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Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve-June 2008

On 7 June I returned to Ranthambhore and during the morning on my first safari I was fortunate to find one of the three sub-adult cubs living in Kachida Valley.  It was a young male tiger cooling himself in the same pool where I had seen him last April with his mother and two other siblings.  The following day was spent at the Ranthambhore lakes where I was able to photograph one of the three female cubs born to 'Machali' about two years ago.  The young tigress looked so well and strong and is now capable of making her own kills without constanly relying on her mother.  During my time spent in the reserve I was able to see this young female on a number of occasions.  As always when I visit the park I look forward to seeing 'Machali' but it was not until 15 June that she made an appearance at the entrance to Kachida Valley where she walked close to my jeep before settling for a few minutes in a nearby water pool giving her some respite from the heat of the sun.  She is now about twelve years old and with only one canine tooth remaining. However, she is a very experienced and resourceful tigress and I hope that she will survive for some time to come before her home range is taken over by another tigress which, in all probability, will be one of her daughters.  Unfortunately, the monsoon began two weeks earlier than usual this year which meant that towards the end of my stay the tigers became increasingly difficult to find - during the monsoon season they usually move to higher ground along with deer and other prey species.  On my last day at Ranthambhore I enjoyed watching 'Machali' and one of her sub-adult cubs walking together in the forest; after a while they found a pool from which to drink, then settled down to rest and groom.  Photographs from my June visit to Ranthambhore will shortly be available in the 'Gallery' section of this website.

Ranthambhore and Corbett Tiger Reserves-April/May 2008

I returned to India on the 22 April visiting Ranthambhore and Corbett National Parks.  At Ranthambhore I was very pleased to catch up with Machali, the tigress, whose life I have been following for a number of years.  Last June I saw her with three nine month old female cubs and I am happy to report that now being approximately twenty months old they are well and strong and beginning to become a little independent of their mother.  On one occasion at Nalghati, Machali and two of the cubs appeared together while the third cub watched from a rocky outcrop above - Machali clearly wanted to rest away from her family and growled loudly at them whenever they approached her!  She has also lost another canine tooth, this leaves one remaining.  It seems that this has not prevented the experienced tigress from successful hunting and providing food for her offspring. I was also able to find the 'Kachida' family; a mother together with her three large sub adult tigers (two male and a female) - these are approximately twenty-four months old.  They spent time in a pool cooling off and grooming each other before two of them decided to climb the branches of a small tree.  I watched with great interest for it was the first time I had seen tigers trying to balance themselves together in a tree!  The last day at Ranthambhore was spent photographing two of Machali's cubs at 'Jalhra' close to the park's entrance gate!

My journey was then to Corbett where I was greeted by a violent thunderstorm but happily this soon cleared.  It is the first time I have visited Uttaranchal and Corbett is a beautiful park with wonderful meadows and densely forested hillsides.  There is an abundance of wildlife here - it is reported that there are over one hundred tigers and in excess of six hundred wild elephants roaming the reserve at this time of year before the majority of the elephants migrate towards Nepal later in the year. In contrast to Ranthambhore the tigers are difficult to see at Corbett due largely to the thick undergrowth and dense Sal forest providing them with excellent cover.  During my four day stay, at Dikhaula I saw three tigers.  I was lucky to have some superb photographic opportunities with the large herds of elephants - they spend most of their time in the forested areas during the heat of the day returning to the meadows in the afternoon to graze on the lush grasses, cooling themselves in the reservoir and Ramganga river which is the lifeline of the park. Photographs from my visit to Ranthambhore and Corbett are available in the 'Gallery' section.

