Posts Tagged ‘Madhya Pradesh state’

Bandhavgarh National Park: A historical tiger reserve

Sunday, March 18, 2018 posted by Bruce 10:01 PM

Bandhavgarh National Park is situated in central India in the State of Madhya Pradesh, and has delighted tiger enthusiasts for many years now. Tigers like ‘Charger’, ‘Vijaya’, ‘Spotty’, ‘Dotty’ and ‘Solo’ to name a few have made a name for themselves as real world stars of ‘Mother Nature’ showing off a beauty and charisma found only in a few other places in India.

One of ‘Spotty’s cubs lounging at a waterhole in the interior…!

I have made four trips to Bandhavgarh since November 2014, and have been able to get some very nice tiger photographs including the famous sisters named ‘Dotty and Spotty’. The park is made-up of three zones (1, 2 & 3) and tigers are found in all three. However, one cannot be absolutely sure to get the striped cat and at times, it can be frustrating to say the least, especially when the Forest Department is burning leaves along the side of the road in March. The best time to come is during the hot season (April-May) when water resources are low, and prey and predator are not very far away from the waterholes. My first trip here came-up dry with just a few pug-marks here and there.

‘Spotty’ (in the foreground) leading her two cubs close by the road…!

Being very spiritual, I have come to believe in two mystical beings that are found here. There is a shrine by the side of the main road and another one inside the park in ‘Zone One’ where ‘Siddh Baba’ lives. The other spiritual being is ‘Siddi Mama’ who lives in all ‘Banyon’ trees found throughout India. One day in 2015 as I was motoring around in ‘Zone Two’ after three consecutive days of no tiger sightings in ‘Zone One’, I bumped into a remarkable Indian lady, her husband and their daughter in another jeep. As usual, the drivers stopped to exchange ‘tiger information’.

One of ‘Spotty’s cubs scent marking by the road…!

The lady asked me where I was from; I said Thailand and then mentioned that I had not seen any tigers yet…she then said, “maybe your luck will change as you (me) are under a banyon tree” and “you need to go into town and buy a coconut, some incense and then make an offering to the small roadside shrine where ‘Siddh Baba’ lives out on the main highway. 

My first tiger in Bandhavgarh: A sub-adult male in ‘Zone Two’…!

We parted company and said our goodbyes. A few minutes later and around the corner like magic, a juvenile male tiger stepped out onto the road and I got some amazing shots of the young striped cat. Boy, my luck changed immediately. My driver and I then went into town for lunch, and we got a coconut and some incense. We were going to pray on the way back but time was limited so we decided to stop by the shrine after the evening safari.

‘Dotty’ on the road in the interior of ‘Zone Two’: My second tiger that lucky day…!

We got to the gate and waited for the 3pm opening. After a half hour, we split up from the other vehicles and proceeded into the park by ourselves. Around a corner, and we mystically bumped into ‘Dotty’, a mature female tiger standing on the road. I was elated to say the least but it did not take long for a bunch of other jeeps to show up and then the free-for-all mayhem began. But I was lucky to get her with no commotion and undisturbed. She then slipped into the forest after all the noisy drivers started shouting and crashing into each other tying to get a glimpse of her. We departed and I felt great. We stopped by ‘Siddh Baba’s shrine on the way back in darkness and payed our respects for my good fortune. I now stop by every time I visit Bandhavgarh. There is also another ‘Siddh Baba’  shrine in ‘Zone One’ several kilometers in by the side of the road.

My first tiger in ‘Zone Three’ in 2017: A sub-adult male in late afternoon…!

I have just returned from Bandhavgarh and got ‘Spotty’ and her two cubs in ‘Zone One’ in the afternoon of the third day shown above. News quickly spread that the three were next to the road. When we got there, some 20 jeeps were packed into a small section following every move they made. The going’s-on was almost deafening all trying to get the best position.

My second tiger in ‘Zone Two’ in 2017: Her name is ‘Solo’ and she was out hunting in the morning sun…!

Funny enough, ‘Spotty’ and her cubs do not pay to much attention to the din. I did however get a few shots but it was difficult to say the least. So that makes 49 tigers I have photographed in India. I did however, get a fresh pile of tiger scat on the rode in the interior of ‘Zone Two’.

