India Tiger Photo Safaris
2012
Trip Report, Trip Two

For even more information,
read our Complete Trip Journal,
the day-to-day account of our
Trip One 2012 Photo Tour

Read our Brochure for 2013

Check out our Tiger 2011 book on Blurb

Want even more information?
For more images and to have an even greater idea about these wonderful photo tours,
see our trip reports for 2011 as well, either Trip One or Trip Two.

Trip Report

Travel Day for the Group , Park One.

Our second group arrives this evening, as I’m writing this in the afternoon while the group travels from the airport to the park, a six hour or so drive.  We arrived in the park three days ago, traveling from Park Four, the extension portion of the first photo tour, and arriving too late in the day for an afternoon game drive. Travel on that day took us about 8 hours or so of driving time, but I do believe it beat the train that we were originally scheduled to have taken.
Yesterday Mary and I shared a vehicle for the morning game drive, which was rather uneventful except for a great series of shots of a Crested Serpent Eagle, perched above the track and eating a snake. The eagle had already removed the snake’s head, but the nervous system was still active and the snake writhed about, pulling up its body into a half loop and relaxing. Another vehicle pulled up behind us and we were forced to move, which gave us another viewpoint but also resulted in the bird flying off. This second vehicle’s driver bullied our driver into moving, saying that they wanted to move on, but instead they simply pulled up close, too close for the bird’s comfort, and it flew off.
Today, on the AM game drive I was alone, as Mary wished to catch up on tons of office work, which she accomplished with pre-trip and post-trip memos for our various 2011 and 2012 excursions. Neither of us felt badly about her missing a game drive since we’d be in the same vehicle and shooting the same material.
My morning was rather slow, although I had a pair of Indian Gray Hornbills that were extremely cooperative, flying about and perching in the open on a dead tree. At one point I knew one of the birds was about to fly or hop to another branch, but stupidly I kept the bird centered, rather than giving it some room, and I cut off the top of its bill! Nonetheless, even a blind hog finds acorns and I did manage some nice shots, including one sequence where one of the birds hopped on to a branch that promptly broke beneath it, pitching the bird forward until it caught its wings. That evoked a chuckle from all of us in the vehicle.

A Crested Serpent Eagle perched just above the track leading to the breakfast point and I had to have our driver back up for me to fit it within the frame. Against a bright sky there was some clipping, but it still resulted in a nice shot. Later another eagle flew across the road where it was quickly joined by another, and they noisily mated on a limb. We were too late in getting into position – they were not – and I missed the shot.
As we did our route we encountered the mahouts and their elephants, searching for the Tigress and her three cubs. We waited, and soon we heard the trumpet of an elephant – an alarm or surprise call – and we knew they’d found one. Soon a column of vehicles arrived, all filled with Indian VIPs who would mount the elephants for their own personal tiger show. We moved on, knowing that it would be hours before we had an opportunity, if ever.
At the breakfast spot I learned that the Indian VIPs are not, necessarily, government officials or important people. They simply may be folks or family of people that have given a park official or someone of influence some gift, like a DVD player, or that is their mechanic. It is unfortunate, and I saw this last year as well, that when it comes to tigers tourists are placed at the bottom of the stack, and if there is anyone of influence they always get first dibs. Last year, I had my expensive elephant rental commandeered by a park official when I found the tigress eating the other tiger, and another personal experience when the ‘important’ people had a great view of one tiger while us plebs had a second tiger in thick cover and poor light.
After breakfast, however, we headed to the site as we were told that indeed a ‘Tiger Show’ was happening. In these shows, tourists are loaded onto elephants and transported into the forest to see the tiger. After a few minutes viewing, they are returned to their vehicles. Here in this park there are no provisions for a safe or comfortable elephant mounting, and tourists are required to climb atop their jeeps, straddle the roll bars, and hitch and pull themselves up into the mahout’s saddle. In other parks this is accomplished with a ladder, and is much easier and safer to do.
We arrived while the shows were still going on and after nearly an hour’s wait we finally had our chance. Luckily I had the elephant to myself and my naturalist guide from our lodge. I gave him a quick lesson on using the AF button and selecting AF points, put the camera on Av mode, raised the ISO to 2000, and let him play. He used my wonderful 70-300mm lens, and I went for speed with a 70-200 2.8, although I sacrificed some speed by keeping my ISO at 800.
We met the three Tiger cubs, about 16 months old and although they were big they still had the appearance of being cubs. Two were sprawled under some trees and bamboo in deep shade, and we passed on them to find another cub  just as it came to a stream to drink. Unfortunately it was behind bushes and our only shots initially occurred when the cat crossed the stream. We did manage shots afterwards, although giving a camera to the guide was probably a mistake for in his enthusiasm he was directing the mahout so he could shoot, and in doing so the elephant moved from the clear window I had.
Shooting in the thick cover and under the time frame of the Tiger Show is stressful and chaotic. We lumbered through thick vegetation, at one point dislodging a Red Tent Ant nest, whereupon I had a couple of score of big red ants scurrying over me, and biting. Later I learned that others from our lodge that preceded me were bitten up by other red ants, so I felt I got off easy with only a few bites, although I did a lot of flicking and scraping, getting ants off my face, hat, and clothes.
We didn’t exit our elephant until 11:30, easily 1.5 hours or more from when we arrived, and we reached the park gate around 12:10. Oddly, it isn’t that hot today, as the distant mountains are partially obscured by a haze of dust, pollution, or moisture (least likely), nullifying the intensity of the sun in this cloudless sky.
PM. We drew a good route, for a change, with tigers potentially on both sections of our drive. A tigress had been reported rather close to the entrance and we spent nearly 45 minutes waiting, and hoping, that the tigress would rouse from her hidden slumber. She did not. We did, however, miss a good Sambar female with a great reflection, but not much further on I shot a small antlered buck Sambar feeding at the waterhole where, last trip, we had langur monkeys and spotted deer.
We continued on to the general area where the Tiger Show had occurred, and after stopping a few minutes to speak with one of our other guides, we rounded a hill with a bridge and small stream before us, and several vehicles stacked up and moving in our direction. That can only mean tiger! We sped forward, hoping to catch the tiger at the stream but it had already passed and was coming over a small rise, in good sunlight, directly at us. I barely had time to grab my 70-300 and pull it out of the bag, missing the best well lighted shot, and almost missing the cat because of bright yellow grasses confusing the AF. Luckily the cat remained in good light as it passed by us, and as we backed up frantically, the cat tried crossing the road. A vehicle in front stopped its progress and the tiger, New Male, snarled in annoyance. The tiger stepped back into the woods and moved up the road a bit, and now, with more respectful vehicles, the tiger crossed the road. I was aimed at the crossing and got an interesting shot as it entered the road, but its exit was completely obscured by a pall of dust and in that, the cat vanished into the forest.
We moved up the track hoping to see it again but only alarm calls of spotted deer marked its progress. We remained in the area, driving to various vantage points but without luck, but, at the end of the day, Langur Monkeys started giving alarm calls in the general direction where we expected the tigress, the mother of this morning’s cubs, had been. Unfortunately we had to leave to reach the gate in time, and barely made it.
For the last several days we’ve seen an Indian couple enter the park early, and we learned that they had booked a jeep for a full day in the park, at $600 a day. We’d seen them several times, but our guide informed me that the couple had booked 70 straight days, or $42,000 worth of jeep privileges! They’d been in the park in November, for 15 days, and had the tiger when her cubs were quite small, and had now returned. My guide said he wanted to be the best Indian wildlife photographer out there – whether the photographer’s words or the guide’s take on the situation. I mentioned this to our outfitter who felt that this was wasted money since a jeep is still restricted to the roads and waterholes, which might be visited by a tiger mid-day, would still be inaccessible to anything but elephants. Unfortunately elephants only ‘work’ for a 3 hour morning, so an elephant rental still won’t get those waterhole visits. At any rate, with 70 days of access, including getting into the park 15 minutes earlier, and leaving 15 minutes later than anyone else, he should still get some very worthwhile shots.

