A Nederlof - India - Wildlife Photo Safari

Another amazing adventure for me - this time in the land of the tigers! My best decision was to join the India Wildlife Photo Safari by Bobby-Jo Safaris. She of my Serengeti Adventure - knowledgeable, smart, funny, kind and an outstanding photographer. Our journey consisted of only good things - the wildlife was cooperative, the food was delicious and the various properties ranged from interesting to wow. Many thanks to Maxine, Anita, Will, Anurag and Bobby-Jo for being such wonderful people and supportive travel companions.

We start in Assam in the far northeast - Kaziranga National Park

Project Tiger is the wildlife conservation movement initiated in 1973 by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Government of India to protect the endangered tiger. There are 55 protected areas that have been designated as tiger reserves under the project.

Tiger Reserves consist of a core area which includes parts of protected areas such as a national park or a wildlife sanctuary, and a buffer zone which is a mix of forested and non-forested land. Project tiger is aimed at performing the necessary activities to ensure viability of tiger populations in the core area, and to promote a balance between the existence of people and animals in the buffer zones.

In 2006 it was estimated that there were 1,411 tigers living in the wild, the lowest ever recorded. Thankfully, today there are 3,682 wild tigers in India, which is almost 75% of the world's wild tiger population.

Kaziranga National Park - Assam

It's a 2.5 hour flight to Guwahati

Welcome to Assam

Tea grows best in the shade

Rice paddies

Infiniti Resort

Spread across 430 square kilometers, Kaziranga National Park comprises vast elephant-grass meadows, dense forests, swampy lagoons and the Brahmaputra River. It is famed for its Indian one-horned rhinoceros and is home to 2/3rd of the global population - approx. 2,200.

The National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was founded in 1908 on the recommendation of the spouse of India’s then Viceroy, Lord Curzon. When Mary Curzon visited the park and failed to spot even a single Indian rhinoceros, she persuaded Lord Curzon to take action for the conservation of the dwindling species which led to the formation of Kaziranga Proposed Reserve Forest in 1905.

Image @bobbyjophotography

Chestnut headed Bee Eater

Red breasted parakeet

Rose ringed parakeet

The grass isn't always tastier elsewhere

A large bull

Not as large, but fierce

He's on a mission

Separated a female

She makes one last effort to escape

Mating is inevitable

Tiger paw-print - we saw a hint of a tail, paw prints and markings only.

Tiger territorial claw marks

Indian One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis).

The Chonk with Ibises

Procreation

Porcupine - The quills, or spines, take various forms depending on the species, but all are modified hairs embedded in skin musculature. No porcupine can throw its quills, but they detach easily and will remain embedded in an attacker.

Barasingha (Swamp Deer)

The female Great Indian Hornbill builds a nest in the hollow of a large tree trunk, sealing the opening with a plaster made up mainly of feces. She remains imprisoned there, relying on the male to bring her food, until the chicks are half developed.

The female with blue eyes

The male with red eyes

Courting couple

Wild Asiatic Water Buffalo

Jungle Owlet

Bengal Monitor Lizard

Open billed stork

Open-billed Stork

Indian Myna

Indian roofed turtle

Indian Roofed Turtle

There's an accident ahead

Still smiling

Organized chaos has positive results

Driving between zones - usually no more than an interesting 20 minute drive, but occasionally it's organized chaos.

Tadoba -Andhari National Park & Tiger Reserve - Maharashtra

Daybreak enroute to Mumbai to change aircraft

Nagpur - a city of 3M+

Welcome to Maharashtra

... drive a few hours

The average farm size in India is about 1.08 hectares (2.67 acres)

With a little help from your friends

Equipment subsidies and farm machinery banks are available to owners of small farms

You know you're close

Tathastu Lodge

Spread across 626 square kilometers, Tadoba National Park is the largest as well as the oldest national park in the state of Maharashtra. It is located roughly 150 kms from Nagpur where we landed. The national park derives its name from the regional god Tadoba, while Andhari is the name of the river which flows in the area.

Sometimes this is all you see

Leopards are fastidious

Nap time

Indian Leopard

A member of the gum family, the ghost tree, also called mahua, has soft wood that appeals to tigers. They sharpen their claws or mark the bark as part of their territorial messaging. The tree begins life pushing its way through a rocky landscape and is normally found with stones at its base. This deciduous tree with horizontally-scattering branches grows as tall as 49 feet on hillsides and higher ground.

Chital fawn

Chital

Chital (Spotted deer)

Hog Deer - Male

Female Hog Deer

Hog Deer - male & female

Sambar Deer with Egrets and a Red-wattled lapwing

Spa Day

Childcare

On Guard

Gray (or Hanuman) Langur

Gaur - the Indian Bison Gaur is the largest of all wild cattle. It is bigger than American Bison and the wild water buffalo.

