Stripes of Wild India

[michael-ibk]

After a relaxed lunch we left Tuli Tiger and Pench at 12:30. The drive was altogether quite nice, leading through rural landscapes with not too much traffic. We had a few stops on the way since I needed a bit of cash, and it was not too easy finding an ATM cooperating with my card. The ESPN banks didn´t like me at all anyway. In a town near the park I was finally successfull at the State Bank. (There´s a daily limit of INR 40,000,-- btw, and INR 10,000 per transaction.) Getting there was quite an adventure - our driver had to go through extremely narrow and crowded alleys where I barely would have dared to ride a bike. When a lorry came from the other side and neither car could go backwards and forwards I already pictured us spending the night there, but of course our excellent driver somehow managed to get through, cm for cm!

Speaking of money, what about tipping on a trip like this? Of course that´s a highly individual matter, but here´s the guideline Wild World India provided us with to give an idea:

Tips for the main accompanying guides at the park - INR 400 or USD 7 per drive, drivers at the park - INR 200 or USD 4 per drive. Tips at lodges can be a consolidated INR 1000 or USD 15 at each lodge. Drivers in the towns and cities may be tipped INR 150 or USD 3 per day or per transfer from one destination to the other. All other tips to bellboys etc. may by INR 50 or USD 1. (It’s advisable to tip in INR)

Besides our accompanying guide Rajan there was also one accompanying park ranger in the car whom we mostly tipped around the same amount as the driver, depending on how committed they were. (Most were). So a lot of small denomination notes are needed. We got those at the airport (and didn´t know where to put the thick bundle of Fifties and Tenners!), WWI took care of getting "tipping money" for Lynn.

Even with our ATM stops we reached our destination after only four hours at 16:30.

TADOBA

If we had left Pench right after returning from the game drive and wouldn´t have bothered with uncooperating ATMs I think we could even have made it for the afternoon game drive, but that would have been a frantically busy affair. So it was quite nice having a bit of time to just relax and settle in our new "home" - Svasara Lodge.



I liked this place. Not too fancy, not too big, clean rooms, good shower, decent food and friendly staff, a very good base for a stay in Tadoba. The location couldn´t be better - it´s just a few 100 metres away from Kolara gate, the entrance to the park, and several times we used to walk there. So our driver didn´t have to wait for us but went straight there and when we arrived our car was pretty much first in line.

Didn´t take too many pics of the lodge, was getting lazy at the end.

The garden, most of the food came from here. As mentioned it was good but I confess after almost three weeks I was a bit sated with Indian food and was really craving for something not swimming in some kind of sauce. What I appreciated very much was that they supplied water for game drives in aluminium drinking bottles, kept wonderfully cool that way.



Tadoba was very, very hot, so sensibly lunch was served inside in a climatized canteen-like room (which also had working wifi). Dinner was served outside here:



Very much liked the pre-dinner "boma", where we had many delightful chats with one of Svasara´s guides named Baba (at least that´s what the others called him). This guy was incredible with his enthusiasm and energy for Indian wildlife, parks and conservation and it was a joy listening to him - mostly with a cool beer or a G&T. Only one evening they had run out of alcohol, we were told the state had declared "the area dry" and they hadn´t managed to restock.



The rooms.



The reception and "canteen":



The daily sightings chart (compiled of all the guests´sightings:



So let´s see how much of the good stuff WE saw.

[michael-ibk]

Game drive times were from 06:00 to 11:00 and from 15:00 to 18:30. Svasara´s Kolara Gate gives access to the Northern part of the park, the Tadoba Range, with Tadoba lake and some waterholes as hotspots. Further South there´s the Moharli range with Telia lake as then centre of attention. To the East is the Kolsa range. We never went there. From what I´ve read online that´s a wonderfully quiet area but sightings are few and far between.The name 'Tadoba' is derived from the name of God "Tadoba" or "Taru" which is praised by local tribal people, whereas "Andhari" is derived from name of Andhari river. It is believed that Taru was the village chief who was killed in an fierce encounter with Tiger and thus a shrine was made in remembrance of God Taru. It is said Tadoba covers an area of 625 squ km but I think that would have to include the buffer zones, certainly the Tadoba and Moharli range are not that big, and after a few drives you´ve been pretty much everywhere.

