has bowled me over. If you prefer staying closer to the forest, consider the Gir Birding Lodge or the governments Sinh Sadan guest house. The latter is quite difficult to get bookings for. You need to get through several phone calls to secure your spot. Safari bookings are usually through your hotel and its useful to have hotel staff that understand your interests. Make sure you are vocal about what you want to see, so they can get you on the right routes. And by the way, dont be shy to walk around the buffer zone of the forest. You might just be surprised with some of the birds, animals and people you bump into!

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Big Cat Trail Leg 5 Jim Corbett National Park

There couldnt be a better way to end the big cat trail. While my photography form didnt hold its own at Corbett, I can safely say that being in the Terai is the real deal when it comes to Indian forests. Theres no other forest in the subcontinent that is home to 227 tigers, several thousand Asiatic elephants, 585 species of birds and more than 30 species of reptiles. In short, an extended stay at Corbett has to be a wildlifers dream. Corbett does have its ills, but let me blend them into my experience report.

Corbett is one of the most frustrating parks to book accommodation for. Youll be surprised that I say this, because a web search will yield several hotels around the park. The fact is that if youre serious about wildlife you want to stay away from the noisy boors wholl come to park for a drive because they have nothing better to do. Staying in one of the outside resorts means that youll enter the forest with these people and each time you see a tiger, therell be a mini traffic jam with people shouting like its a fish market. So, most wildlife enthusiasts choose to stay at one of the several forest rest houses in the park - the most popular of these being Dhikala. Dhikala is about 49 kilometres from the Dhangari gate of Corbett Tiger Reserve and is in the thick of this magnificent jungle. Only residents at the rest house can drive through the safari routes here and getting accommodation is so tough that only enthusiasts take the trouble.

To tell you the fact, the reservation system is from the dark ages. You fax them a request months prior to your arrival. You keep calling them every day to follow up on your request. You then send them a demand draft when they confirm your booking (yes, even electronic transfers dont work). All this, and you now need to find a good safari jeep and a good driver. After all that trouble, I still wasnt able to get accommodation at Dhikala for both my nights and I ended up getting a night at Dhikala and a night at Bijrani, a rest house slightly more on the outside of the forest. Getting accommodation at Dhikala is truly an insiders job and in hindsight I recommend you take the services of either of the following folks to take the load off your head:

• Ramesh Suyal (highly recommended on most travel guides)
• Dhikala.in
• Tigerland Safaris and Tours

Dhikala is a great place for spotting wild elephants, hog deer, barking deer and a wide variety of birds in a really dense, forest. Tiger sightings are a matter of chance and more so here, given the dense cover they have. We almost missed the only sighting we had here and the tigress we stopped for was so offended by the fact that wed blocked her route, that she lunged at us in a mock charge emitting a huge roar. Before we knew it, shed lunged across the road and neither of the five cameras trained on her had an opportunity to get a photograph. A great sighting - one that left our hearts racing. In our one day at Dhikala, we ran into several elephant herds and saw several exotic birds. Before wed even sampled the zone properly, we had to head out of the zone and check into our rest house at Bijrani.

The Bijrani rest house is quite old in itself. Established in 1928 as a hunting lodge for the British, it serves as an in forest accommodation for tourists. The zone however, is shared across both day visitors and lodge residents. This tends to make the zone quite noisy, despite the fact that your accommodation can get you several minutes of tranquility when at the rest house. Do remember that you can get out early each morning and stay back late each evening when all other vehicles are likely to be racing against time to reach the gate. Bijrani is also a comparatively drier zone which makes game spotting somewhat easier.

Now did we see a tiger at Bijrani? You bet we did - a young female who chose to sleep in a little cave in almost human fashion. It seemed to make no difference to her as the guides and visitors on the hillock above her made a huge ruckus about her presence. We left her fast asleep, only to come back in the afternoon to watch her lounging in her private pool after the long siesta.


I must put in a word for the elephant safaris at Corbett. In my view theres no better way to experience the forest. Remember that its not the best perch for photography or to get the best sightings, given the elephants always moving and that its a lot slower than a safari vehicle. However, the ability to see the forest from the inside, on an all terrain animal is quite something. No gorge is too deep, no slope too steep. If you had to follow a tiger into the bush, the elephants your best bet. Its also a great way to experience first hand how man and animal can be such good friends. The trust and understanding between the elephants and their mahouts (handlers) is something to see so you can believe. The mahouts also have really interesting tales to tell so even if you dont get great wildlife sightings, you can have a really entertaining ride through the thickets.