Indian Night-jar

Mottled wood owl

Mr. Mutton Chops

We always start a safari by listening for alarm calls and looking for tigers. If you're one of the first through the gate - your chances are good. If Anurag of @tigerwalah is with you - your chances increase exponentially!

Like no two human beings have the same fingerprints, each tiger has a unique stripe pattern. Most of the forest officials, drivers and guides use these unique ID marks in combination with factors like the area of sighting & gender, to identify the tigers.

All individual Tigers are assigned unique ID numbers by the forest department. There is no particular order to assigning IDs, once allotted to an individual it is never reassigned. As a practice, the ID number is assigned to a tiger around two 2 years of age, once it officially separates from it's mother and establishes a territory.

Sonam & her three cubs

Why you need a long lens

Lounging

Sonam & her cubs

She was named Sonam because she has a prominent S mark below her neck on the right side. At 14 Sonam is now an old tigress but is still dominating the Telia area. She mated with Chota Dadhiyal and produced three cubs which are around eight months old.

Indian Roller

Collarwali - T163 - Born 2018 - A female trying to take over Sonam's territory

Collarwali

Collarwali snatching an opportunity

Slothbear - about the same size as a North American black bear

Yuvraj - an adult male Tiger - cooling off

Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary - Maharashtra

The end

It's about 5 hours driving in air conditioned comfort to Nagzira

The walkways keep you safe from tigers

It's the jungle - expect visitors

Muba Jungle Camp where you're welcomed with smiling faces every time you arrive.

We draw a crowd

Image courtesy @bobby-jo photography

Nagzira - the name comes from a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva (Nagdeo) and a perennial source of water (zira) located deep inside the forest.

Entering the park - listen to the birds

Wet departure but we're still smiling! Video courtesy @bobbyjophotography

Gaur Bull

Indian Shikra - Little Banded Goshawk

Crested Serpent Eagle

Crested Hawk Eagle

Crested Serpent Eagle

Flame of the Forest / Parrot Tree - Butea monosperma

Kanha National Park - Madhya Pradesh

Wasim & Ratna - wonderful hosts & owners

Stylish & immaculate

Chef Akshendra working his magic

Amazing - dairy free, gluten free and mostly vegan

Dinner was a memorable exercise in ambience and deliciousness

A delicious mango concoction for dessert

Saccharum Safari Lodge where we're welcomed warmly every time and Chef Akshendra produces the most delicious gourmet meals. What special dining experiences! It's my favourite of our various accommodations and I'm very happy my tourist dollars support this kind of Lodge.

Some of their sustainable tourism initiatives are:
1. Responsible Waste Management
2. Rain water harvesting and ground water recharging
3. Employing over 95% local staff.
4. No Single Use plastic. Substitute for plastic bottled water.
5. Maintaining of grasslands and removal of invasive plant species.
6. No noise/light pollution. No loud music or harsh lights outside the rooms or guest areas.
7. Using local produce and local resources to reduce & cut carbon footprint

Kanha National Park is spread across 940 sq. km. of the core area, and more than 1,000 sq. km. as buffer zone. It is the largest park in Central India and includes a massive forested cover of thick sal and bamboo groves, grassy meadows and several ravines and rivulets that support rich bio-diversity and a varied wildlife. Kanha is one of the top tiger reserves in India and serves home to almost 80 numbered/named tigers along with their 40 cubs.

The region is known for some of the ancient tribal communities, like the Gond and Baiga, that still inhabit the region. Glimpses of their evolved and highly sustainable lifestyle can still be witnessed in small hamlets peppered on the outskirts of the reserve. Kanha is a frontrunner in fine conservation practices and sustainable tourism initiatives. Most noteworthy among them has been the return of the hard-ground swamp deer, the Barasingha, from the brink of extinction.

Dawn

Day Break

Peafowl

Chital stags

Patrol elephants

Elephant welfare best practices employed

They're friendly

This close!

On patrol - monsoon steeds & poaching prevention

Barasingha Ruminating

White throated Kingfisher

Stone Curlew / Indian Thick-knee

A perched Indian Roller - a flying Roller eludes me

The less electric back-side

Large golden-backed woodpecker

MV3's cub - subadult male

MV3's cub - Sub-adult male - he'll be named when he establishes territory

Multi-tasking at the breakfast stop

Samosas

Coffee, jam, cookies & sugar

Gypsy

Hanuman Langur

Crested Serpent Eagle

Gaur Bull

Barasingha - female & male

Blackbuck Antelope - immature males

DB3 striding by - male - born 2019

Ranger Patrol

Forest Patrol

Dhawajhandi (DJ) - 12 year old female

Anurangan is happy to show us DJ

There are only two other gypsy vehicles here

Best driver

Our tiger whisperer, our driver and our guide were delighted that we experienced such a wonderful sighting, spending quite a bit of time with DJ who is very chill with the Gypsy vehicles and the humans inside.

