For a nature enthusiast, jungle lover and photographer there can be seldom anything more exiting that spotting a tiger in the wild. Bitten by the same bug, both me and Projjal decided to visit the lesser known tiger reserve in Maharashtra – Tadoba Andhari on one of the weekends.
It is at a distance of approximately 500 kms from Raipur and we began our journey at 4 am in the morning from Raipur. We reached Nagpur by 8:30 am and proceeded to Tadoba accompanied by other colleagues and friends congregated from other parts of the country. Though unknown to each other there was an instant bonhomie due to similar passion for photography and wildlife conservation.
The most important highlight of the trip was the fact that for the first time we were not going to stay at a resort or hotel with all the luxury and facilities but in a village known as moharli to know, feel and understand the hardships local villagers are facing to earn their living and to have a feel of the jungle by being in the most natural surroundings. The accommodation was arranged by one of our group members. It was also done as an initiative to provide the local people an avenue to earn their living by providing stay facilities to tourists who are non-fussy about the luxuries of a resort.
It is ironic that tiger being national animal and existence of places in India where it is worshipped as a deity , it is still on the brink of extinction. The official figure indicates there are 1706 tigers left in India and the authenticity of this number can be challenged easily.
In 2008, there were more than 40 Project Tiger Tiger Reserves of India covering an area over 37,761 km². Project Tiger helped to increase the population of these tigers from 1,200 in the 1970s to 3,500 in 1990s. However, a 2008 census held by Government of India revealed that the tiger population had dropped to 1,411. Since then the government has pledged US$153 million to further fund the project, set-up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers, and fund the relocation of up to 200,000 villagers to minimize human-tiger interaction ( Source -Wikipedia )
The nation's current tiger population is 1,706, compared to 1,411 in 2006. The new count is based on photographic and other evidence. For the first time, the population survey includes tigers found in remote mangrove forests on the border between India and Bangladesh.
Coming back to my travelogue, once we reached Tadoba at 1 Pm in the afternoon, we decided to have quick lunch and leave for the afternoon safari immediately. We were the first jeep to reach the gate and before entering we made sure that our prime objective was not only to see the elusive Tiger but also to enjoy the flora and other animal species.
However lady luck being on our side, within 10 minutes of entering the forest we saw a tiger cub frolicking in water body.
We could not believe our luck that the sighting would be so quick. It was still to sink in and before it could, our guide pointed out towards bushes and we saw another huge male tiger sitting in water hole at a distance.
We started clicking away to glory thinking that since the tiger is sitting in water on a hot day, it might not move out from there for some time. And how our assumptions were so wrong for this particular trip!!I will let the pictures talking now as I cannot describe in words what I witnessed that day.
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We were owe struck however decided to move further after clicking him away to glory. It was a delight for all the photographers in the group.
When we moved, we came to know that there are 4 tiger cubs being seen in one of the areas of the jungle. We headed towards that direction thinking if we are able to see them, it would be 6 tigers in a day and there can’t be any day better than that. I think we were destined to see them this time .They were four lovely cubs posing in front of every jeep for getting their photograph clicked. We managed to get some excellent shots of the cubs.
Moving away from tigers, it would be really unfair not to mention other animal and birds we clicked during this trip. We got a chance to see a monitor lizard atop a tree in a camouflage. It was a rare sight. We also got some pics of Indian parakeet, deer, lap wings and India langoor.
Moving away from tigers, it would be really unfair not to mention other animal and birds we clicked during this trip. We got a chance to see a monitor lizard atop a tree in a camouflage. It was a rare sight. We also got some pics of Indian parakeet, deer, lap wings and India langoor.
After seeing so much in first safari itself, our expectations were high for the next day. And as they say the tiger is elusive, we were not able to see any one of them in the next two safaris.
But we were back with a bang from this trip with greater intention to work for tiger and forest conservation.
In words of Richard Eliot and Edward O Wilson:
“Forest is as an indispensable part of our resources—one which is easily destroyed but difficult to replace; one which confers great benefits while it endures, but whose disappearance is accompanied by a train of evil consequences not readily foreseen and positively irreparable.”
“Now when you cut a forest, an ancient forest in particular, you are not just removing a lot of big trees and a few birds fluttering around in the canopy. You are drastically imperiling a vast array of species within a few square miles of you. The number of these species may go to tens of thousands. ... Many of them are still unknown to science, and science has not yet discovered the key role undoubtedly played in the maintenance of that ecosystem, as in the case of fungi, microorganisms, and many of the insects.”
Tushita
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