| 9 March |
| PM. Back from Delhi with the next group, and got the first sight of a tiger almost immediately on entering the park, Chorbera crossing the river behind Sidh Baba and climbing slowly up the hill. After she moved out of sight we went to Chakradhara meadow to check there, before returning to Sidh Baba to find that Chorbera had crossed back to the far side of the Charanganga River. After a period of washing and rolling on her back, she walked along the river gorge to the bridge that marks the start of “C” and “D” routes, skirting the rocks towards the top of the slope. As she came around the corner a group of sambar deer suddenly scattered. One must have been too close as she suddenly launched herself into a thicket. The undergrowth was too dense so we couldn’t see whether or not she caught it. We waited on the road for a while and heard growling on both sides of the road. The tiger in the other side of the road may have been the male that she has recently been mating with. We left the park an hour early with thunderstorms moving in, and heard thunder intermittently throughout the night. |
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| 10 March |
| AM. Thunder and showers still around this morning, so all of the jeeps have their rain covers with them. The forest seems very dark and forbidding in the gloom. Last night’s rain hadn’t dampened the leaf litter too much, so the deer were still around although cautious. (When the litter becomes soaked, footfalls carry no sound; without one of their prime warning signs, the deer become extremely nervous). We patrolled the road between Rajbhera dam and Jhujura waterhole, and were rewarded with the sight of two tigers making their way to cross the road. First of all came Jhujura in a measured, confident stride, followed shortly afterwards by her more nervous cub at speed! There was only one other jeep present, which made this a good sighting. We went to Hardia checkpoint to see if there were any reports from the elephants, and as all was quiet there we went back to where we had our sighting. This time there were many jeeps on the track and we could just see the other two Jhujura cubs resting in the bamboo. We thought for a minute that we would see some action after a wild boar came close, but after watching it for a few minutes the tigers settled down once more. We ate our packed breakfast and then headed back to camp. |
| PM. In the afternoon we drove towards the area of the morning’s sightings, but met some jeeps coming away from the area that reported the tigers were in the same position and the area was very crowded. We decided that Plan B was the order of the day and drove towards Rajbehra dam instead. Our guide saw a tiger in the treeline heading away from the dam, and we drove quickly to Climber Point where we judged the tiger was most likely to emerge. We found a group of chital deer all looking in the same direction, almost as though acting as signposts, and we were rewarded with Boka emerging from the forest and slowly crossing the road in front of us. He gave us his trademark flash of teeth as he went, but walked more slowly and confidently than he did a couple of years ago. At that time he would have almost run across the track. We drove to Mirchani area and waited a while, but no joy, and so drove back toward the gate around the eastern perimeter of the park. We came across a small group of jeeps watching one of Banbai’s cubs sitting under the bamboo. As the light began to fade she got up and walked away through the bamboo, appearing in the meadow a couple of hundred metres away and stopping to drink at a small waterhole. Finally she lay down to rest and we drove quickly out of the park at dusk. |
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| 11 March (Holi) |
| AM. The morning began with a drive towards Jhujura area and Rajbhera looking for Boka and Jhujura’s family but saw nothing. We headed towards Hardia via the Mirchani area and came around a bend just as one of the two Mirchani males was walking down the road. We were in a dip placing him slightly above us so we had a great angle as he walked up to us and disappeared into the forest. We drove down the track for about 100m and spotted another tiger half hidden in a dip between the trees, some way from the road. Initially we thought that this was the second male, before realising that it couldn’t be as the second male then crossed the road in the footsteps (or pugmarks?) of the first. Turned out that that the hidden tiger was Bandar (aka B2). We watched him for a while and then he got up and began to walk. I guessed that he would follow the same path as the first two males and asked Sanju to drive to the same spot. One jeep followed, but the others stayed where they were in the general melee. Bandar walked straight towards us and crossed the road just where I had hoped. A quick check at Hardia to find that the elephants had also found a tiger near Sidh Baba, so we began to make our way there. On the way we passed Damna Culvert, where a large crowd of jeeps were waiting for Bandar. They left a large gap for him to cross the road, and we could hear the rustle of the bamboo as he came towards us. Bandar, however, hadn’t read the script and chose to cross the road behind the jeeps rather than through the gap, leading to much confusion among the would-be onlookers. Smiling at Bandar’s unpredictability, we went to the elephants near Sidh Baba and boarded the elephant straight away. Chorbera was on a hillside resting on a rock, and Jammu manoeuvred into position so that we could get some good shots. Afterwards we parked at the neck of the gorge closest so the shrine and had breakfast. After a while Chorbera decided to move and came across the hillside straight towards us, climbing down the rocks and crossing the road in front of us, before drinking at a stream. Finally she rested a while at the bottom of the slope on the far side of the stream, before climbing up the hillside towards her favourite caves. A great morning! |