The first part after entering is former buffer zone with little wildlife to see, I think we rarely saw mammals on the first 20 minutes in (and out again of course.) Further inside the vegetation changes, lots of thick bamboo everywhere which means you only get good looks at animals if they are on or close to the road. Once inside everything becomes totally invisible.



After 45 minutes of driving around we heard of Dholes at a small waterhole. Big excitement for us, definitely one of the animals we most wanted to see. But when we arrived at the waterhole they had just gone, we were told. Big disappointment! But Rajan decided to wait a bit further away and then return slowly and quietly. Who knows, maybe they would come back after the car frenzy had left and they felt comfortable again?

Yes, they would! And so, after less than an hour, a huge "Indian wildlife" wish was fulfilled - Dhole!!!

It was stilll quite dark so the quality of the pics is less than ideal but still it was a magic moment - and it was a "private" moment, just us and the Dogs.



Another animal Kipling apparently didn´t like, in the Jungle Books the "Red Dogs" are despised because ... they have hair between their toes. Weird reason, but who am I to argue with a Nobel prize laureate. (He had them all killed by the wolves, so he really was not very fond of them. And to make sure readers hate them as well they even killed Akela, the wonderful old wolf and mentor to Mowgli.)









After 10 minutes they were gone again. I caused quite a stir then when Lynn and Andrew went "Great, Dhole, what a way to start the morning." And I went "Yes, and how wonderful to see Dhole pups, even if they were a bit concealed." And Lynn and Andrew went "Pups? What PUPS?"

Turned out I was the only one to notice that two tiny, very cute "Baby Dholes" were hiding inside the grass. Since I had assumed the others had noticed them as well I didn´t point them out. I suspect Lynn and Andrew were just a bit cross with me for that.



But, luckily, we would see them again later during our time in Tadoba, which was good for me, no need to feel guilty anylonger!.

[michael-ibk]

After that we drove to the Penderpauni waterholes, THE hotspot for tigers. No big cats for us there, but the rising sun and the beautiful light even had us taking pics of Chital again.

Wild Bees

 

Waiting for Tigers to show up was not too bad with lots of birds around.

 

White-Browed Fantail

 

Red-Wattled Lapwing

 

This is one of the waterholes. Does not look very spectacular, but it would provide us with spectacular moments several times.

 

We finally left the are and checked some other places. We saw two Brown Fish Owls but both absolutely refused to cooperate.

 

One interesting aspect about Tadoba was the number of Sambar sightings. Especially on this first morning we definitely saw more of them than of Spotted Deer. And for some reason they are very relaxed here, in other parks they are much more skittish.

 

This is the road near Tadoba lake. The area is good for Leopard sightings, and some people were lucky here, but unfortunately not us.

 

The lake:

 

Previously one could apparently circle the lake but now the road going around is closed.

 

Grey-Headed Fish Eagle

 

 

Bronze-Winged Jacana

 

Little Egret and Black-Headed Ibis

 

Here at the lake we finally, finally managed to get pictures of an animal often seen, but never "caught" so far - Ruddy Mongoose! Where´s the Mongoose?

 

Here is the Mongoose:

 

We then drove all the way down to the central breakfast place at Katoda gate. The main road there is tarred, so one can cover a lot of distance very quickly here. It does "help" that all drivers seem to enjoy racing here, everybody in Tadoba seems to speed around, much more so than in other parks.

 

 

 

Katoda gate, where everybody is having breakfast.

 

Back at Tadoba range our driver really impressed us, he stopped and pointed out a nightjar. It took us minutes to see the bird, so well camouflaged.

 

Savanna Nightjar.

 

For the life of me, I just couldn´t understand how anybody could spot this bird while driving by so fast. We found out that this bird would nearly always sit here, and nearly always at the exact same place.

