| 6 April |
| PM. Drove slowly up to the Banbai area (via Goradamon looking for Bandar) and found our customary position on the slope above the culvert. A lot of jeeps around. Heard a chital alarm call away near Goradamon and some jeeps left to investigate. Gradually they all came back. We spotted a tiger in the grass and rocks on the right hand side of the culvert, only just being able to see the movement. Work our way across to the other side of the culvert and find a place to wait away from the general melee - no way the tigers will come out where we were because of the noise and the number of jeeps. We wait for a while and a frenzy starts as the assembled jeeps see the tigers start to move. We find that we have picked the right spot! Banbai and all 3 cubs emerge out of the grass and sit down on the rocky floor. We are one of only 2 jeeps in the right position to see this. Superb! Banbai sits slightly in front with all three cubs together a little way behind, all in a row. Finally mother moves and heads towards us at a jog, coming on the road and disappearing at pace. The cubs follow her, but behind the trees parallel to the road. (It turned out that one cub stayed back; one of our jeeps had a solo view later). We try to follow down the road, but they have disappeared. Take A route around the edge of the park and get a bonus of Chorbera lying down 50m from the road, half hidden behind shrubs. Very dusty on the way out. Get sudden storm after we had all gone to bed, started at about 10pm, soon fell asleep. |
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| 7 April |
| AM. Last night’s storm had caused a fire to start (lightning strike) on the hill near Bhadaini. We could see the glow in the night sky as we headed for the gate. Several vehicles full of forest department staff arrive and hurry in to join the fire fighting. Went into the park and headed for Rajbehra, arriving first at Climber point and then heading for Rajbehra dam as Bhamu had heard an alarm call. Arrived on the road at the back of the dam just as the chital were going crazy on the hillside; figured that a tiger was on the hill but not ready to move in the immediate future. Went around the corner to find Jhurjura and 1 cub feeding on a chital stag on the far side of the lake. We were only the third jeep there so got a good spot. A second cub then arrived to join the other two tigers. Had a superb display of them eating, interacting, drinking and bathing. Mum even tried stalking some deer that had come down to the spring to drink. Finally all three moved to the rocks near the dam and had a drink and another dip. Then the tigers went on the dam itself. One went halfway across and then turned back. A second tiger came down and we had views of them both together, and then they went across the dam in order, one, two, three. We drove around the corner to where the tigers were coming down the hillside to cross the road, but being at the back of the crowd of jeeps we saw them only after they had crossed and were heading down the leaf covered slope to the stream. |
| PM. Head back to the same area to see if the morning tigers would return. An elephant with a photographer is patrolling, but no success. Thought that the tiger had probably climbed up the slope to some caves; too steep for the elephant to follow. The elephant and some jeeps left; then we hear alarm calls from up the slope and one of the cubs comes down. Can’t persuade the jeeps to leave a big enough gap so he stops at the stream down the slope from us. He drinks and then settles down, and as the dusk gathers he gets up and moves back up the slope to where we think his siblings are. |
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| 8 April |
| AM. Take a general drive around Rajbehra and Jhurjura before heading back towards Siddh Baba. Bhamera is lying on the bottom of the hillside across the stream halfway between the shrine and the first fire break. The elephants are working but he is not in a good position for photography, so we wait for a turn. The big male moves to a better spot and so hop on to Banraj and head off to see the tiger; get some basic portraits of the cat on the forest floor, and just before we leave he rolls onto his back and poses just like a domestic cat, paws in the air. We head back to the jeep and disembark; just as the elephant is about to go the tiger gets up and starts to walk. We hop back onto the elephant and return. We catch up while he is still on the forest floor, and see him alternatively sitting and walking. He emerges onto the edge of the grassland and marks his territory by rubbing low branches, scrape marking and scat marking. He goes to the edge of a clearing and settles down to look at a group of sambar. They finally realise he’s there and take flight, hurrying away from the area, together with some wild boar and chital. We return very happy! |
