Every trip to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) has been an exhilarating experience for me. I always have trouble sleeping the night before the trip. I have been there innumerable number of times, but this happens to me every time! Wilderness always beckons! I still can't establish what disturbs my sleep. It could be the rustic nature of the tiger reserve, or the fact that nothing goes as planned when you go into the wild. I don't deny it, it could also be because I am a huge wildlife lover and so when it comes to a trip to the wild, I am always excited!
In the wild, opportunities present themselves when you least expect it! Sometimes I have come back home disheartened without spotting a tiger. Other times I have come home talking about how we spotted the animal, what it was doing when we spotted it, and other details. My wife always smiles knowingly, patiently waits till I finish and then asks me what I want to have for lunch. She knows the animal she married would surely be hungry after a long trip!
My perspective is different now, I am at peace even on a bad day. Patience has definitely taken precedence! With all the efforts you put in, all the calculations you make, at times you fail to spot the animal you want to. The animal seems to be one step ahead of you somehow. Reminds me of what my guide told me once. "Sir don't think you missed the animal. The animal always spots you much before you can spot it. The forest is its home, and so it would have seen you already and disappeared into the bush!" So true! It really makes you feel how small you are after all, you have no importance in the jungle. You are a disturbance to the ecosystem. That's the reason why you have to be very careful when in the jungle. Whisper as much as you can, refrain from talking loudly and importantly remember that animals always have the right of the way!
So how do you stay positive? The answer is, have no expectations. Focus on every small creature you can spot and keep yourself busy. My way of doing it is by trying to spot as many birds as I can. Recently I have started to photograph birds. Birds are plentiful in all ecosystems and photographing birds keeps your mind busy. Bird photography is not easy, it needs a lot of concentration, skill and patience. That's my key to staying happy when I go into the wild!
In the picture below you see a Lesser Adjutant Stork. Never seen this bird in the wild. This was the first time for me. Its important to note their conservation status. They are threatened like thousands of other species.
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Birds make good subjects, you can take a lot of pictures when they are perched, but knowing their behavior, you know they will fly and you can take a picture of their flight if you are patient. Below are pictures of the Siberian Stonechat. They are a part of the fly catchers family of birds.
A green bee-eater perched comfortably in the afternoon sun, hoping for some bees to fly past! These are really beautiful to watch, their green color stands out in the summer as the grass is mostly brown.
While you travel deeper into the forest, you see meadows and in the meadows you normally find spotted deer and Sambar. Below is a spotter deer on high alert, ready to leap away from our presence. Reminds me of the dialogue in Walt Disney's movie "Bambi" - "Man is in the forest".
There is one animal the tiger also fears, the great Indian gaur. A huge creature, can overturn a jeep with one head butt. This specimen below is only a sub adult, but pretty impressive already!
Its wonderful to see a young fawn frolicking about. They don't go too far, the mother is always about for protection. Their strength comes from numbers but the young are easier to catch during a chase. That's how life is in the wild, ' survival of the fittest '
While you wait by a water body to sight some animal that might come to have a drink, you cannot help but notice bird activity all around. Birds of all sizes come by to have a drink, these scaly breasted munias were in a group having a drink. One of them suddenly decided to take off for some reason.
I always wanted to take a picture of an owl. I have been to habitats where Owls live but I always failed to spot one. Maybe I chose the wrong time in the day or I was in the wrong place. I was discussing this with friends who had come with me. I got some good tips. I this case this brown fish owl was perched beautifully for us to take a picture. He was half awake, and I got some shots of him closing his eyes too. Maybe it was a very drowsy morning for him.
I think the crested serpent eagle is an amazing bird. This specimen was very handsome I thought. He had beautiful eyes and impressive talons. If you notice, he has his kill in his right leg. He then started to eat his kill, might have been a water snake from the nearby rivulet.
Talking of the apex predator, you always want to spot the tiger in the middle of the road, so you get a good shot, or maybe very close to where you are but its never easy. You might find the animal sleeping amidst some ragged rocks like in the picture below. Maybe in the shade of a tree on a hot afternoon, or near a stream just after the animal finishes a meal. In this case, we waited for a good two hours, it was soon time for us to leave but the tiger was still snoozing among the rocks. We couldn't wait longer and the animal didn't seem to have any plans of waking up or getting out of its comfort zone.
The next day morning safari turned out to be lucky for us. We spotted a male tiger near a water body called Pander Pauni. He was on the move, maybe wanting to explore his territory. The below picture is when he got up to explore the area around him. He then moved into the bush and for sometime we lost him. When this happens, all the jeeps with their guides and drivers get into a tizzy, trying to get into the most advantageous position to spot the tiger at close quarters. Some experienced guides also tend to predict where the animal might go next, but finally the animal decides!
We took a different route expecting the tiger to emerge from the fire line directly walking towards us but in fact he walked back and did quite the opposite. We got the news and went there just in time to see him smelling and scent marking his territory. Tigers are known to scent mark their territories. They are very territorial and sometimes even end up killing a rival who is up for the challenge. A territory around a water body obviously means good grass cover due to the water supply, which will eventually attract deer,so food is served! Deer also attract tigresses who are expert hunters and so a mate too if he is lucky! Sometimes tigers have more than one mate in their territories. They are also known to walk about 45-50 Kms a day looking for food or generally guarding their territories.
This young male is called Matkasur for some strange reason. I am sure the forest department has some alpha numeric numbers given to an animal just to keep track, but the locals always come up with some very unique names. Some names that I remember are - Wagdoh, Telia female, Maya, Choti Tara, Shivaji, Tara. There was one called Namdev, this tiger is known to have mowed down a man named Namdev and so he was called by that name. Namdev had moved into the buffer area of the forest and that was the last I heard of him. All these tigers are followed and their whereabouts carefully tracked by the forest department. They have a responsibility and they are questioned if the count reduces. In fact the department is under huge pressure now a days.
This picture (Below) of Matkasur is my favorite. All of us got these pictures as we were positioned just ahead of the tiger.
The below shot was the last shot I got of his. He later disappeared into the bush, didn't see him again that afternoon though we hoped to spot him again!
Hope to catch more of wildlife on my next trip! Till then keep reading and I will keep blogging!
Sometimes an early morning trip to a nearby wilderness spot can give you very good pictures. In this case it was Ameenpur Lake. This was a early day for me, woke up at about 5 and got to the spot at about 6 AM. While I waited by the lake to get some good bird shots, I noticed some spot billed ducks wading through the water, got some great silhouettes of the birds.
As the sun rose and threw light on all the subjects, some of them started to reveal themselves. This purple heron decided to fly close to where I was and was landing, I got some good shots of the bird in flight. Thank God I had the right shutter and aperture settings.
The picture below was taken just before it perched on a rock close by.
This common hawk cuckoo was a good spot. It had just perched on the stone when I noticed him and approached him to take a good picture.
Green bee-eaters are nice to photograph. They are always actively catching their prey and eating continuously.
Below, a grey heron was preening when I caught him. I came very close to him but soon saw him fly to a different spot. I was lucky to get him when he was in flight. Its always a good idea to get out early in the day with your camera and go close to a water body in the city. You will find a lot of opportunities to photograph wild life!