Kanha & Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves-March/April 2008

Kanha male tiger

I arrived home from India on 7 April having spent just over two weeks at Kanha and Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserves.  During my time at Kanha, tiger sightings were very limited although, by elephant, I did spend time photographing a magnificent young male tiger at rest.  However, I had excellent sightings of Gaur (Indian Bison) and Barasingha (Swamp Deer) for which Kanha is well known.  Kanha is a most beautiful reserve and considerably larger than Bandhavgarh and comprising mainly of large meadows and dense Sal forest.  While at Kanha I was disheartened to hear stories of tiger poaching in the reserve.  On two occasions male tigers have been seen caught in steel traps within the core area of the park, which in part probably accounts for lack of tiger sightings-I do hope that the authorities take this threat seriously as in my opinion India cannot afford to loose any of its tigers especially from such a high profile park as Kanha.  My time spent at Bandhavgarh was interesting but a number of the sub-adult tigers have disbursed to other ranges in the reserve and the sightings were less than my past visits to the park.  However, at least five of the female tigers have young cubs although they were difficult to see as the mother generally keeps very young cubs well hidden from other predators while she is away stalking prey and patrolling her home range.  On one occasion I obtained a brief sighting of the Vanvaye tigress and her small three month old cubs.  She was sitting on a kill with her cubs coming back and forth to her while she tucked into a Chital deer.  I spent a considerable amount of time with a tigress whose home range is in the Siddhababa/Chorbera area of Bandhavgarh.  This tigress is now about six years old having successfully reared two cubs that I have spent much time photographing during the past year.  These youngsters have now disbursed to other ranges at Bandhavgarh. In addition, and by elephant, I also had the opportunity of watching and photographing the Chakradhara tigress who is now approximately twelve years old.  She is the mother of the tigress mentioned previously and whose home range adjoins her daughter.  Finally I am pleased to report that 'Sundar' (B2) continues to thrive having recently driven away his two large sub-adult male cubs that were a potential threat to his dominance of a large section of the Tala range.  On one occasion I heard him mating at Climber Point with a tigress I believe to be the daughter of the Jhujura tigress. On another morning I found him resting in the undergrowth within the home range of the Vanvaye tigress whose cubs he has fathered. I will continue to follow the lives of B2 and the Bandhavgarh tigers.  My next visit to India is on the 21 April, this will take me to Ranthambhore and Corbett National Parks. Photographs of my visit to Kanha and Bandhavgarh can be seen in the 'Gallery' section.

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve - October 2007

I returned home on 23 October after my second very successful visit this year to Bandhavgarh.  The image above depicts the young Vanvaye male tiger cooling himself in a pool of water while he concentrated on swatting the numerous frogs around him.  Once again I enjoyed some excellent tiger sightings including 'Sundar' (B2), the dominant male tiger within the tourist range; he was the first wild tiger I came across at Bandhavgarh in 2001.  He is now approaching his eleventh year and is still in control of a large home range containing four females and a number of his offspring.  Prior to seeing B2 we had heard alarm calls from the spotted deer on the hillside.  On elephant we made our way to higher ground where we found him resting with a very full stomach from an evenings' kill and enjoying the early morning sunshine.  We were with him for about ten minutes when he yawned showing his huge canines!  He then slowly made his way to a nearby gorge and vanished into the forest.  I spent a considerable amount of time watching and photographing B2's two young sub adult male cubs that are now about three years old and are still sharing their parents' home range (this is considered to be most unusual for siblings of this age).  In fact on one occasion B2 was seen in a nala feeding on a Samba deer in the company of his two large male sons.  Both the two females from the same litter have disbursed to find territories of their own.  On another occasion I was able to see one of the females following B2 in the Chakradhara meadow.  During my last morning drive at Bandhavgarh, we found the second young female resting close to the track before she walked to the nearby nala to sleep.  I hope to return to Bandhavgarh next year to continue following the lives of these tigers.  At my time of leaving I regret to report that B2 has lost a couple of teeth, one upper canine and one incisor!  There being a number of strong young male tigers at Bandhavgarh now a challenge for control of his home range could be on the cards - let us hope he can maintain his strength should he be confronted!  Photographs from this journey will be found in the 'Gallery' section.