‘Spotty’ in ‘Zone One’ in 2017: She is a very popular tiger and very photogenic…!

I also got a leopard on a rocky outcrop shown below just past the ‘Siddh Baba’ shrine not far from the gate at ‘Zone One’. That was just after my guide told me that the ‘ghost of the forest’ are occasionally seen in this patch of forest. Now that’s what I call ‘extreme luck’…!

A leopard spotted in a rocky outcrop not far from the ‘Siddh Baba’ shrine in ‘Zone One’…!

So with that in mind, I recommend giving Bandhavgarh a try but be prepared for some unpleasant mix-ups when a tiger is spotted. The Forest Department here really needs to fix this problem for the future and maybe take-up the new regulations and rules that are now in place in Kanha Tiger Reserve. See my story on my recent trip to Kanha…! (:http://brucekekule.com/photography_abroad/kanha-national-park-the-best-run-protected-area-in-india/) 

Long live the tigers in Bandhavgarh…!!

     

 

 

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The Forests of Madhya Pradesh in India – Part Four

Friday, December 25, 2015 posted by Bruce 5:15 PM

Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve

A mugger crocodile in the Denwa River of Satpura Tiger Reserve of Madhya Pradesh, Central India. This very mature reptile is estimated to be 4-meters long..!

After leaving Pench tiger reserve in the East, a break was in need. It was a quick two-hour taxi ride straight south to the large city of Nagpur in the State of Maharashtra. I stayed overnight at a very nice hotel with foreign and Indian cuisine. After almost two weeks of local food, I was ready for some European fare that evening. The next morning, breakfast was superb.

A leopard resting in deep cover. It was difficult to get a clean shot…!

Then it was a six-hour taxi drive to Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve in the south-central area of Madhya Pradesh State. I arrived in the late afternoon and settled in at the Denwa Backwater Escape lodge five minutes from the boat pier on the reservoir. The tiger reserve was on the opposite side of the Denwa River that was dammed some 60 kilometers down stream.

A bull gaur close to the road in the reserve. These ungulates are prey species for the tiger…!

The next morning, my naturalist Chin was at the meeting point at 5.30am sharp and 30 minutes later after formalities, we were in a boat for the three-minute trip across the lake. Landing on the opposite shore, we jumped into a Suzuki/Maruti jeep for the first morning’s safari. As we moved into the hinterland, sambar and spotted deer were seen plus glimpses of a sloth bear. Later that morning, we bumped into a large gathering of jeeps meaning a big cat was about. It took some jockeying to see a leopard sleeping in the bush. Although the sighting was neat, good photos were tough to get but I did manage to get a few acceptable ones.

Two young gaur head-butting in an ‘eye-to-eye’ confrontation…!

For the next three days, we crossed the reservoir going on jeep safari in the morning and afternoon. On the last morning, I opted for a boat safari into the lake to look for crocodiles and large wading birds and ducks. A grey heron was my first target just as the sun was peeping from behind the morning fog. Later, some woolly-neck storks plus bar-headed geese and Indian river terns were the next targets. But my main objective was to get a crocodile out of the water on its basking spot. We saw two mugger crocs but they slithered into the water before we could get close. The water-safari closed at 10am and I was running out of time.

Mugger crocodile enjoying the mid-morning sun adjusting its temperature…!

Ten minutes before the dock, we saw a huge croc basking with its mouth wide-open. We immediately turned left and headed straight for it. I started cranking my Nikon D300s with a 200-400 VRII lens on a tripod and we actually caught the reptile in a trance as it was soaking in the warmth of the morning sun. We got fairly close. Then it sensed us and got up walking a few steps while I kept on shooting, and then slipped below. Now that’s some serious luck just a mere 10 minutes from the boat dock and the end of my safari. I had just captured one of the oldest living creatures on the planet going back to the Triassic Era when crocodiles had just began to evolve some 200 million years ago and out-living the dinosaurs. It was a fitting end to my 20-day safari to the forests of Madhya Pradesh in Central India.

Asian wild dog or ‘dhole’. These creatures in a pack are the most feared of all the predators in the Indian forest…!