Day One, Park One

The first game drive for everyone, and with eight guys the vehicles are equipment heavy. Mary and I spent the pre-drive time at the gate prepping everyone, and urging everyone, that they practice grabbing their gear and placing it on the rails so that they can do this quickly if necessary. Last evening I lost critical seconds just grabbing my lens out of the dust bag, and I was ready! For anyone with a short lens tucked in a zippered bag lying on the floor there’d be no hope of catching a fleeting moment. Hopefully everyone did their practice!
Jim and I had B and D route, which yielded tigers yesterday and so we were hopeful.  Several vehicles, including our’s, had tiger tracks but the tracks led in the opposite direction from our route.  We didn’t shoot much to the breakfast breakpoint, passing on rather mundane spotted deer and very skittish langur monkeys.
After breakfast, without the pressure of finding a tiger we headed back and almost immediately met a very close Crested Serpent Eagle perched near the road. There was a large limb cutting into its breast from our view, but by backing up and then doing some real contortions we had a window which was free of obstructions. It was a bit humorous watching Jim take my position, almost climbing out of the vehicle to get a view.
One of our group opted for an elephant rental, hoping to encounter one of the tigresses and the three cubs each has. Unfortunately the elephants and jeeps could not locate the tiger and that leg of the rental was unsuccessful. I know how frustrating that is – last year most of our group did a rental and came up empty, as did I on my third elephant rental. Those disappointing experiences prejudice me into taking my chances with the jeeps, especially for the low angle of view, but a jeep would not have got me yesterday’s three cubs. Still, it is a huge cash risk.
We were about 25 minutes from the gate when I heard the alarm call of a spotted deer. I was the only one standing – my park guide was sitting and probably could not hear calls as easily, but then again, he should be the one standing! Monkeys started their zagged, coughing bark as well, but the nearest monkeys to us were busy feeding and didn’t appear concerned.
I could hear other monkeys in the distance and, since the time was running late, I suggested that we travel towards the gate, and these new alarm calls, thus accomplishing two objectives. After a few minutes hesitation the guide and driver agreed, and as we rounded a hilltop another vehicle 200 yards away beckoned us forward. They had a tiger.
We raced down, arriving just in time for me to get my lens up and for Jim to get a fleeting glimpse before the tiger disappeared into a ravine. The ravine has a waterhole and the tiger disappeared here, but from the stillness of the water we could see that she wasn’t soaking. We suspected she had simply laid down in some unseen ledge in the cool shade.  With time running out we decided to give ourselves a few minutes, and almost immediately the tigress reappeared, climbing out of the grotto and walking up the bank. Our guides were rather mixed up on the best location to be and we probably missed some shots, but finally got some shots after she disappeared in the bushes and then reappeared, climbing up the opposite hillside where, cresting it, she walked out of sight.
Both Jim and I got shots, and we were both very excited as this was, obviously, Jim’s first tiger and was a very good look, however brief.  Dee Ann also had one of the tiger cubs, after a rather exhausting 2 hr and 45 minute elephant ride where she traveled hills, mountains, and through forests. With just minutes left of the ride she finally had one of the tiger cubs, only about 10 minutes from the mahouts base.
Tiger Count: 2

PM. We drew the same routes as this morning but without the luck. We spent some time where we’d seen this morning’s tigress but she didn’t reappear to drink, and no one heard any alarm calls, indicating a moving tiger.
We did, however, visit a waterhole off of D that I’d never been to before, one with a wooden tower/observation area that, like the cement structure at another waterhole, can be rented. The waterhole looks extremely promising, similar to Baba Tinka at Part Two, with good afternoon light. Nothing was present, but I suspect when tigers are in this area it would be a good location.
Our park guide this evening was almost useless, sitting for the majority of the drive. I stood, behind him, and from my standing viewpoint I could see into the forest and into gullies and ravines quite impossible to see from a seated position. So, sitting guides are generally bums, and it is sad because this park, for the most part, has had good park guides. At the very end of the day he did somewhat redeem himself by spotting a Brown Fish Owl perched in a tree. All of us were looking for it and he found it, so he did have vision, just little enthusiasm. He received half the normal tip, in a moment of charity by me.
Mary had the same owl on a rock, and about twice the image size of my owl, and her opportunity had the bird facing her. Jim and I did extremely well with a Magpie Robin, perched cooperatively close to the road for nearly full-frame shots, and both Mary and I, at different locations, had good Rhesus Macaque Monkeys.

Day Two, Park One

Route C had an excellent sighting of the new male tiger, sitting next to the road and hunting a deer, chasing it for some distance but without success. Unfortunately, none of our participants were on that route! Fortunately one of the vehicles from our lodge was there, and they had a great view.
Our drives were relatively uneventful. Gary and I were on B and D, which had tigers yesterday but today were slow, with barely any tracks. We did some nice work with back-lighted Langur Monkeys, including two that played as if dancing. We suspect that there were two rival troops nearby, as the monkeys were excited and ran about, bouncing from tree to tree and running just past the road, as if defining a boundary. No fights developed, however.
As we neared the center point for breakfast we heard a Sambar Deer barking vigorously, which brought the monkeys over the wall that borders the park here, and the monkeys climbed sal trees to watch. They began to bark as well, and I had a nice opportunity to do some digital recordings, but eventually the sounds abated and, of course, no tigers appeared.

PM. We drew C and A route, a previously unproductive route except this morning when the male lay beside the road. Mary drew B and D, which I had this morning without luck. Everything changed.
At around 4PM Gary and I rounded a bend to find several vehicles piled up, and there, in the cleared area before a stand of masking bamboo, the male Tiger lay there peacefully. We were the second to last vehicle to arrive, and, we learned later, the tiger had been posing for 5 or 10 minutes. We’d stopped for incidentals – spotted deer and monkeys, but had we not stopped for shots, quite likely the tiger wouldn’t have been there, and the afternoon would have been wasted. You never know.
At any rate, our first shots were rather marginal, and we inched forward so that Gary had a clear view while I got low and shot in a gap between people in the closest jeep. Then the incredible happened: a couple from Australia actually drove out to give us a clear window! From that position we had some wonderful views as the tiger groomed and yawned repeatedly. Trying to return the favor I spent a few precious seconds trying to secure beanbags low so that the guy behind me had a good view. He didn’t seem to care, but it seemed like the right thing to do. I did miss some shots, but so what!
After yawning, the tiger got up and walked down the track, and now we were in a perfect position for shots if the male scent marked. It sniffed a tree and moved on, walking down the dirt track. Our vehicle was first in line to follow … but we couldn’t. The track was closed and we watched as the tiger walked about one hundred yards and laid down, in the sun, in the open. The vehicle with the Australians drove down, taking the risk, and their driver repeatedly waved to us, indicating it was great and that we should come. Our driver didn’t, for if he did and was caught he’d be banned from the park for at least a month. I understood and, as usual, followed our policy that we would never jeopardize someone’s livelihood for our selfish desires.
We drove on, hoping to encounter the tiger at the opposite end of the track, which intersected with A where we were going. The tiger apparently made it half way before meeting the tigress where, we assume, it remained. We know this because Indian VIPs, people with some connections, drove down the track and told us. One group of VIPs was the ranger, a guy, and two obvious civilian women. Another was a packed vehicle with teenagers and young adults.
It is amazing how, in India, tourists who support the parks get the second banana. We were told that a VIP may be someone who gives a guard or park official a DVD  player or fixes a car, not someone in government or conservation. Frustrating, but that is India.
One of our park guides told me a story about a news program where a poacher was interviewed. The reporter asked the man whether he felt sorry when he shot the tiger, when he looked into its eyes, innocent eyes, staring back at him. The poachers reply was poignant, and says everything about the situation here. He said, when I look behind me I see ten pairs of eyes, my family who is hungry. That is the situation here, and with tons of money coming into the parks little if any gets poured back into the communities. For example, Bandhavgarh gets about 70 vehicles a day coming into the park, with a per jeep fee of at least $100, so at the least there is $7,000 a day, for a tourist season that is packed from January to the beginning of April, 90 days or so, or $630,000, plus jeep rentals, tips for guides, etc.
TigerNation is a program that our outfitter, Amit, is a part of where tourists can help document the tigers, providing needed census information. I’ll say much more on this in a Tip of the Month, but we believe in this enough that we’ll be including a membership with our registrants for future trips.
We stayed at the exit road, where we hoped the tiger would appear, until close to closing time, and on the way out we heard a Barking Deer’s alarm calls. We waited, but nothing appeared, but when we reached the big meadows we spotted a Tiger in the distance, lying in the open beside the thick, shoulder-high grasses. The tiger got up and walked away while we watched, and Gary took a shot while I simply enjoyed the scene.
Meanwhile, Mary was at D where at the pond we call the Rice Paddy Pool she had the Tigress that’s the mother of the three cubs we saw two days ago. The tigress was lying on the bank of the pool, where she had probably soaked earlier. They watched her for about a half hour when, two minutes passed Mary’s predicted time, the tigress got up and walked along the bank of the pond, presenting wonderful reflections as she walked by. Four of our vehicles were on that route, so five groups had tigers this afternoon although one vehicle, on A to C, was on the right route at the wrong time and missed all of the tigers. Still, it was a great second day and the ice was broken.
Tiger Count: 5, for two days.