Overnight Train - Jabalpur to Sawai Madhopur

Our Indian Railways train

The back seat drops down to form your sleeping berth

There's air conditioning and multiple power points

Reminds me of my European backpacking trip

Explaining how it works

Freshly laundered sheets, pillowcase & fuzzy blanket

Bobby-Jo makes friends everywhere! Image @bobbyjophotography

The crew who manage your luggage

The 2nd class you don't want to travel in

The train is comfortable and is classified as 2AC which means second tier air-conditioned sleeper coach (so not the ultra fancy Maharaja Express for instance). The 1st class cabin has a lockable door, A/C, power, 2 or 4 berths. You’re provided freshly laundered sheets & pillow and a fuzzy blanket. Toilets aren’t fabulous but I’ve seen worse campground and pit toilets. Hand sanitizer is your friend. Cleaning & garbage collection happens regularly. The platforms are fine and you hire burly or wiry men to carry and place your bags. We left about 9:30pm- arrived about 9:00 am and slept the best part of 7 hours.

Ranthambore National Park - Rajasthan

Celebrating the Holi festival

The Pugmark

Ranthambore is dotted with structures that remind you of bygone eras. There are many ruins scattered all over the jungle, which give it a unique, wonderful and mixed flavour of nature, history and wildlife. There are also numerous water bodies all across the park, which provide relief to the wild animals during the scorching hot days in summers. A huge fort atop a hill towers over the park.

Ranthambore National Park is located at the junction of the Aravali and Vindhya hill ranges in Rajasthan and is approximately 500 sq km in size. It is one of the finest places to view wildlife - famous for having a large tiger population. The wild animals are used to traffic and being stared at here; tigers have even been known to hunt in full view of human visitors.

Ranthambore - Zone 2

Tigers enjoy cooling off in the pools

Indian Peafowl - Peacock

Brown Fish Owls

Ranthambore - Zone 3

Oriental Darter - Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India - 2024/03

Oriental Darter

Rufous Treepie

Crested Snake Eagle

Ranthambore - Zone 8

Zone 8, 9 and 10 are accessed from the opposite side of the park requiring an hour's drive through town.

We're so lucky with the tiger sighting!

Daughter of T99

Indian Mongoose

Stork billed Kingfisher

Nilgai / Blue Bull

Ranthambore - Zone 10

Some times you see nothing but landscape.

Zone 10 is the far top - right side

We climb up the plateau - the red thing is a shrine

Nothin here

There's a tiger hiding on the left middle

Everything you see is park

The Tiger's perspective - video courtesy @bobbyjophotography

Ranthambore - Zone 3

Today we're second through the gate at 06:31 - and at 6:45 have good luck spotting a tiger! He is Ganesh, an eight year old male in his prime and this morning he's patrolling his territory. Anurag knows the tigers, their territories and their likely route so we verify which way he's going, then head off leaving the other gypsies and tourists behind. There doesn't appear to be logic - we turn off the main track and climb the hill, stopping at a nondescript portion of the road. After a brief wait - Ganesh appears! As long as he has enough space he'll walk on the road - it's easier than bushwhacking. We are the only two vehicles watching the majestic tiger - simply magical.

Patrolling

Bushwacking

Marking his territory with urine

Ganesh checking scents

A temple pre-dating the park

Temple food offerings are not managed and the wildlife knows it

Strutting his stuff

Trying to attract a female

"A peacock’s display is not only about colour – it is about sound and motion too.

A collaborative study between biologists and physicists suggests that the birds’ famous train feathers are built to move so as to accentuate the colours. The team used high-speed video to analyse the motion of the rattling train. “The feathers move as standing waves, like the strings of a guitar,” said Roslyn Dakin of Canada’s University of British Columbia, who led the research.

Their calculations revealed that the feathers are vibrated in such a way as to create maximum movement for minimal energy expenditure, depending on their length, weight and thickness. What’s more, while the feathers are vibrating back and forth, the eyespots remain almost stationary.

That’s because the feather barbs in the eyespots are locked together with tiny hooks, much like those in flight feathers, while the rest hang free and loose. This endows the eyespots with greater density and therefore inertia, which keeps them still as the train vibrates around them. The result is a mesmerising effect in which the iridescent eyespots appear to hover motionless against a blurred background."

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/news/a-peacocks-display-is-not-only-about-colour