Conclusion: As we move into the 21st Century, many things continue to hack away at nature. Excessive tourism has had a detrimental effect in some of the parks and its wildlife. In particular, the madness that goes on when a tiger is sighted. After traveling through some seven tiger reserves so far, the phenomena of seeing other people with a ‘long-face’ has become an ever-increasingly common occurrence when no tiger had been sighted. However, this is a problem when one is sighted: most people go berserk trying to get a photo of the big cat mostly with their smart phones. This has been dramatic as talking and screaming goes on and the drivers push each other (sometimes crashing into one another) to get a shot of the striped cat. Some may disagree, but I say the tigers are now becoming smarter and avoid the big jeep-crowds that invariably build up quickly. The big cats just melt into the forest and sometimes disappear for the day. They surely walk the roads at night as their tracks can be found everywhere when on morning safari.

Excessive anything is sure to have cause and effect. Tiger tourism has become a big money business and as more hotels and lodges spring-up around the tiger reserves like mushrooms, invariably more people will be pushed into the parks to see the almighty tiger. Limitation is the only answer that works but mandates to minimize the effect on too much tourism are overlooked by most who make money at it.

And the recent scandal incriminating ‘Ustad T-24, a wonderful tiger from Ranthambore National Park and Tiger reserve by the local forest authorities has done some serious damage to the reputation of India’s wildlife conservation programs. This resident male tiger was unjustly accused of killing a forest guard and then illegally moved to a zoo where he is near death after medical teams removed mud from his stomach probably picked up from throwing meat on the dirt for him to eat. He was also paraded around as a man-eating tiger, and zoo visitation jumped more than 100%. Not a nice situation for any wild animal

At the end of the day, I did get some really great photographs of tiger, leopard, crocodile and other Indian creatures on this trip but my outlook has changed ever so slightly concerning the senseless hordes of jeeps chasing after tigers and leopards in these parks. Can they sustain an ever-increasing tourist presence, as is the case of ‘tiger tourism’ today? Only time will tell but if you want to see the big striped cat, India is still the best place to see this magnificent predator as one of Mother Nature’s greatest creatures.

I have one more trip to India planned for March-April, 2016. I will be going to a wildlife sanctuary near Corbett tiger reserve to do some camera trapping. Then it will be across country by train (in fact most of the travel this time will be by train) to the Blackbuck National Park after some beautiful antelopes, and then back across to Panna tiger reserve that lost all their tigers awhile back and was restocked from Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve. Then it’s on to Pench once more. Finally, it’s up to collect my camera traps and back to Delhi for the flight back to Thailand. That’s the plan and I look forward to catch a few more species for my up-coming book on wildlife from Africa and Asia. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading about my trip to India as much as I have enjoyed seeing and photographing nature up-close.

 

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The Forests of Madhya Pradesh in India – Part Three

Sunday, December 13, 2015 posted by Bruce 12:40 PM

Pench National Park and Tiger Reserve

‘Collarwali’ and jackal…the little dog was faster and got away…she is old and has sired 22 cubs…but she still has class…!

In November, the weather is nice and crisp in the morning, as the winter season has just begun in Central India. When entering the forests in an open jeep, it becomes quite chilly first thing and a few layers of warm clothing are imperative. Then as the safari progresses and the sun climbs into the sky, it becomes warmer and those layers are pealed off. It’s a great time to be in the forests of Madhya Pradesh.

‘Collarwali’ on the run after the jackal…!

My time was up in Kanha, and I moved further southwest to the next great tiger reserve named Pench National Park and Tiger Reserve encompassing some 758 sq. kilometers. The taxi ride takes about three hours but is still stressful as is any two-lane highway in India. But again, I arrived in safety at the ‘Tuli Tiger Corridor’ lodge about 15 minutes from the main gate into the reserve.

‘Collarwali’ checking scent marking…!

That night before dinner, my naturalist Omveer Choudary gave me a run-down on what was going on in Pench. There was a female tiger with four cubs hanging around near the road and that our chances of seeing her was good. Also, the most famous female tiger in Pench named ‘Collarwali’ (a mother of 22 cubs) was also around. She was named because she has worn a collar for many years and the thing doesn’t even work now, but the authorities are worried about darting her with cubs and so have left it on. He said our chances were very good and this was coming from a guy who is a top-notch naturalist and driver for 12 years of experience here in Pench (he’s the boss). I was convinced.