Day Three, Park One

Both Mary and I drew the same route, A and C, and although we heard alarm calls we didn’t see a tiger. After the breakfast stop, those on B and D, including Gary, Dave, Robert – finally getting his first tiger!, John, and Jim – who has now seen a good tiger every day!. The tiger crossed the road and then walked through a fairly open field, climbing into the rocks for more shots. Everyone was thrilled.
I had a chance to measure the distance from the point where our male tiger left us, walking down the closed road, to the spot where we waited. The distance was 1 mile almost exactly, although because we had to travel around the mountain to reach that spot we drove for at least twenty minutes. Mary learned, today, that this route is closed because two tiger cubs are in an enclosure there, being raised as a park ranger, speeding, had killed the mother tiger. Those involved tried to blame a tourist vehicle but eventually the truth came out.
Last year’s cubs that were nearly full-grown are now in the Bhopal Zoo. The young tigers killed a woman and from the story we heard did so while tourists were watching. I asked if the driver tried to break up the attack and the teller didn’t know, but a fence divides the buffer zone from the park and it is more than likely that no one could do anything but watch. Later, apparently, the villagers came out to retrieve the body or inspect the scene and one guy wandered off, and he too was killed. Days later, a Park Ranger was also killed, and at that point, with personnel involved, they captured the tigers.
It is somewhat comical that tourists are absolutely forbidden from leaving the vehicles, while the drivers or park guides can wander into the woods to take a leak and woodsmen, carrying either sticks, axes, or bamboo rakes, walk these same trails. My guess is that their death wouldn’t generate international news, but the death of a tourist certainly would.
According to Valmik Thapar’s book, The Last Tiger, about 150 people are killed annually by tigers. In turn, at least 250 tigers are killed each year by people, in retaliation for human or livestock deaths. This fact is why most conservationists believe that for tigers to survive, the protected areas and buffer zones must be free of local villagers. If a tiger steps outside the park and kills a cow the owner is compensated, but if he is grazing his livestock inside the park, and a tiger kills a cow, he is not compensated. This obviously generates hard feelings, and also leads to farmers with sick cows purposefully bringing them into the park, leaving them to be killed, and claiming a tiger loss. Tigers are also simply killed in retaliation, usually by poison, which indiscriminately kills every animal that feeds upon a poisoned bait. Vultures in India have suffered enormously because of poisons and insecticides, and are rarely seen.
Our morning was still productive, as we did some nice landscapes of Sal trees while we were waiting for a tiger. Near the breakfast stop we had the Brown Fish Owl on the nest and nearby its mate, perched on a log just off the ground. While we watched, it shifted position and revealed a large snake that it had captured. This is the second snake in four days, the other being the Crested Serpent Eagle kill that we had on the day the group arrived.
After breakfast, around 9AM, we headed back, stopping for some langur monkeys but otherwise simply driving, trying to beat the clock. At one point we passed a nice Spotted Deer drinking at a stream but by the time we screeched to a dusty halt and backed up the deer was nervous and walked off. I asked the driver to slow down at known watering holes so that we can see and stop concurrently and timely, and not as usually happens.
We arrived at the gate by my clock right on time, but the guard said we were two minutes later and berated Mary’s driver. I’ve been talking with the guard over the last three trips and we’re on friendly terms and he simply waived us through.

PM. For a change of pace we went to Jon Two, the other main sector of the park. Here there are no assigned routes so we’re free to drive on any of the tracks in that section, and to remain at a spot as long as we wish, provided we still get out in time. In many ways, although the ‘guaranteed’ tigers are less, it may be my favorite section of the park.
We got to the gate late, spending at least 15 minutes on the main road photographing Langur Monkeys. There was a tame troop beside the road and three females had babies of about the same age. They nursed, hopped about, and one stood comically for a few seconds.
Inside the park, later on, we had a troop of Rhesus Macaque Monkeys. There were several babies carried by bright, red-butted females, and a few monkeys perched upon a fallen log but none stayed long. A road led in the direction that the monkeys headed but we couldn’t go there, because it was a part of Jon One, although I’ve never been on that route! Frustrating.
We had some nice luck with Spotted Deer, including two bucks that strutted across an open field and another small herd we framed, back-lighted, in the forest. Mary heard of a report of a tiger near the entrance and we headed in that direction, stopping mid-way when I spotted a pair of Indian Green Bee-eaters perched on a horizontal beam of bamboo near the road. They were beautifully back-lighted, and flying out for insects, but all of our attempts to catch one landing failed.
We continued on towards the entrance and encountered a group of vehicles piled up at the waterhole shared by Jon One and Two. David and Gary’s vehicle were there when the pink-nosed male Tiger walked out of the woods and entered the pond. It was soaking, and several of our folks got shots of it in the water. I positioned our driver at one end where, in the past, the tiger would exit the pond and I gambled that indeed it would do that again. We waited, and vehicles jockeyed about, with folks standing on the top of vehicles to look into the pond. I knew that that shooting would be marginal and despite the requests of my driver we stayed put. It was nearly 6PM before the tiger finally moved, but the tiger came out where I expected, walked across the grasses, stopped and did a flehmen. Flehmen is also known as vomarine sniffing, where an animal sniffs urine, or some scent, drawing the smells deeply into its vomarine organ. Doing so, the animal adopts a peculiar face, one we often call ‘the stinky face.’ With tigers and other cats this appears as a snarling grimace, but it is quite unlike a real snarl, provided you know the difference. Herbivores often do flehmen as well, and in these the upper lip curls back in an odd way.
After the cat did its flehmen twice it moved a few yards and laid down, and we rushed to a new spot in what was now an almost empty road. All of the vehicles from Jon One were gone, still needing to reach the main gate. We were the last to leave, and our driver sped along, taking the sandy roads expertly as we zoomed by trees. We arrived last at the gate, but right behind four other vehicles and suffered no reprimands.
David and Gary saw two tigers, one near the entrance where we had intended to go and the one at the waterhole. Dee Ann and Bruce had a brief view of another tiger at Charger Point, so we ended with three tigers for the afternoon drive, and one for the morning – a 4 tiger day. Mary also photographed a Jungle Cat that was surprisingly cooperative, and a Savannah Nightjar perched on a horizontal vine, giving a wonderful view of the bird. She’s shot several on this trip and I’m now calling her the nightjar lady.
Tiger Count, 10 for three days, and 1 Jungle Cat.