| PM. Very quiet afternoon. Lunchtime rain, no sightings. |
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| 9 April |
| AM. Head away down through Jhurjura and eventually end up at the end of Rajbehra meadow, at the road junction leading to Climber point. Just as we arrive, Boka emerges from the forest and walks into the long grass. We wait expectantly for him to emerge but he frustrates us all and settles down. After an hour we decide to drive a short way towards Zone 2, but still with a vantage point over his resting spot, and have breakfast. Just as we finish we realise that he is moving and hurry back. He is just about to cross to Climber point, but there are many jeeps already there, so we take the road to Rajbehra dam and stop in sight of his crossing point. We see him cross the road and then he angles up towards us and crosses a few metres away. Front row, and the usual flash of teeth as he passes. He continues toward Rajbehra dam, walking parallel to the road about 100m away from us. We follow him to the back of the dam, the alarm calls announcing his progress before he walks away up the hill towards Sera which is on the other side. We drive around to the other side of the hill and wait a while, but no joy. No elephant rides today; they left through the gates before we went into the park and headed for Bhamera dam. A women collecting Mowa berries inside the park was killed by tiger (a mother with cubs) and the elephants have gone to patrol the area. |
| PM. Nothing until right at the end of the drive, when we hurried down D route passing many jeeps to get a glimpse of a tiger’s backside in the distance. Probably Bhamera but don’t know for sure. |
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| 10 April |
| AM. Went on our “usual” round through Jhurjura, Rajbehra dam and Bathan, finally finishing up in Mirchani. Got sight of one of the tigers hidden in the trees on the far side of the grass meadow. Could see part of the body and head, but too many jeeps and too much noise. Left to go to Chorbera; could see where the tiger was as it had two elephants watching it, but not the cat itself. |
| PM. Back to Chorbera ; could see her sitting at the end of the path that leads from Chorbera dam. Rather than fight our way through the traffic we drove the long way round to Mirchani. Very hot, very quiet. Had coffee and then continued round the eastern perimeter. Saw two huge forest fires high on the hill. Think they had been set deliberately, by disgruntled villagers. Quite worrying! Finally heard a barking deer going crazy in the bamboo, and some wild boar also getting restless. Waited for 20-25 minutes. The atmosphere in the dusk was electric, but no tiger appeared, and we had to leave to get out of the park before it closed. |
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| 11 April |
| AM. Decided to concentrate on B2,Chakradhara and her cubs. We decided to check the fort road while the jeep in front went straight on. They found B2 on the road; when we arrived he was almost hidden in the grass and scrub several hundred metres away. Continued to Banbai and found a tiger half hidden in the grass near the culvert. Probably the mother, but not sure. We waited as long as possible but it didn’t come out, or move at all! |
| PM. Spent some time around the main meadow waiting for mother and cubs to come out. No joy, but heard that Chorbera had been seen. We hurried round just in time to catch a brief glimpse of her crossing a stream before she disappeared into the forest. Returned to the meadow to find B2 coming towards Gupalpur parallel to the road. Many jeeps, lots of dust and us heading in the wrong direction. |
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| 12 April |
| AM. Most of the group headed up to the fort. Some of the clients had seen the fort on a previous visit, so we stayed off the hill and looked for tigers. Went on the elephants and had a nice view of Chorbera resting near the stream around Siddh Baba. Caught a view of B2’s backside in the forest. Visited Gupalpur waterhole; this waterhole has the advantage of being fed by a pipe from Sheshaiyya, so even though it is extremely hot and dry, this water source shouldn’t dry out. |