The last time I saw ‘Collarwali’…she’s a magnificent big cat…!

The next morning after a quick cup of coffee and some crackers and cookies (standard breakfast fare while on safari in India), we jumped into the jeep at around 5am but it was not as cold as the other two tiger reserves I had just been to. We were the first in line at the gate, which was a good sign. I walked over to a ‘banyan’ tree close-by and wished for good luck. We entered but as the morning wore on, it looked like it would come-up dry.

Female three-fanged tiger no-1

My first tiger in Pench: She was the female with 4-cubs and it was a tight scene…!

Then, as we were more or less heading back for lunch, we bumped into a large group of jeeps parked on the road, and ‘Ome’ said, “it’s a tiger”. And there she was; the female with 4-cubs about 50 meters away from the road lying down in foliage and just her head showing. I just got glimpses of the cubs. I put a 1.7X tele-converter on my 200-400mm VRII lens to get a closer look and ripped off a bunch of shots.

Female tiger in the afternoon at Pench

Three-fanged tigress in the afternoon. She was the same tiger as in morning…!

That afternoon, we bumped into her again at another location close-by but she was still resting with her right side showing this time. Her left lower-fangs is broken. She eventually woke-up and my D3s did not stop shooting when she showed.

A sub-adult male tiger the 2nd morning…lady luck was talking…!

The next morning, we saw a sub-adult male lying down more than 50 meters away. Pench was becoming a favorite after two tigers in two days. Day three was good for other species like sambar, wild dog and jackal. And on day four at 6am in the morning we took a left turn at a junction several kilometers from the gate and all the other jeeps went straight. Around the corner and there she was: Collarwali standing in the road looking at us. Then she started walking towards us. She had her eyes on a jackal and actually chased after one but it was too quick for her. ‘Ome’ backed-up and she did not stop passing us out near the main road junction.

We followed her but the crowds began to show-up so we bugged-out. I had already got a bunch of nice shots of the most famous tigress there. I have no idea, but I really liked Pench and vowed to return again in 2016; and that is the plan for now. Jeep numbers are controlled and it is not too bad in the park like some of the other tiger reserves where it becomes a madhouse around a tiger.

Many thanks to all the staff at Tuli Tiger Corridor lodge and I would especially like to thank Omveer Choudary, my naturalist for a great time and passing on his wonderful knowledge, and to the Pench Forest Department.

Next and last stop on my journey: Satpura National Park and Tiger Reserve – where a monster croc lives…!

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The Forests of Madhya Pradesh in India – Part Two

Saturday, December 5, 2015 posted by Bruce 5:39 PM

Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve

A young female leopard in early morning in Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve.

The next stop on my 20-day tiger safari through November 2015 to India was Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve situated several hundred kilometers southwest of Bandhavgarh. I left the King’s Lodge in a nice air-conditioned taxi around noon and arrived at the Kanha Earth Lodge outside the park in the late afternoon. This was to be my home for the next four-nights and it was very pleasant with the bungalows built mainly from natural materials.

Kanha is quite famous for its tigers and other creatures like leopard and sloth bear. Prey species such as gaur and spotted deer (chital) also thrive in great numbers and play an important role as a food source for the big cats. The lush Sal and bamboo forests, grassy meadows and ravines of Kanha provided inspiration to Rudyard Kipling’s famous novel ‘Jungle Book’ and it lives up to its name as one of India’s best tiger reserves. However, it is a bit over-visited at the moment with hundreds of tourists visiting almost daily which has had an effect on the balance of nature.

A mature female tiger named ‘Bandri Chapar’ seen above a waterhole in Kanha National Park and Tiger Reserve.

That night before dinner, I met my naturalist ‘Mr Happy’ as he likes to be called. I mentioned the fact that being happy was the secret to my success as a wildlife photographer and that I wanted to visit the nearest banyan tree on the way into the park. He said he knew where one was just inside the gate and that we could stop the next morning.

That night after a few whiskey sun downers, I slept like a log after the hectic trip along narrow roads and near misses that day. It was early to bed and early to rise at 4am. After a quick coffee, we headed to the front gate and when we got there, were greeted by hundreds of people and scores of jeeps and cantors (buses) wanting to get in. It was a madhouse but I tried to just ignore it and hoped that once we got in, things would thin out which they did. We picked up a forest guide that is required by the forest department and he jumped in the back seat.