Day Four, Park One

Mary and I drew the same route today, C and A, and were often behind each other during the drive. That’s frustrating, as it lessens our chances of seeing or recording different images. So far, I’ve been assigned this route almost every time, as has Dee Ann, which is wonderful if that’s where the cats are and deadly boring if they are not, as one sees the same trees, fields, and game tracks. There is, however, nothing that can be done about this randomness.
One of our drivers, presently escorting another client, had the best day he’s had in 7 years on the B and D route, the same route four of our vehicles were on today. He remained around the big meadows when other vehicles apparently had left, and the tigress with three cubs moved through the forest, crossed the road, and drank at a stream. The cubs, he said, started playing afterward, jumping on each other and upon their mother. While this was frustrating, it just shows that anything can happen anywhere, and you truly just have to be lucky on a given day. The client, by the way, had a small point n shoot camera!
We did some nice stuff with Rhesus Macaque Monkeys, including a mother with baby, and some scenics. At the end of the drive we had our closest Brown Fish Owl, while Mary also had a very close Spotted Owlet, the closest we’ve had that bird, perched at the lip of a knothole in a roadside tree.  No one in our group had a tiger, but Jim’s vehicle did get a displaying Peacock and Gary, with a vehicle to himself, shot the park in a challenge similar to how Mary and I had done Kanha on the last trip.
PM. Mary and I again drew the same routes, but luckily this time in reverse order as she and Dee Ann did B and D while John and I did D and B. The three year old tiger cubs were seen at the roadside pools we call the Rice Paddy Ponds, as they are shallow and wide, and all of us headed there. My route was shortest, or had no distractions, and we arrived first, although 15 other vehicles were already parked parallel on the road, all facing the pond. Mary arrived later, having spent nearly an hour with an extremely cooperative Langur Monkey mother and baby where she captured some striking portraits and behaviors.
John and I waited, parked in a perfect position overlooking two sections of the pond for great views. A Spotted Deer stepped cautiously through the forest, appearing nervous but unalarmed, and Langur Monkeys hopped about the trees, silently feeding. No alarm calls meant no tiger was about, but while we waited a Jungle Cat appeared and over a fifteen minute period walked through the forest when sight of both monkeys and of rather close jungle fowl, neither of which paid the cat any heed.
We stayed almost as late as possible, but saved the last few minutes to be able to check spots where the tigress may have been. Meanwhile, on routes A and C the one-eyed tigress had come out of the forest with only two of her three cubs. Two of our vehicles from our camp flanked either side of the Forest service vehicle, and a school of jeeps followed behind this trio as they followed the tigers down the road. The cats and the drivers never stopped moving so virtually all of the photography was done via a moving vehicle in low light. ISOs of 2,000 or higher were used, and lenses were hand-held, as photographers and their drivers tried jockeying for a position.
As small shots the images were priceless, clearly showing the mother tiger and two of her three cubs. We don’t know where the third cub is, and we’re hoping it met its father and decided to hang back with him. Tiger males are not as violent as once thought, provided they think the cubs are indeed their own. David, Jim, Gary, Bruce, and John P were with the tigers and had, at the least, a wonderful visual and hopefully a lasting memory, even if the shooting was frustrating and marginal. Everyone involved did seem excited.
Tiger Count: 13, and 2 Jungle Cats.

Day Five, Park One

We left early to visit Jon Two, where without an assigned route we hoped to have luck and less frustration. It ended up to be a rather slow morning for everyone, and no one saw a tiger in that sector. In fact, there were only a few tracks.
My vehicle did pass the lake where, last trip, Don and Judy had a tiger soon after I passed by and in that area we could smell a fresh kill. I suggested to our park guide that we return there after breakfast, giving us a second chance at the area of a kill and the lake. He agreed, but as is typical everyone procrastinated at breakfast, killing time. When we left we took a different route and I asked the guide if we were going to the lake and the kill. Silence. I waited a few minutes and then asked again, pointedly directing the question to the guide. There wasn’t enough time, he replied.
As it turned out, we drove back without any worthwhile stops and arrived at the gate 15 minutes before closing. When we dropped the guide off, I corrected him, explaining that he not only didn’t introduce himself, he ignored us when we asked a question, and returned early. I suggested he learn from this discussion, and I did not tip him. That afternoon our driver, whom we have for both a morning and afternoon game drive, was completely different, talkative and helpful – I think he learned from the guide’s lesson too.

PM. We returned to Jon One and I drew A and C and Mary had C and A. In the morning, we learned, the tigress and her cubs were spotted at the stream and bridge that joins the two routes, not far from the park’s entrance. We waited in the area and eventually the cub appeared, up on the rocks and presenting frustratingly narrow views. John had his 800mm but couldn’t spot the cat with that lens’ narrow angle of view so I took his camera and, after resetting preferences so that I could back focus, thus eliminating the annoying shifts in focus because of branches, I got some shots. Later I switched cards and shot some with my CF card, and at dinner we simply swapped thumbdrives so that each of us had copies of the marginal shooting.
We’d have loved to stay but in this park one must complete the loop,  and with a ranger vehicle behind us we had to move on. En route we met Mary and Robert, and we told them about the cubs on top the rocks. They sped to the scene.
The cub was still there, but while they waited the one-eyed Tigress appeared along the stream bottom, apparently calling as the cub started giving its high pitched yeeoowwing, calling back and suddenly running down the slope to meet the mom. There the two met and Mary got some wonderful shots as the cub came up from behind to stand beneath the mother’s chin, and as the two walked off, climbing back up the hill.
Meanwhile, the other two missing cubs appeared on the opposite side of the road and both came barreling down  as the mother walked along, calling a soft grunt. The cubs all met up and finally disappeared into the brush. We had raced along A, stopping for a short time at two waterholes where people were parked, having heard alarm calls. By the time we got to C the tigress had already walked down the road – fresh tracks covered the jeep tire tracks. We heard alarm calls and we waited, not knowing that the mother was now with the cubs and was leading them away.
Our light and time ran out and we headed back to the gate, arriving a few minutes before closing.
Tiger Counts: 17 and 3 Jungle Cats.

 