| PM. Got covered in colour for Holi. Probably going to take a few days to get the colour off me; doubt it will ever come off the clothes. Had a walk in the grounds in the afternoon, as the park was closed for the celebrations. A quiet afternoon. |
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| 12 March |
| AM. Had a mid-distance view of one of the Mirchani males in the meadow where their mother used to leave them for the day when they were young cubs, sitting up at first and then lying down. The other male was there but didn’t come out. Generally was a bit of a scrum for not much of a view. Don’t know why people get so wound up under the circumstances; might as well just relax and watch the world go by. Left the area and went to Jhujura waterhole to have breakfast. The waterhole is already dry. Very early in the season for this to happen. |
| PM. Into Zone 2 this afternoon. The gate at Badrasilla was locked (again!) so we were forced to drive down to Gohni gate to enter. Visited the elephant camp and little Arawat (the 7 month old) was his usual mischievous self. We heard calls on one occasion, but no sightings. We saw two jackals on the way out of the park, and four king vultures feeding on the skeletal remains of a chital stag. |
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| 13 March |
| AM. Nothing at all this morning; very quiet. Heard a solitary call near Rajbhera dam while we had breakfast, but that was as close as we came. One couple saw Chorbera from elephant, but that was all. |
| PM. The afternoon started very quietly. We went from Chakradhara meadow to Jhujura waterhole and then to Rajbhera dam. Finally decided to go back to Sidh Baba to look for Chorbera, and found a small group of jeeps looking towards a small copse of trees set in the middle of the meadow near the river. We could see the tigress alternatively moving and resting between the trees, sometimes testing the air with a flehmen gesture (pulling the muzzle back from the teeth and sticking the tongue out to get the maximum scent onto the smell receptors) and spraying. She began to growl, maybe calling for her mate, and started to walk up the hillside. We caught an occasional glimpse through the trees as she climbed. We decided to head down the road and cut back to the other side of the hill to wait for her, but then had a tip that Bandar had been sighted on the main meadow. We hurried back to be confronted by a large crowd of jeeps at the road junction with Bandar about to cross the road from right to left. We pulled into a gap and saw him cross and head for the stream. From past behaviour we guessed what was going to happen next, and had the cameras ready as he jumped the stream; as a result caught him in midair. Very nice. The next stop was the fireline as he walked towards Sidh Baba, and he crossed near to the base of the wooded slope. He had obviously caught Chorbera’s scent and disappeared into the forest following her trail. We went back to the place where we had been waiting for Chorbera, and heard some alarm calls. No sign of the tiger by the time it became dark and we had to leave the park. |
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| 14 March |
| AM. The day started with a steady drive around the eastern boundary of the park, and didn’t see any tigers by the time we reached Hardia. (The registration point used to be in the middle of the park at Bhatan, and was referred to as “centrepoint”. The locals still refer to it as “centrepoint” even though it is no longer anywhere near the middle of the park). We pick up rumours of tigers in various places and also by elephant, and decide that the elephants are probably the best option. We drive out of Hardia and almost immediately we round the corner to cross Damna Culvert to find one of the Mirchani males walking in the middle of the road. The other is below the culvert drinking from the stream that flows across it. The two tigers walked away up the stream, stopping to drink, one on each side of the stream. After several minutes slaking their thirst they walked slowly up the wide bed of the stream and disappeared from view. Next stop was the elephants near Chorbera dam. The tigers were moving and we settled to wait, but soon Banraj appeared and we climbed aboard. We travelled some way into the forest, reaching an area where the forest floor was clear between the widely spaced trees, and found Chorbera sitting on a ledge in clear view and above eye level. We had a great opportunity for photographs before she started to move. We