Here she is marking her territory spraying urine on a tree next to the waterhole.

About 100-meters from the gate, Mr. Happy stopped at the banyan tree but park regulations do not allow one to get out of the jeep. I just made a silent prayer for good luck and then we motored in. A short time later (about 15 minutes), it was still a bit dark as we traveled deeper and then the guide called out that a leopard had just jumped across the road. Mr. Happy reversed slightly and there stood a young female looking at us from about 10 meters away. I quickly snapped off a few shots and was able to get one good image of the young cat. Her pupils were dilated, as morning light was just filtering in.

Now this was some seriously good luck for Kanha where leopards are extremely difficult to see and photograph. My spirits jumped a thousand percent. Later that morning, we saw a sloth bear but it was out of range and it slipped into the thick forest. Then it went quiet for the next couple of days with hardly any tiger sightings around the whole park. Then on day-three as we were motoring along some man-made ponds, my guide spotted a female tiger named ‘Bandri Chapar’ walking parallel to the road and calling out for a mate with that unmistakable call of a female in heat. “raaaawr, raaaawr, raaaawr”…! We were the only jeep around and we just reversed following her, and I did not stop shooting my camera.

After crossing the road in front of us, ‘Bandri Chapar’ looked at me one more time.

After several hundred meters, she came up close to our jeep and crossed the road in front of us. She then stopped on my left side looking straight at me, and then slipped into the bush as other jeeps began to show up. Again, the spirits from the banyan tree had granted my wish with some seriously good luck as many people had not seen a tiger and it was becoming sad to see so many long faces as hardly anyone had seen the striped predator. I of course was beaming that I had photographed her. It doesn’t get any better than that..!

I also saw barasingha deer (hard ground swamp deer) and got some good shots. The species almost went extinct here but the forest department started a breeding program saving the species just in time. There are over 600 now living in the park. The magnificent bovine species guar, also thrive here and I got some good shots of two large bulls just a mere twenty meters away.

Barasingha stags and doe plus spotted deer at the back in the grasslands.

It was a great five days and I would like to thank all my friends at the Kanha Earth Lodge, Pugdundee Safaris and the Forest Department in Kanha.

Next stop: Pench National Park and Tiger Reserve

 

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An Apex-Predator straight from the Triassic Era

Sunday, November 29, 2015 posted by Bruce 3:41 PM

A Mugger Crocodile in Satpura Tiger Reserve.

Mugger croc at Satpura-Nov. 2015-w

A 4-meter mugger basking in the mid-morning sun – 10 minutes before the end of my finale safari…!

After almost 20 days of solid morning and afternoon safaris on hot dusty roads in India’s tiger reserves situated in the State of Madhya Pradesh, I decided to take a boat safari offered by the park authorities on my last safari at Satpura Tiger Reserve. Arriving around 7am at the boat dock, we jumped into a speedboat and then encountered many large water birds like grey heron and woolly-necked stork, plus many other species along the shoreline of Denwa Reservoir. Eventually, a mugger crocodile Crocodylus palustris was sighted but it quickly slipped into the lake.

As the morning got hotter and time was running out, another crocodile was seen but it too slid below. About 10 minutes before closing time as we were cruising back, a big crocodilian was seen in full bask mode with it’s mouth wide open bringing it’s body temperature up. A quick left and we closed the gap, and I did not stop shooting my Nikon D300s and 200-400 VR II on a tripod. It was about 4-meters long, and eventually got up and dropped off its little basking spot.

mugger-croc-2-web

Lifting off from it’s favorite basking spot – a magnificent prehistoric creature of nature…!

I feel fortunate to have seen and photographed this prehistoric creature that evolved from the Triassic Era some 210 million years ago. In the lake, they are very shy for the most part. This is my top capture on my trip to the land of the tiger, and I will be posting more of all the other amazing creatures I photographed when time permits.

I would like to specially thank all my friends at the Denwa Backwater Escape and Pugdundee Safaris, plus the Forest Department at Satpura Tiger Reserve for all their help and support during my visit to this wonderful place..…!

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