Day Six, Park One

We were back in  Jon One and on our assigned routes. When my driver returned to the vehicle with the telling slip in hand he looked disappointed as he announced D and B. Tiger activity the last few days was heavy in A and C and we were hoping for that route. Worse, Mary’s vehicle drew the same route in the same order, crushing any hope that we’d have coverage in two areas of the park.
When our park guide joined us things cheered up a bit as he said the other tigress, with the year old cubs, was sighted on our route as was New Male, the dominant tiger. So we hoped.
We’d driven for 25 minutes or so when, coming down a small incline, our guide spotted very distinct Sloth Bear tracks on the road. They were fresh and perfect and we backed up a few feet to get a better angle. Just as David and I were about to focus the guide said, ‘There’s the tiger!’ Not twenty-five yards away New Male was lying in a nyla or sandy streambed, completely in the open without any grass cutting off our view. What followed was a moment of panic as our driver drove down, then too far, blocking the best view with some branches, and then settling right in the bottom of the ravine where we had a perfect view.
The tiger was lying facing away from us but on occasion gave us quartering views as he looked over his shoulder. We were alone with the tiger for several minutes before the next vehicle arrived, and then two more. The last vehicle in jockeyed about trying to get the best view, crashing through brush as the jeep turned around. Once settled, I could hear someone in that vehicle cracking twigs, as if trying to draw the tiger’s attention to look back. Earlier, one of the other vehicles had someone – a park guide, I’m sure – squeezing and crackling an empty plastic water bottle for the same intended effect.
Nothing really worked, but without a glance backwards the tiger stood up and started walking down the ravine, away from us. I’d been hoping that in the frequent shuffling of positions the cat had made that one of these times it would actually flip positions and be facing us. I am convinced that the extra noise, the crackling bottle and broken branches, was enough to irritate the tiger, compelling it to move off to quieter territory.
There were, luckily, just four vehicles at the tiger and we followed along, paralleling the cat as it moved through the ravine and bamboo thickets. It crossed the road right behind Jim’s vehicle who, by the way, has had the best luck of anyone on the trip, virtually getting every good tiger or a good one each day.  The tiger continued, eventually recrossing the road and heading into the shaded ravine where the cliff ledges and small trapped pools of water of the grotto would make a great rest area for the heat of the day.
We moved on, now hoping to find the tigress with cubs. A vehicle passed us and said that the tigress was ahead, and when we arrived Mary and Gary were already there. Earlier they also had two of her three nearly one year old cubs, and they missed a great shot when the guide of the Indian with the jeep rental told her vehicle’s driver and guide that they couldn’t stop where they did, behind their jeep. Mary tried to stop her driver but he listened to their direction anyway, and by the time she got things reined in and back a big Indian family had moved exactly into her position!
We had very marginal shooting of the tigress lying on her side in autofocus-confusing grasses, but had this been the first day’s tiger people would have been going nuts!
We were told the tiger cubs were on the road ahead of us and we quickly drove on, but the cub was, instead, lying beside the stream half-hidden by a tree trunk and in fairly deep shade. We shot our record shots. ‘Heidi,’ a woman with dreadful puffy pony-tails sticking out of each side of her head like an aged Minny Mouse and a permanently dour expression, got a ride on one of the two elephants that had been tracking the tigers. Her park guide is the same man I encountered last year with my meeting with the park superintendent concerning the tiger cannibalism I’d photographed. He apparently is a big deal here, but an arrogant and rude man.
Nevertheless, watching the elephant from my position in the jeep strengthens my growing discomfort about ‘Tiger Shows’ and viewing from elephant back, especially in deep cover. The cub watched and listened as the elephant plowed through bamboo like a tank, but the cat didn’t run. Honestly, it didn’t seem especially stressed, but the habitat certainly takes a bit of a beating, even if it is the fast-growing bamboo.
Meanwhile, Dee Ann and Bruce and Johann were watching the other Tigress and her three cubs playing in a sandy wash. Shooting was really minimal but the viewing, as the cats ran back and forth and played, was wonderful.
We met up with John and Robert at the breakfast stop, and after that break we barely had time to reach the exit gate. John and Robert were on a different route and encountered the other male, the pink-nosed Tiger, lying sprawled out on the road. They couldn’t get by, and had to wait until the tiger sat up and stood and walked down the road and into the woods. They did get wonderful shots, and arrived late at the park gate because of the tiger holdup – they were the only ones there!
When we arrived back at our lodge we learned that a Tiger Show was going on, and Johann, Dee Ann and Bruce, and even Jim and John P (who were on our routes but somehow got word and got there, too!) all did the show. The tigress was lying in the open beneath a fallen tree, so they all got nice shots.
Heidi showed up, and via the influence of her guide would, we learn, have the chance to see the tiger cubs after everyone else completed their tiger show. Like we’ve seen so often here, it is not what you know but who you know, or pay off, to receive privileges denied 95% of the tourists. That does get annoying.
Nonetheless, it was a spectacular tiger morning with a total of NINE (9) different tigers in one morning! Two or three of the vehicles also had a great shooting opportunity with three Golden Jackals that had killed a spotted deer fawn close to the road, and also some luck with a displaying peacock.
Interestingly, in the nearly 1 hour that we had been with New Male, including the half-mile trek the tiger made from the nyla to the grotto we only heard alarm calls once. Right before the grotto and when the tiger was completely out in the open the Langur Monkeys finally spotted the tiger and started barking. Prior to that, the forest was silent.
That, to me, illustrates exactly what I’ve been trying to impress upon the drivers and guides here. Their method of tiger finding involves following tracks, listening for alarm calls, or bumping into a tiger unexpectedly on or beside the road. It makes perfect sense that at rock outcrops and at river beds, waterholes, and ravines, that the driver stop for a moment and for everyone to take a quick look for a hidden tiger.
In fact, Dee Ann’s driver spotted their tiger in what could have been a perfect example of this. The guy has phenomenal eyes and noticed the tiger’s tail hanging down from a stream bank, and Dee Ann and Bruce needed binoculars to see what he saw naked eye. However, the cat could have been in plain view but without the tail sticking out, and it would not have been noticed.
The cub we photographed at the streamside was another perfect example. Had we not known it was there we’d never have seen it, no one would, unless, perhaps, we took the time to really study the stream bank and look. This almost never happens and I’m sure we are missing tigers frequently.
Signs at most of the national parks show a tiger in the forest with the legend, ‘You may not see me, but I see you.’ The point here is that there are tigers out there and they’re watching us, but all of us are missing the point in that real field craft could be applied here, and tiger sightings increased, if guides and drivers would simply take the time to do something other than follow their traditional methodology.
Tiger Count, 26, and 3 Jungle Cats.

PM. The park, like all of India’s national parks, are closed on Wednesday  so we had ‘technically’ a rest day. At 4:30PM however, several of us went to the local village with our guides to photograph the village, farms, and local people. It was a great time, and the people were cooperative and friendly and wonderfully photogenic. We were out until sunset , thus we had no rest, but it was quite worthwhile and something we’ll do again if we’re not travelling on the afternoon the park is closed.

Day Seven, Park One

We headed back to Jon Two where, yesterday morning apparently, there was some luck. The paperwork at this gate is tedious and it was a few minutes past the opening time before we got through the gate. We were told that a male tiger had been hanging around near the tiger enclosure, where three orphaned cubs had spent the last two years. Their mother had killed a cow and was subsequently poisoned, but luckily the cubs were found and rescued.
Two of the cubs are male and are now at an age where they’d be on their own and perhaps establishing territory. Between calling and scent marking, the cubs must be driving the male mad, as they are in his territory. Apparently he visits the fence, and I’d suspect it is to try to get in and clean house.
Everyone knew the male tiger had been visiting so the area was packed with cars, parked and waiting, listening for alarm calls. At one point we drove around a bend just as several vehicles had passed us in the opposite direction and there, just seconds later, the male Tiger was standing in the open about fifty feet off the road. The other cars had missed it, probably because they were looking inside the fence hoping for a glimpse of the captive cubs.
Our park guide immediately let out a loud hoot, thus alerting the other guides a tiger was here. This, of course, annoyed me but I suspect the tigers are used to this and ignore it. Regardless, the tiger did a U-turn and started walking into the woods, and we got a few shots as it disappeared.
I managed a few shots when we first spotted the tiger but lost precious seconds reaching down to the jeep floor to retrieve my camera and pull it out of the dust bag. Twice on this trip I’ve missed critical seconds because I didn’t have a camera in hand, but it is rather impractical to always have a camera in hand and at the ready, although for the next half hour or so I did exactly that. Fortunately I had preset my ISO and exposure for the conditions I expected and my shots, done on the fly, were correct.
Somewhere in the bamboo thicket the tiger paused and began to roar. The call was quite unlike the double note, ‘whose land, whose land, whose land, mine, mine, mine,’ of a male lion. Instead, it literally was a roar,  a deep  ‘rahhharrgh’  that I remembered here from the Big Cat houses of zoos. It was impressive, and the first time I’ve heard a tiger roar.