followed her as she walked slowly through the forest, spray marking and scat marking as she went. Then we saw a male tiger called Bhamera appear on the hillside nearby, and we tried to track him as he explored the forest. Couldn’t get close enough to photograph him, but good to see. Returned to the jeep after a long ride (probably 45 minutes) and decided to have breakfast and wait. If the male settled we wanted to have a second ride on the elephant. After a while the male decided to come to us and crossed the road in front of the jeeps that were queuing for the elephants. We were at the rear and couldn’t see him clearly, but we realised that he was now walking parallel to the road and we were the only jeep facing the right way. He angled towards the road again and the other jeeps stopped, while we went further down to the point where we expected him to cross. He angled straight towards us and we got some really good shots as he crossed the road right in front of us. He is a BIG tiger! |
| PM. Headed for Banbai and settled down to wait near the pipe culvert. It seemed a really long time before Bhamu whispered that he could see movement behind the trees, and we quietly released the handbrake and rolled down the slope before coming to rest on the culvert itself. Sure enough, a tiger appeared among the rocks and trees. We could only see part of the cat, so we weren’t sure whether this was Banbai herself or one of her cubs. A second tiger appeared, this one definitely a cub, and sat among the trees. After about 20 minutes the cub came down from the rocks and lay down in the open in front of us, though the view was somewhat obscured by long grasses. Soon the cub retreated and we decided to move on; too many vehicles and too much noise for the tigers to come out. We drove back towards the gate and took a last minute detour past Jumunia just to check. Some jeeps were waiting, but we decided to go further down the track and were rewarded with a langur alarm call. We figured that the monkey was on the nearby hill looking at a tiger some way off, and decided to head back to the gate as it was dusk. As we reached the turning to Judwahni waterhole we saw three jeeps parked abreast in the road, watching a large male tiger walk down the road; we had found Bhamera again. We followed him down the road and he occasionally looked back at us as he went. On one occasion he turned full circle and showed us his teeth before continuing on his way. He had obviously been in a waterhole as his flanks were covered in muddy water. Finally a jeep got too close and he left the road. All the other jeeps departed, but we went down the final path leading to the waterhole and waited for a few minutes in the gathering dusk. We were rewarded by Bhamera emerging from the forest. After a pause to check us over, he continued down the path towards us and passed very close to the jeep. Magnificent. A little late out of the park, but worth it. |
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| 15 March |
| AM. This morning we were scheduled to go to the fort. As we reached the meadow, we found Chakradhara lying in the grass on the left hand side of the road junction. Good to see, but not good for pictures. After a few minutes the elephants arrived and she got up and walked away up the hillside. It turned out that we were the only ones to see a tiger that morning. It was a very cloudy day, so it was cooler up on the fort. While this was good for us the vultures were later in starting out and fewer. Now that the leaf cover has changed we were able to pinpoint the location of the statue of the reclining Vishnu from the Maharaja’s seat on the north side of the fort hill. |
| PM. We went to see the statue of the reclining Vishnu, both to see the statue and to look for Chakradhara and her cubs. We heard some alarm calls from langur and jungle fowl but could see nothing. Back at the main meadow we had a good sighting of a serpent eagle on an open tree. Now that the undergrowth has been burned away it is a good hunting ground for them. The bad news is that the removal of cover from this side of the meadow has affected the hunting patterns of Chakradhara. We drove towards Rajbehra dam, and came across Jhujura female resting in a cave, some way up the face of a cliff. A good view with binoculars, but not for photographs. After a while she came down and walked away, but did not cross the road as there were too many jeeps. We out stayed the other jeeps, but she still did not come out, although we did hear some sambar alarm calls. |
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| 16 March |