 

Last sighting of the morning, a nice Gaur herd.

[michael-ibk]

Getting ready for the afternoon drive:



The "Do´s & Don´ts" on these signs remained a riddle - interesting that they translated just these two words and nothing else.



Lynn was very chic today, wearing silk gloves for the occasion.





Laughing Dove waiting with us

The first 90 minutes of this drive were incredibly slow. I know you never really see "nothing" on game drives, there´s always something to see, the regulars. But this time, I swear, we really saw nothing at all.

But then big excitement again, a car at a tiny waterhole was waving at us, indicating we should come very quickly, and we did. And glimpsed a Sloth Bear!





Gone in a few seconds, but another one of the "really, really want to see" mammals ticked off - wonderful!

We then waited at the Panderpauni waterholes. The guides were sure a Tiger would have to be around. Our patience was tested, the number of cars (well more than 20) didn´t exactly help, this was turning into a bit of a circus, and unlike in the morning it was hard to get "into the mood" with so many people around.



Unfortunately this Asian Paradise Flycatcher did never come close, it is such a beautiful bird.



Green Bee-Eater

And then, suddenly - BANG! The deer at the waterhole panically jumped up and ran as fast as they could, scattering in all directions at one. SHE had made her great entrance:



Maya (P2), the ruling queen of Tadoba, probably the most famous Tigress around there.

What followed was a most fascinating scene, she just nonchalantly passed the deer, did not even seem to take note of them.



And intriguingly, the deer did not run, they just kept some minimal distance and watched Maya.



A wonderful scene, definitely one of the highlights of this trip for me.



Why were they staying that close, why didn´t they run? Tigers are ambush predors, and I suppose the Chital are somehow aware of that. So I think they just prefer to know where exactly their nemesis is and therefore watch her movements. At least that´s my theory.



But still, I was worrying for the little fawn in the next picture. (And at the same time, of course, I was hoping for Maya to try something - what could be more awesome than a tiger hunt?)



But it was no facade, she really was not interested in the deer at all and just kept on walking, completely unfazed by her human admirers as well, as if she had all the time in the world. A true queen!







Incredibly, the deer even followed her when she had passed, and now it really looked like they had chased her off, even looking kinda smug.

[michael-ibk]

And now the real action started - Maya walked the road, and of course everybody tried to get close to her at the same time. Yes, a very "Indian safari" experience, but I didn´t mind - it was an incredible thrill "accompanying" her on the catwalk. And being so very close to her.



Maya didn´t mind the cars at all, she could easily have left the road any moment of her choosing, but no, she preferred to give everybody a good show and didn´t seem the least bit irritated by the human frenzy around her.







She even took time for some personal hygiene.



Her belly is a bit wobbly - for a reason, she had been a mother again, but unfortunately, lost her whole litter of cubs to Wild dogs a few weeks before our stay.



Now it was our turn getting real close to her, in the following seconds I could have reached out and touched her, but luckily our brain had not completely shut off because of all the excitement. Thrilling as such an encounter is, it must be stressful for the guides. It IS a tiger after all, a fearsome predator, you are in a small open gypsy, and you never know who the Queen of the Jungle might react if she´s getting irritated.

But that´s really not what went through my mind. I just thought "WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW"!





Lynn, get out of my view! NOW!





That´s my screensaver now!

And then Maya had enough, she had decided that we had seen her long enough, and retreated into the bamboo again. Leaving back a LOT of "Yes, I have seen the tiger and it´s the most beautiful animal in the world" faces.

[michael-ibk]

Indian Muntjak, we really didn´t have too many sightings of this very shy little deer. And not one good photo op.

 

Going out of the park, still "Maya-grinning", we had a very nice sighting of the pack of Wild Dogs again. It was already quite dark, and they were far away, but it was just wonderful watching this family running around and just having fun. (And yes, this time we all saw the pups.)

 

Tiger, Dhole and Sloth Bear - one could definitely say we were very happy with our first day in Tadoba!