While we waited in the area, hoping for another glimpse, a vehicle from another photo group pulled up, and they wondered if we were just shooting birds. I told them we had had a tiger a few minutes earlier, and it was somewhere before us. The group, I knew, was limited only to Jon Two, which offers the advantage of not having an assigned route, and sometimes a longer stay at a waterhole as some are near the exit gates, but usually less tigers. I asked how they’re luck had been and rather smugly, I thought, they told us that they had a male yesterday. They asked how we did, and they almost had a stroke when I told them that our group had had a total of nine tigers yesterday morning.
The group was composed of American photographers led by a good American pro, but it still puzzles me how people do not comparative shop. Whether the price was lower or the name drew the group, the itinerary with the sectors booked made success difficult. As we left that morning all of that group were parked around the periphery of that forest, hoping in the growing heat that the tiger would leave the shadows and step into the open. Good luck.
There were too many vehicles and I felt that even if the tiger would appear it would be a mad house. I suggested we head to the big lake where, two days ago, we had smelled a kill. Today, I learned that this was a cow and was now finished. Nothing was at the lake but we did find tiger tracks in the wet seep that crossed the road a bit further along. I asked if we could return the same way but my driver, a guy I really like, said that it would be too far. Instead, he suggested we turn around and have breakfast at the lake where we could sit and watch.
We did, but no cat appeared, although we did some nice work with a Little Egret that was fishing in the nearby shallows, offering nice reflections as well. Later, as we started our drive back I finally got to photograph the Eurasian Thickknees, a nocturnal, well-camouflaged shorebird. Earlier our guide spotted one and it took me a minute or so to find it, and another three or four to point it out to John. At a distance it truly was almost invisible.
Mary had a good morning, too, with a great Peacock that had its tail spread out in a wide train, not erect and in display but fanned out wide across the ground. She also had an Indian Roller flipping a frog. At least one other vehicle had a glimpse of the tiger but all seemed jaded, or spoiled with the luck we’ve been having. I wish they could share their experiences and hear of those from that other group – I think our folks would be a bit more aware of how lucky they have been, and perhaps more content to smell the roses and photograph all that the park has to offer.
Tiger Count: 26, 3 Jungle Cats.

PM. We returned to Jon Two and headed to the waterholes where the male tiger from this morning might appear. To do so, we left at 2:30 and drove to the second gate for Jon Two, quite a distance on the bumpy road. My vehicle was first at the gate, followed by all of the vehicles from the other photography group, and then the rest of our troop. One of our vehicles for a snafu that we still haven’t figured out was delayed by as much as 35 minutes after the last vehicle passed through the gate. The guy in that vehicle was understandably furious, and Mary spent all evening after we returned to camp either on the phone or on the internet communicating with the office and boss of our India outfitter getting things corrected. It was  extremely frustrating.
The owner was more than accommodating and I think everything has been corrected, but it did put a damper upon the evening. Fortunately we did not have luck with a tiger, especially in the early part of the afternoon when that vehicle was delayed! We covered a lot of territory and we weren’t concerned with other subjects since the area was diverse and great for tigers, so we passed on the usual subjects and covered ground. All unsuccessfully. Mary and Johann also had a Jungle Cat at the large lake.

Day Eight, Park One

AM. Our last morning in the park before heading to Park Two.  Hearing that Park Two had been slow on tiger sightings we had added yesterday and this morning on to Park One, thereby cutting Part Two’s visit down to fewer days. Yesterday this change resulted in just one tiger sighting, although Dee Ann considered her few shots among her favorites.
Today, however, it was a different story, as this was probably the most successful tiger day we’ve ever had in Park One, or anywhere else.
My vehicle, with David, had C and A route, while Mary had A and C, and our other vehicles had some combination of B and D. We had just crossed the bridge when our guide spotted two weird wavy lines running down the road. ‘Drag marks!’ he cried. The tiger had made a kill and was dragging an animal, probably a spotted deer up the road. We immediately followed, driving along the winding road for what proved to be .6 miles in a straight line, and perhaps .8 miles by the winding route. Three vehicles were ahead of us, and beside the road were the three Tiger Cubs, about five or six months old. The tigress wasn’t visible, but two cubs were lying almost side-by-side with the third, chewing on what was left of the kill, mostly hidden in the background behind a screen of bamboo.
The best window for shooting was directly behind a couple of Indian photographers who, thankfully, had scrunched down low to avoid some bamboo that partially obscured one of the cubs. We didn’t have a choice, requiring us to fire from a bit higher position over their heads but the shots were still wonderful and, had we had their positions, we would have been too close for our 500mm lenses. The cats were relaxed and didn’t appear to be going anywhere, but then the mahouts and their elephants arrived and began moving about, smashing into the bamboo noisily and immediately putting the cubs on edge. Seconds later all three bounded off into the deeper woods and out of range. This was now the second time in just a few days where the elephants have disrupted tiger behavior and I’m really beginning to question their use in these parks. It was annoying.
We continued on, shooting a nice Oriental Honey Buzzard gathering twigs for a nest and a group of Rhesus Macaque Monkeys that were fairly cooperative. At the large reflection late young Spotted Deer bucks sparred, their intensions clear by their body posture and rolling eyes as they approached one another before locking antlers.  Oddly, no other vehicles were in sight, and when we reached the breakfast center point only three vehicles were present. There was a Tiger Show going on.
In fact, at one point there was a possibility of two, and Mary’s vehicle almost was directed to the wrong one where the elephants had frightened off the tiger cubs. Wisely she had her driver head to the other, where they encountered one of the cubs at frame-filling distance lying in a shallow pool beside the road. They had to move on to get in line for the Tiger Show, but for them the show went well as they had an extremely long elephant ride, getting shots of the Tigress and two of the three cubs.
As Mary was beginning her ride my vehicle arrived, stopping at one of the cubs that was lying, mostly hidden, against a steep bank. We took a few shots until we were diverted as another tiger cub was walking through the forest, approaching the larger woodland pond. We raced to try to get in position, and managed several series as the tiger cub approached the water hole. It had some difficulty climbing down the bank when, to our irony, Mary’s elephant (with Robert, Bruce, and Gary) came up behind the tiger and frightened it off into the brush! Again, elephant interference.
We waited a while at the water hole hoping that the two elephants working the tiger might actually push them in our direction. They did not, but those on the elephant did get some great shots, among the favorite tiger images of the trip. Our guide was getting a bit nervous because we were technically on the wrong route and needed to register with the forest officer for the tiger show to be legal in this part of the park. We had to leave the pond.
Fortunately we were one of the last vehicles in line and as David and I debated whether we should wait for the seven vehicles ahead of us for the tiger show our guide said that if the tiger appeared back at the pond we could backup and shoot it. Although we were under a bit of a time deadline because we needed to pack for our departure to Park Two, this added a new dimension and we decided to stay, and do the show if the tiger didn’t appear at the pond.
I was looking back when I noticed something white along the shoreline. Sal flowers were dropping all about us, and butterflies were flying about, so I wasn’t sure what I saw. With binocs I couldn’t see anything, and the water of the pond was still. Our guide looked at the vehicles, however, and saw cameras pointing, and rightly concluded they had a tiger.
We backed up, and in three different series as we moved to progressively better positions, we had the young male Tiger lying in the water hole. This has been a big ‘dream shot’ for me, and for David as well, and there it was, in great even shaded light. There were only three other vehicles there, and two of these were non-photographers who moved on for the show, and the forest guard put no pressure on us to leave.
Finally the tiger left the water and went back into the brush. We were ecstatic, and I tipped the forester for allowing us to stay. Ironically, my park guide today was the same guy that several days ago I didn’t tip at all, because I thought, at that time, that he had not done a good job. Upon reviewing my images and thinking back on the data he had given me I felt that I had been too harsh, and the next day when I saw him I gave him the tip I felt he should have received.
Today, when we started out he apologized for not doing his best the last time, and I apologized for being too harsh. I think both of us felt much better about each other, and if Karma exists, doing him the good turn and not stiffing him a tip certainly paid off as he worked the system and got us at the pool when we needed to be there.
One amusing sour note occurred earlier when we were following the tiger that had attempted to enter the pond. One vehicle was ahead of us straddling the road in a way that made passing impossible. By moving up about four feet we’d have had clearance, and this would not have affected the view for those inside that vehicle. Our guide was practically screaming at them to move but they ignored us. In the vehicle was the owner of the art shop where I had purchased a painting and where, just yesterday, I had stopped in to give the man the $20 that I owed him for a painting I’d picked up a few days earlier. He looked at me like I was either a complete stranger or simply didn’t exist.
I asked him to help us out and move the few feet, but he ignored me and our guide. After the tiger disappeared I exchanged a few words with him, reminding  him of the painting, that I’d just seen him yesterday, and that I was disappointed in his behavior. His driver stood up and made apologizing gestures, then pointed at the art dealer and said, ‘VIP.’ I responded, ‘V I Pooh!’ which almost had my guide peeing his pants laughing, as did everyone in the dealer’s vehicle.
Everyone was extremely happy as we ate an early brunch and loaded the SUVs for the 6 hour drive to Park Two, arriving uneventfully and safely just after 6PM.
Tiger Count, 32, 4 Jungle Cats