| PM. Began the afternoon at Sheshaiyya, taking in the statue of the reclining Vishnu. Afterwards we drove around to Jhurjura. Jhurjura waterhole had been deepened by hand to reach the low water table, so a small pool now filled the bottom. No activity there, so we drove on to check out the tigers’ favourite caves to see if they were resting out of the heat of the day. Found the cave occupied, but by a sloth bear; huge male!! The tigress was around, but the bear had squatter’s rights and she wasn’t going to risk injury to claim back her spot. Bears make a formidable opponent, and if she gets injured she can’t hunt or protect her cubs. Jhurjura walked away over the ridge above the caves; the bear left in his own good time later on. We drove out of the park, thinking what a great afternoon it had been, and were driving towards the watchtower on Chakradhara meadow when our guide suddenly yelled “Tiger!!”. Barely visible at the base of the hill, B2 was walking towards the meadow, angling towards the road. We has great sighting for over 5 minutes as he slowly came towards us, finally stepping onto the road right next to our jeep. Left the park very happy! |
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| 13 April |
| AM. Had a nice long sighting of a very relaxed Chorbera from elephant. Nice angle on the hillside in good light; made for some classic portraits. Afterwards, drove around towards Banbai. On the way saw a magnificently camouflaged crested hawk eagle sitting atop a tree stump. Could only see it when it moved its head. Visited the resident brown fish owl’s nest, and had a good view of a half grown chick in the nest. Parked at Banbai for a while, watching the lizards run around in the leaves as the day grew ever hotter. Saw a glimpse of one of Banbai’s family through the vegetation. |
| PM. In the afternoon we went into Zone 2 for a change of scenery. Waited at Sehra meadow; very peaceful with a great view of the fort hill, but no tigers. On the way from the park gate to the road we had a view of a chinkara in the headlights. |
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| 14 April |
| AM. The focus of the morning was to look for B2. We drove towards Goradamon, and were confronted with the big male coming round a bend towards us followed by one of the other jeeps from our group. We stopped in the road, and he stepped off and descended down into the gorge. We had some great views of him walking along the floor as he moved away from us, before turning around and coming back. Finally he disappeared under the overhang that we had parked on, heading for one of his favourite caves. |
| PM. In the afternoon we headed back to Goradamon, expecting B2 to have stayed there during the heat of the day, and settled down to wait. After a wait of a couple of hours, he stirred and walked around the floor of the gorge, before climbing up the slope and exiting through the crowd of jeeps. |
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| 15 April |
| AM. By the following morning, B2 had moved all the way down to Chakradhara meadow, and we caught sight of him walking near to the “Y” junction near the watchtower. He walked towards the stream, and we readied ourselves to see him jump the stream. He had other ideas, and decided a quick dip was in order, and walked into the water and settled down for a minute before continuing on his way. We quickly moved the jeep around the corner to the end of the path that we expected him to take, and were rewarded by him walking straight towards us and passing a few feet off the front of the jeep. He crossed the road, and made his way across the meadow before disappearing from view. Next up were the elephants, and we made our way to where Bhamera was resting in the open grass. After a short while he began to move and walked along the boundary between the meadow and hillside marking his territory by scratching, spraying and scat marking. In all we spent over 10 minutes on the elephants following him. |
| PM. Spent the afternoon getting ready for departure tomorrow. |
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| 16 April |
| AM. First stop this morning was the “T” junction on the eastern side of the park where the Mirchani brothers are often found. We spotted one of them walking across the meadow, before settling down on the forest floor fairly close to the line of waiting jeeps. For half an hour we watched as he rested, occasionally sitting up to get a better view of us, before rising and walking along the forest floor. He turned around and slowly came towards us, before reversing his original direction and walking back down the line of jeeps, now only a few metres away. His attitude and confidence shouted out “look at me!” The ultimate catwalk model. We had a message that Bhamera had been found by the elephants, and drove back towards Siddh Baba. We arrived at the shrine to find the big male sitting in the stream at the head of the gorge a few metres down the road, with Kutapan the head mahout in attendance on Banraj. We quickly climbed aboard and went into the stream, getting some great pictures on the cat chilling in the water. After a few minutes he left the stream and headed up the hillside out of view. A great way to finish the trip. |
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