 

[Big_Dog]

'WOWOWOW' for the tiger but just mere happines for DHOLE PUPS!?
Fantastic sightings either way!

[michael-ibk]

Dhole Pups? Wowwowowowowow? Patience for a few days, I have a feeling this could still happen...

Edited May 28, 2015 by michael-ibk

[janzin]

All I can say is WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW"!

[SafariChick]

Me too - wow wow WOW!! What a day! The pups are adorable! Does anyone know, do Dhole have a typical denning season so that one can expect that they will have pups at a certain time of year?

 

And the sloth bear - so cool!

 

I have to say that just seeing the photos of Maya my heart literally starts beating faster - hard to imagine what it's like to be up close. Even though I've been close to many lions, cheetah and some leopards as well as wild dogs, something about the size and power and regalness (if that is a word) of these tigers is just really intense! And, as you say, you are in that small open vehicle. I know in Africa the guides always say that as long as everyone sits down, the animals just see the vehicle as one big animal or thing and would not feel threatened or want to attack any individual in the vehicle. Do the Indian guides say the same about tigers?

Edited May 28, 2015 by SafariChick

[Sangeeta]

All I can say is WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW"!

What an amazing day that was! Superb photos that illustrate the even more superb sightings!

 

That tiger rubbing post was hilarious

 

Likely her name was Sharmili.

 

Michael, I refuse to believe you're Austrian, the way you write in English! Are you sure?

 

The dhole pups are such a lucky find. I wonder why Indian antelope, even though they carry such lovely antlers, have such moth-eaten scraggly coats? Esp the sambar, but even the others. Wonder why that is.

[madaboutcheetah]

That was an amazing sighting of Maya! Incidently, have you guys seen the documenatary that was aired recently on the Telia sisters (Maya and her sisters?) - You even got those Afican skies for you!!! What a trip!

 

Dhole puppies!!! My oh my....... Brilliant!

Edited May 29, 2015 by madaboutcheetah

[michael-ibk]

@@SafariChick

 

According to wiki denning season in India is from October to January, with a gestation period of roughly 60 days.

 

About the Tigers and how they "see" the gypsies: Nobody tells you not to stand up and not to break the silhouette. As you can see in the pics everybody´s standing, and one really could not claim that people are not moving quickly and hectically. So the "car is one big animal" thing really would not make sense here at all, and it makes one wonder how accurate this theory is at all. After all, tigers and lions are closely related, why would they react differently? But still, attacks are very, very rare - they do happen though, read about a few, and our guide in Bandhavgarh last time also had some hairy stories to tell. And just think of the famous YouTube Video with the tigress jumping ON the elephant!

 

@@Sangeeta

 

Thanks for the flattery, but there really is not one single English gene in me. Österreicher durch und durch!

 

About the scraggly coats: Maybe it´s the temperature difference between winter and summer? Maybe with the heat intensifying around March they are just getting rid of some of their "winter clothes"?

 

@@madaboutcheetah

 

No, don´t know that one, would love to see it! What´s the title?

Edited May 29, 2015 by michael-ibk

[madaboutcheetah]

Michael, I think it was called, "Tiger sisters of Telia" ..........

[michael-ibk]

Thanks Hari - found it!

[gagan]

Kanha rocks resembles kopjes of serengeti. ..sherkhan looks are stupendo fantabolous fantastic. ..

[Galago]

@Michael-ibk That was my very first safari in India ever! And yes, it was a bit of a hard act to follow! So interesting reading your account, almost the same as my own. Yes, I was watching the wonderful white-form Paradise Flycatcher nesting near the waterhole and wishing I could photograph it. Then I was photographing the same bee-eater you show when - bang! - tiger tiger tiger! I'm accustomed to southern African mammals coming close to the vehicle and I know exactly how to behave, but this was my first tiger and she came right alongside our vehicle. I admit, I was a bit scared!

 

I was also horrified at the number of vehicles (25, I counted while we were waiting) and the unbelievable noise level. Tadoba had been sold to us as 'Unknown India' and I pointed out to the tour company that whilst it may be unknown outside of India, it's VERY well known within India!