Day Nine, Park Two

This is our favorite park, not because of the tigers but because of the incredible diversity of landscapes, birds, and wildlife. With the incredible success we’d had with tigers everyone was now free to concentrate on India’s other wildlife, and everyone did. As Robert said, you could spend twenty minutes shooting at any location, for if you looked around or behind you there was something new to shoot. The morning’s highlights were diverse, covering the gamut of subject matter for the park.
Although I had implored everyone to not concentrate upon tigers, as luck would have it our route, for my vehicle with Bruce, came upon fresh tiger tracks. Very fresh. We started driving down the track, finally hearing Sambar Deer alarm calls and tracks that were just minutes old. We ended up on a hillside where in the thick bamboo the sambar was blasting out its alarm call and in response the male Tiger would roar. At one point our guide thought that the tiger was just two meters away in the bamboo, but from the sounds I think it was probably twenty or more, but either way it never showed itself. We circled the area for the remainder of the morning and although the tiger would occasionally roar it still stayed hidden.
Prior to the tiger, however, we did have some wonderful back-lighted Spotted Deer crossing a wooded glade, and several chances as an Indian Roller left its perch upon a termite mound to hunt, then return to the same mound. Most of our vehicles were there and between us someone should have a very sharp image. I had at least three good passes. Shooting on motor drive as the bird approached, it is a crap shoot as to what position the bird will be in. Even at 10 frames per second one position might have the bird barely in the frame, another with feet down inches from the mound, and the last, the bird is perched!
A very friendly guy from New York that we met on the tracks had just had a great Leopard, almost a frame filling shot with his 70-300 (max) lens. He showed me the shot and it was nice, and we continued on our way. About two minutes later, he told us later, a Sloth Bear appeared, walking down the road and scratching itself on a tree, at full frame distance! He was pretty happy!

PM. The male tiger we were hunting had spent the afternoon in a roadside pond but left it around 3:30, around the time people were returning to the park. We had some great Barasinga Deer at several locations, including the dike lake where one bull was up to its neck in the lake, while two other big bulls grazed along the shoreline, giving great reflections.
We were headed to the tiger location when a vehicle with some Indians told us that they had just had the Tigress walking down the road. We sped off in that direction, hearing occasional alarm calls. Our driver, who is also one of the lodge’s naturalists, and a good one, drove to a large fire break where a  few other vehicles were also parked. While we waited, the tiger appeared in the distance and started walking down the game trail directly towards us. Several other vehicles appeared, all jockeying to try to get into position. One of them was one of our’s, and their driver repeatedly backed his vehicle so that our view was blocked, then we’d have him move, and then he’d try it again from a different angle. The result, all of the commotion from one of our vehicles may have turned the tiger, who then banked off to our right. What could have been one of my dream shots, a tiger walking towards us from a great distance on a forest path, was shot.
That tiger, by the way, was earlier spotted by Dee Ann when she and Johann had driven by a nala. She had the driver back up because she noticed a weird color – the tiger! Johann was calling that cat Dee Ann’s, rightfully so, as she saw it, and we pursued this topic at dinner later with the lodge manager.
Our tiger, however, branched off and crossed a field, then paused along the road edge at a culvert before the cat spotted some distant game – spotted deer, we think. The tigress then slunk across the road, clearly in a stalking mode, and in the grasses adopted the heads up, looking, posture that a hunting cat has. It stayed motionless then lay flat, but made no further move. A Wild Boar crossed the road further up but did not come closer. A spotted deer gave an alarm call and the tiger relaxed, the hunt finished.
All of the vehicles had been stacked at one end of the field, with two of our vehicles in front and therefore controlling the pile of vehicles behind us. At one point our driver said we’d approach the tiger, lying in the meadow about forty yards off the road, and as we came abreast I asked him to stop. He said he couldn’t and continued another fifty yards or so. Two of our vehicles followed, with one of them experiencing a great deal of frustration when they asked the driver to stop and were told they could not. It took twenty minutes or so for the driver and guide to ‘sort of’ explain why they couldn’t stop, but the passengers didn’t understand any of it and were pretty upset.
We later learned that technically vehicles are not supposed to approach a tiger closer than 100 meters. This tiger was hunting, and had vehicles stopped and had the tiger started a chase that chase may have led to a long line of vehicles where the occupants could be in danger should the tiger be charging. Some type of incident like this occurred in another parks years back. Also, had one vehicle stopped, even for a minute to take some photos, then everyone would have wanted to stop and shoot, and the scene could have deteriorated into chaos. And, the tiger’s hunt would quite likely have been disrupted. So we all moved on, not yet comprehending why.
After a few minutes the tiger got up and walked across the open field, skirted a water hole, and walked along the distant dam breast. The shots at this point were truly animal in habitat, but it was wonderful to see a tiger for so long. Most everyone’s highlight.
That evening, at tea or at dinner, we finally got the explanation as to why we couldn’t stop, and then a long discussion on the politics and realities of tiger conservation, park management, and the buffer situation with native people. We also sort of piled on the manager as several of us again pointed out how narrow-focused the drivers and park guides are for finding tigers.
This is done three ways, either listening and following alarm calls, following tracks, or bumping into a roadside tiger by dumb luck. Rarely if ever does anyone stop and look back down a river washaor gulley or field, so if a tiger isn’t easily visible it is missed. This discussion may have been generated when I told our lodge manager that had our tiger not been followed, visually, when it went into the field I’d bet none of our drivers would have spotted it. At one point the tiger was lying flat in the grasses and was almost invisible, unless you happened to be looking down into the field. Then it was clearly visible. But the point was, there were no alarm calls – just one during the entire twenty minutes we watched the cat, and there would have been just one set of tracks crossing the road, not paralleling it, and the road was gravel so a track may not have shown.
He missed the point entirely, saying that although the drivers and guides might miss the tiger at one bridge, as it continued moving another driver/guide would have seen it, so someone would eventually locate the tiger. Never mind the fact that the tiger might simply be lying in full view off a bend in a stream where a quick look back would reveal it; that concept was simply not comprehended. Even the lodge naturalist, an educated young lady, missed the point. As I pointed out, we’ve seen several tigers in the last few weeks that walked hundreds of yards, with us following and photographing it, without the tiger generating a single alarm call. Had we not seen the tiger at some point, we’d have missed thousands of cumulative shots because drivers/guides don’t look right or left to watch for hidden cats – or more properly tigers whose presence is detected by deer or monkeys.
The argument they’ve presented is that at some point a monkey or deer would spot the tiger and give alarm calls, so eventually the tiger would be seen. One of my best sightings this trip occurred with a tiger walking at least a half mile along a nala and through the bamboo without generating a call, with only an alarm sounding the last hundred yards or so, and that was just one monkey bark. Just yesterday, with three tigers moving about, soaking in a pond or walking to or from, there were no alarm barks.
We compared the operation here in India with that of Africa, where the driver is also the guide and spotter, and may spot a leopard’s tail hanging from a limb or a cheetah’s ears sticking above the grasses while driving. They’re looking left and right, and seeing game. I’m not seeing it here, and my entire point was that the lodges we use could train their people into a new methodology where, truly, they could kick butt over the other guides at other lodges as they now saw wildlife that the others, using the old ways, simply miss. Perhaps, with time, we can change this system! But don’t place any bets.
Tigers, 33 Jungle Cat 4