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Anyways, Corbett was the last stop on the big cat trail this year. Its been quite amazing - weve spotted 49 big cats; 28 lions, 20 tigers, and 1 leopard. I think its quite humbling to be stuck one short of a half century; natures way of showing shes still in control. I am returning to Bangalore enriched by this experience. Ive learned so much and I am more appreciative of this countrys biodiversity than I was ever before. The big cat trail will be on the road again in the summer of next year and my plan is to visit the following parks:

• Tadoba
• Pench
• Ranthambore
• Corbett
• Dudhwa
• Sunderban
• Kaziranga

While its quite impossible to upload all my photographs from the big cat trail, Ive put together a small selection of photographs here. As always, my work is under a Creative Commons license.

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Big Cat Trail Leg 4 Bandavgarh National Park

Its not often that you see 10 tigers and still retain a sense of disappointment. Happy as we are at the end of our Bandavgarh safaris, we see a huge scope for improvement with the tourism policies at this reserve. More on that in a bit. If you were ever in two minds about which Indian tiger reserve is likely to afford the best guarantee for tiger sightings, then its got to be Bandavgarh. Why? Take a few factors into perspective. The Tala tourism zone is just about 102 sq km and has about 22 tigers in it. That gives you a tiger density of about one in every five sq kilometres. This apart, you can seek the assistance of the tracking elephants which when they find a tiger, will mark the spot where the tigers resting and then take turns to transport you so you can view the tiger in its natural habitat. Dont listen to what armchair conservationists may say in criticism of the tracking elephants. These animals do not interfere with the big cats natural movement and make far less noise than safari vehicles. When observing secretive animals, using any intelligence and assistance is never a bad thing. Add to that the presence of some really bold tigers like Kankatti, B2 and the new and upcoming Bamera male, you have a heady mix for tiger sightings.

This being said, the park management needs to get its act straight with its tourism policies. Wildlife observation is a matter of luck and patience. Depending on the kind of wildlife you wish to observe, youll need to invest time and energy to get the sightings you want. The park management has made this very difficult. Theyve divided the zone into four tracks - A,B,C and D. These tracks combine to make four 60 km routes (AC, CA, BD, DB) that safari vehicles have to complete whether they like it or not. When on safari, the prescriptive routes make it really difficult to stop even for a 5-10 minutes near an animal you wish to observe. I hate the Bandavgarh route system with a passion, if you havent noticed already. The park management seems to be hearing the visitors though and theres talk of potential changes next year. The management plans to halve the number of vehicles allowed in the zone and double the safari prices. Thisll ensure that we can reduce the disturbance for the animals and also keep the park revenues intact.

Now thats a lot of background information, so Ill keep the rest of the experience report short. We stayed at the White Tiger Forest Lodge of the MPTDC which in my view is just unbeatable, comfortable accommodation right by the edge of the forest. The air-conditioned and the air cooled rooms are equally comfortable and with all three meals included, the deals a steal. In addition, you have some really hospitable staff who will do all it takes to make you happy. If you book the safaris from the lodge, then be sure to ask for Yadav as your driver. The gentleman has been at Bandavgarh for two decades and knows the park like the back of his hand. Most importantly, hes developed a great intuition for all of the parks tigers and can often guess with great accuracy the routes theyre likely to take. You will of course need a good guide, but since thats really out of your control given the parks rotation system, youre well served if you have a knowledgeable driver.

We didnt have Yadav as our driver for the first drive, but we more than made up for it in the next two drives which had us bumping into 8 tigers in a day - my best tally ever. In the following drives we saw a tiger each, bringing our tally to 10 tigers in Bandavgarh. We didnt get the best photographs at the park given that we didnt have the opportunity to wait at most of the spots for long and if wed found tigers resting we had to leave them before they got into a good photo position. Im not complaining though - every moment you spend with this regal animal is an absolute privilege and something to cherish regardless of whether you get a photo or not.

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I need to also put in a word for the Bandavgarh Interpretation Centre which is just near the Tala gate. Its a great showcase for this small, yet incredible park and has a great photo gallery on its first floor. Bandavgarh is famous for tiger sightings but the interpretation centre is a good place to visit just to learn about the incredible biodiversity of the park and the things you should keep an eye out for. All in all, Bandavgarh gets high marks in my book (photos here) and the only reason it doesnt get a perfect 10 is because of the accursed route system. Hopefully that changes soon.

If youre visiting Bandavgarh, try seeking the help of MP Tourism to arrange your transfers, stay and safaris. The fact that we paid just about INR 7500 each for this awesome experience tells you how inexpensive they can make things for you.

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