If someone asks me which is my favourite animal, I would say without thinking that it is the Tiger. The majestic walk, the beautiful skin with reddish orange furs, the roars - all just adds to the beauty of this animal. I am almost the foremost champion of the "Protect our Tigers" campaign - I have mouse-pad with its picture, T-shirts printed, badges, etc of these beautiful animals. Born free is still my favourite movie and the first poster that I ever pinned on my bedroom wall was that of a Royal Bengal Tiger.
Obviously, the longing to see one in the wild, was a passion that I cultivated from my childhood. I had been to wildlife safaris in Bandipur, Kanha, Panna and other places wanting to see a tiger, however, my favourite animal had always been elusive to me. So, when the opportunity came to visit Tadoba with TCPC (Twin Cities Photography Club), I had agreed only due to the opportunity of visiting another wildlife sanctuary and secretly hoping, maybe I would be lucky to catch a glimpse this time. However, what happened in reality is something beyond my wildest dreams!!
The TCPC group started from Secunderabad on the hot summer day of April 26th. As usual, time just flew in train with every member of the group narrating stories of their wildlife adventures, showing off their cameras with the big lenses and the announcement of a reward for the best photograph during the tour. We reached Chandrapur (which is approx 40 km from the reserve) early morning and took a cab to reach Tadoba Tiger Resort - our hotel for the next 2 days. It is a simple hotel with air conditioned rooms, home cooked meals and courteous staff, and most of all it is just a few meters away from the Moharli Gate.
Let me first give you a brief history about this place. Tadoba Andhari Reserve is the largest national park in Maharashtra. In fact, the Tadoba National Park and Andhari Wildlife Santuary together form the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. The park derives its name from "Taru" the local deity, whereas the Andhari river that meanders through the forest gives the sanctuary its name. The reserve has three zones -- Moharli, Tadoba, and Kolsa -- with numerous entry gates. There are about 43 Tigers (2010 National Census on Tigers) in the reserve, one of the highest in India.
Since the safari start time has already passed, we quickly freshened up, had a light breakfast and headed for the buffer zone which leads to the Tadoba lake. We got up a watch tower and had an amazing view of the forest and plenty of birds and monkeys during this short trip.
After coming back to the hotel, we quickly showered, rested for a short while, had lunch and then got ready to start our first safari. We started our trip fromt he Moharli gate, in Moharli village which provides entry to the Moharli zone. It is the reserve's most commercial entrance point. We were accompanied by our forest department guide Mangesh. Our first glimpse was of a peacock who welcomed us by flying past the gate as soon as we entered. Within 15 minutes of our entering the forest, our guide drew our attention to the cub at the Telia Dam. I could not believe that I actually got to see a tiger, though, it was really small from the distance. I was speechless and was totally focused on capturing the moment with my camera. The cub remained submerged in water for sometime before deciding to take a stroll along the banks. Soon, it disappeared in the grassland and so the queue of vehicles decided to move forward only to find another cub dipping herself in the water. About 15 gypsies patiently waited one after another enjoying the sight of the beast. The experience was exhilarating. It was also fun watching tourists and photographers (with their big zoom lenses) watching in anticipation to see what the cub would do. Though it was really hot, none of us were actually taking our eyes from the majestic animal.
After about an hour, enjoying its cool dip, the cub decided to get up, stretch itself and then decided to cross the bank. I was totally mesmerized by seeing my favourite animal so close.
We ran out of water and decided to go to the gate to fill up our water bottles. During this trip, we got to see a wild boar, black drongo, magpie and other birds. On our return, we found the cub again resting on the bank. After about what seems to be an hour, she majestically got up and walked right in front of our vehicles back into the bushes, walking past the motorcycle of a forest guard who made way for her. Watching a tiger at such a close range is a life changing experience and you realize what a majestic creature a Tiger is and deserves to be called the King of Jungle.
The 1st day of our jungle safari came to an end with me watching my favourite beast not for a few minutes, but for a couple of hours. It was like watching your own National Geographic or Animal Planet show - one which I can never forget!!
We returned to our hotel by dusk, each one excitedly talking about our experiences and showing the photographs that we captured. Those who had seen a tiger earlier, also admitted that this is the first time, they have also seen the royal beast for such a long time.
The Telia cubs had made our day and they would be edged in our memories permanently.
Obviously, the longing to see one in the wild, was a passion that I cultivated from my childhood. I had been to wildlife safaris in Bandipur, Kanha, Panna and other places wanting to see a tiger, however, my favourite animal had always been elusive to me. So, when the opportunity came to visit Tadoba with TCPC (Twin Cities Photography Club), I had agreed only due to the opportunity of visiting another wildlife sanctuary and secretly hoping, maybe I would be lucky to catch a glimpse this time. However, what happened in reality is something beyond my wildest dreams!!
The TCPC group started from Secunderabad on the hot summer day of April 26th. As usual, time just flew in train with every member of the group narrating stories of their wildlife adventures, showing off their cameras with the big lenses and the announcement of a reward for the best photograph during the tour. We reached Chandrapur (which is approx 40 km from the reserve) early morning and took a cab to reach Tadoba Tiger Resort - our hotel for the next 2 days. It is a simple hotel with air conditioned rooms, home cooked meals and courteous staff, and most of all it is just a few meters away from the Moharli Gate.
Let me first give you a brief history about this place. Tadoba Andhari Reserve is the largest national park in Maharashtra. In fact, the Tadoba National Park and Andhari Wildlife Santuary together form the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. The park derives its name from "Taru" the local deity, whereas the Andhari river that meanders through the forest gives the sanctuary its name. The reserve has three zones -- Moharli, Tadoba, and Kolsa -- with numerous entry gates. There are about 43 Tigers (2010 National Census on Tigers) in the reserve, one of the highest in India.
Since the safari start time has already passed, we quickly freshened up, had a light breakfast and headed for the buffer zone which leads to the Tadoba lake. We got up a watch tower and had an amazing view of the forest and plenty of birds and monkeys during this short trip.
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| View of the Tadoba Lake |
After about an hour, enjoying its cool dip, the cub decided to get up, stretch itself and then decided to cross the bank. I was totally mesmerized by seeing my favourite animal so close.
We ran out of water and decided to go to the gate to fill up our water bottles. During this trip, we got to see a wild boar, black drongo, magpie and other birds. On our return, we found the cub again resting on the bank. After about what seems to be an hour, she majestically got up and walked right in front of our vehicles back into the bushes, walking past the motorcycle of a forest guard who made way for her. Watching a tiger at such a close range is a life changing experience and you realize what a majestic creature a Tiger is and deserves to be called the King of Jungle.
The 1st day of our jungle safari came to an end with me watching my favourite beast not for a few minutes, but for a couple of hours. It was like watching your own National Geographic or Animal Planet show - one which I can never forget!!
We returned to our hotel by dusk, each one excitedly talking about our experiences and showing the photographs that we captured. Those who had seen a tiger earlier, also admitted that this is the first time, they have also seen the royal beast for such a long time.
The Telia cubs had made our day and they would be edged in our memories permanently.
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