| AM. Drove around D route and all was very quiet. No pugmarks or alarm calls until we were near Damna culvert on our way to Hardia. We heard a couple of sambar alarm calls, so we registered completion of our route and returned to Damna. The alarm calls continued apace, and soon we saw one of the Mirchani males appear out of the forest. For a moment he stood in a patch of sunlight and looked about before going down to the stream to drink. Barely visible through the trees, he drank for a long time before lying down in the sun to sleep. We were one of only two jeeps there to start with and I’m sure that both males (we couldn’t see the second but were reasonably sure that he was there) would have worked their way up the riverbed. Unfortunately the number of jeeps and the noise increased too much and this hope became a lost cause, so we decided to move elsewhere. Driving past Bathan we decided to check out Sera meadow and followed the track to the barrier that now forms the boundary between Zones 1 & 2. Digpal Singh was there and told us that one of Sukhipattya’s females was somewhere in the grass. We could hear alarm calls on the hillside opposite the meadow, and we figured that this must be her cubs hidden somewhere nearby. On the other side of the barrier were several jeeps, and hoped that she wouldn’t cross back from the meadow over there because of the noise. We settled down quietly to wait and had breakfast. Part way through we heard a soft call from the other jeep “tiger!” and sure enough we could see the long grass moving as she came towards us. The top of the cat gradually became visible as she came towards us, but instead of veering away she came right up to the side of the jeep. Got some good pictures as she emerged from the grass. She then crossed right in front of us and headed up the slope towards where the alarm calls were, spray marking as she went. We waited a while to see if she would bring the cubs back down to one of the waterholes in the meadow, but no joy. We drove back towards the gate, past the place where we had seen Jhujura the previous night. I caught a glimpse of a stripy stomach and four legs walking through the bamboo and the shout of “tiger, tiger!” almost gave Jai, who was driving, a heart attack. We drove a little way down the track, and saw one of the Jhujura cubs sitting under the bamboo. The tiger was obviously hot and we spent a few minutes looking at each other before we had to leave the park. |
| PM. A quiet drive in Zone 2, back at Sera meadow where we had seen the tigress in the morning, but on the opposite side of the barrier. The highlight of the afternoon was a serpent eagle on the ground at the smallest waterhole in the meadow being buzzed by two red wattled lapwings. |
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| 17 March |
| AM. Another quiet morning; pugmarks all over, but no sign of the tigers. The highlight was a jungle cat on the boundary of Chakradhara meadow. One of the jeeps had a 5 second glimpse of one of the Mirchani males, but that was all. PS. Heard that Bhitri had killed a large sambar stag at her new home in Panna. No sign of the resident male there. Not sure if they have taken a tigress from Kanha yet. |
| PM. Heard on the grapevine that Chorbera and Bhamera were seen near Khitkiya, so we headed in that direction. An elephant was on the hillside looking for Chorbera and we stayed near the marshy area near the park boundary, thinking that the male was in there. The afternoon wore on and the shadows lengthened, some chital near a waterhole giving the occasional alarm call. The elephant came down from the hillside and started to look for the male, but the elephant had difficulty getting around owing to the marshy ground and he couldn’t find the tiger. We decided to leave and headed for the gate…… only to find that the tiger came out five minutes later. Aargh! |
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| 18 March |
| AM. The consensus is that Bandar is headed for Chakradhara meadow, so we angle to get allocated to B route for our morning drive. We drive slowly down the Charanganga gorge, and as we emerge at Sidh Baba we find that Bhamera has just crossed the road. We see him walk away and sniff at a tree, before walking along the bottom of the hillside on the opposite bank of the stream and then climbing up the hill. We drive along our route, passing through Banbai and Rampur, before returning to see if the elephants have found anything. Bhamera has now recrossed the road and is toward Judwahni waterhole resting on the bed of a dry nala. We wait for a while and then hear that the tiger has started to move, so we quickly board Banraj and head off in pursuit. We catch up as he is walking along the top of the bank of the nala, just in time to see him rear up and “hug” a tree, rubbing for scent. He seems particularly interested in this behaviour at the moment as he is trying to establish a territory. He stops in the shade on a raised bank between two dry streams and gives us some classic poses before lying down to sleep. A magnificent animal, just coming into his prime. We later find out that Bandar is in Goradamon, so that may be our destination in the afternoon. |
| PM. Missed the afternoon drive to sort out some things with our hotel in Delhi. As expected Bandar came out of Goradamon and gave all of the clients a grandstand view as he passed very close to the jeeps. |
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| 19 March |
| AM. Went along B route this morning, climbing over the hills. Very scenic, but we always seemed to just miss everything. First the Mirchani males crossed at Damna while we were registering at Hardia; then Chorbera moved away just as we arrived at the site of the elephant show. Very dusty this morning. Some thunder at lunchtime and then clear. |
| PM. Spent the afternoon preparing to depart on our evening train back to Delhi. |
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