 

You must've got to the open field where you saw the Dhole family a bit before us because when we arrived we could just see some shapes running through the long grass at the back. But we saw what I think may have been the same family on our final drive (29th March). It was early morning and the light was not good but we had them almost to ourselves and they were so nice to watch: two parents, two cubs and a sub-adult, probably from an earlier litter. By the way, did you know that on the day after our Maya sighting a couple of vehicles saw a tiger kill at the same field? I think it was a Chital fawn.

 

Here are some rather hazy shots of the Dhole family:

[michael-ibk]

 

 

I was also horrified at the number of vehicles (25, I counted while we were waiting) and the unbelievable noise level. Tadoba had been sold to us as 'Unknown India' and I pointed out to the tour company that whilst it may be unknown outside of India, it's VERY well known within India!

 

Tadoba was without a doubt the most crowded and hectic of the parks we visited, at least around the Panderpauni area. I think part of the problem stems from the fact that sightings in Moharli range around Telia lake have gone back a lot this season, so everybody is driving up whereas previously cars would have been more dispersed. And then there´s the fact the park allows self-drivers which really is not the best of ideas, to put it mildly. Still, one cannot argue with the sightings Tadoba delivers!

 

 

 

By the way, did you know that on the day after our Maya sighting a couple of vehicles saw a tiger kill at the same field? I think it was a Chital fawn.

 

No, was not aware of that.

[graceland]

Just catching up @@michael-ibk, Oh my, Maya was a most amazing sighting. She is gorgeous. I would have followed as well though the number of people and vehicles blows my mind. I guess it is the TIGER-TIGER-TIGER most enthusiastic chant!

 

Everything else just faded away (well the pups and sloth stayed in a corner of my mind) when saw her appear. I love her nonchalant attitude; I am going to adopt that one

 

Terrific and even with blur of Lynn's head a great drive for you three!

[TonyQ]

What a wonderful day!

The dhole (+pups!), the sloth bear, the deer and of course the wonderful sighting of a magnificent tiger.

Superb

[Sangeeta]

@@michael-ibk - Durch und durch - dass glaube ich gar nicht! Honestly, this is kein flattery You write very idiomatically.

 

Yeah, perhaps they looked moth eaten because they were losing their winter coats.

 

Just for the record, all 3 of you, I too am almost done planning a short trip to Kaziranga in Dec since I'll be in India for a wedding anyway. And dragging my siblings along as well! We should definitely count the number of trips and number of people this report ends up generating!

[AKR1]

All I can say is WOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW"!

 

+1. Could not have put it better.

[janzin]

We should definitely count the number of trips and number of people this report ends up generating!

 

You can count me as one! I was on the fence about India altogether, and actually planning a return to Ndutu for February '16 when this report changed my direction!

[SafariChick]

@@michael-ibk thanks for the info on Dhole and your thoughts on the tigers' perceptions of humans/vehicles. It is interesting because I noticed in the Mara in Kenya, everyone stood up in their vehicles whereas in Botswana it was a big no no - and we were seeing the same types of animals, generally! I wondered was it that the Mara animals were that much more habituated due to bigger crowds? But maybe it's all theory about the not standing up, and no truth to it. I do recall once when at a wild dog sighting in Bots, I shifted my position a bit and, in doing so, slightly stood up or straightened my knees a bit anyway, and one or more of the dogs noticed and stood up a bit from resting.

 

The tigress walking through the prey animals reminded me of a sighting in the Mara but with a cheetah - there was so much prey around but no attempt to go after it, and the prey animals just all stood there watching!

 

Looking forward to more, but Michael is off to Africa so perhaps we shall have a bit of a wait!

[JohnR]

I have seen the phenomenon of prey watching a predator used in practice at the London Wetland Centre. A dog has been trained to walk along the bank of a lake until it reaches a funnel of netting which it enters. The wild ducks on the lake are so concerned to keep the predator in view that they follow it into the netting which is then closed off to capture the ducks and the dog released. The ducks can then be counted and tagged.