Day Ten, Park Two

An extremely enjoyable and productive morning, with three cats, a good Leopard, the most cooperative Jungle Cat we’ve ever had, and a Tiger in a Tiger Show. Our talk last night actually bore fruit, as the lodge manager talked to our drivers and at every waterhole or nala or ravine, the drivers would stop and look about. We didn’t see anything, of course, but at some point we or someone else will, via this method, and for the first time I truly didn’t feel frustrated as we cruised the roads.
We had tiger tracks almost immediately, crossing the road and not following the trail, and I was impressed that our driver picked up such a small clue. Later we heard alarm calls of monkeys, but there was a large meadow before us with very limited view where I suspect a tiger had been spotted. Our park guide told us that the Langur Monkeys had two calls, the normal ‘Chah chaa chaa!’ that means a tiger, and a ‘chchch chchcha’ for a leopard. Young langurs don’t differentiate and use the tiger call for both.
While we waited one of the guides we’ve had on previous trips drove up and told us that a Leopard was behind us, lying beneath a tree. We drove backwards and indeed the leopard was there, now walking out into the middle of the road. It was shy and went slinking into the road, nervous at our presence. We suspect another leopard had peed there, as our leopard did several Flehmen, where it drew in the urine scent with the weird grimace the cats make. Shooting for me was tough, as I first hand-held the 500 and then switched to a monopod, as the shooting was right off the back end and I was in the front seat. Hopefully there will still be some good shots, as we had direct eye-contact with the wide-eyed leopard staring at us as it investigated the smells.
The leopard disappeared into the forest and two of our other vehicles joined us as we spaced ourselves on the road, hoping that the cat might reappear. Surprisingly, it did, appearing in the forest near Mary and Johann and both got quick but exciting shots as the leopard bounded across the road.
We headed to the breakfast spot and learned that there was a Tiger Show, which all of our people had a chance to do. It was the female tiger from last night, stretched out under a thicket of lantana bushes. Fortunately there was a clear opening for the forequarters so we had a good view, even if the shooting was rather mundane.
Mary’s vehicle was ahead of ours as we headed towards the breakfast spot and they had a good Jungle Cat that appeared to be ready to cross the road in front of them. Unfortunately a fast moving park vehicle frightened the cat back into the bush. We arrived at that time, and waited, and Robert spotted the cat, an extremely pale, light tan Jungle Cat. Over the next ten minutes we stayed with or followed the cat, giving me the best views I’ve ever had of this species. The cat was hunting, and I suspect catching the small ground skinks common here, but we couldn’t identify anything it caught.
After breakfast we did fairly well with Barasinga Deer in the big lake, as well as a cooperative Little Cormorant and the best view we’ve ever had of a Gray-headed Eagle.

PM. Although nothing earth-shaking occurred, between AM and PM I felt that this was the most enjoyable day I’ve had in India in the four trips we’ve done over the last two years. We slowed or stopped at every nala, ravine, or dry gulch, giving us time to look up and down for hidden predators. This afternoon none materialized, but the sense of actually hunting, of looking rather than being driven around until we hit the lottery and find tracks or calls or tigers was incredibly refreshing.
And it was a great afternoon, with a great Shikra perched against a diffused green background, a nice Peacock portrait, and at Baba Tinka, a family group of twenty or more Wild Boars. We were sitting at the water hole hoping for the appearance of a tiger, buoyed by a single spotted deer alarm call. A large Gaur bull grazed near the pond, giving us hope that it might go into the water to soak. Thus occupied, we waited, and from the forest a few adult wild boars appeared. Soon more followed, and within a minute the entire group was lined up, snout to snout, drinking in clear view without any vegetation as obstructions. Spectacular!
Mary had a 13gb afternoon of good shooting as well, with her highlight being the Greater Racquet-tailed Drongos that swooped down to a pond to catch water-striders. She and Johann also had peacocks displaying and great spotted deer, an iconic India image for the two of them.
Tiger Count, 34. Jungle Cats, 5

Day Eleven, Park Two.

All of our vehicles headed in divergent ways, fanning out to cover the park. One vehicle’s occupants were hoping for sloth bear and went to the location where, yesterday, one had been seen. They were not successful.
Johann and I did the river route, stopping for Gaur and two Peafowl perched in a tree. We were driving along slowly, stopping at every stream and nala, and at one bridge, where there is a lot of water, we paused, considering a scenic. We looked upstream and then down, and we were just about to drive off when a Tigress stepped out from beneath the bridge. All of the other vehicles that had passed this way had missed the cat, but we had it for several minutes as it stood along the bank chewing on grasses, or looking back or across the water. It was close enough that a 70-300 was all I needed until it walked off, where at the bend in the stream it attempted to cross.
Although tigers will soak in pools or streams mid-day, tigers must dislike cold water as much as we do. It was not yet 7AM when the tigress placed one foreleg, then began to set the second in the small stream, and her grimace of discomfort or distaste was the physical equivalent of, ‘jeez, that’s cold!’ After tentatively placing the second paw in, and snarling, she withdrew and backed off. A few minutes later she leaped across the stream, crashing noisily into the bamboo.

PM. Several vehicles headed up to the central plateau where the rare Four-horned Antelope can be found, as well as sloth bear, leopard, gaur and tiger. Enroute some stopped for some cooperative Bee-eaters, and Mary, David, John P and Robert had another Leopard! John’s vehicle was there when the cat was still on the road and may have gotten the shot, while Mary and David did get some nice shots with the cat hunkered down behind a log, a real study in camouflage. Up top, Mary also got a great shot of a Four-Horned Antelope in mid-bound – really nice.
Johann and I went back to the area where we had the tigress this morning. We checked all of the crossings and streams, and actually missed the tigress three times. Some foresters told us it had just passed, and we continued down that trail but without luck. Another vehicle had the tigress crossed the road twice, briefly, and when we met them they told us where they’d seen it, near a kill that we could clearly smell. While there, waiting by a water hole, we heard a Sambar’s alarm bark and headed in that direction, arriving just as the Tigress leaped across the trail. We both started shooting, but the tiger was in very thick shrub and we just had grab shots – but we had a tiger! I was especially gratified by seeing that twice in one day the methodology I’ve been advocating does work, as I expected it would. I just didin’t think it would be proven true so fast!
Tiger Count, 36, Jungle Cats, 5

Day Twelve, Park Two to Park Three

We left at around 7AM for a five hour drive to Park Three, arriving without incident.
That afternoon we headed into the park but because one in our group had a different passport number it took us over 45 minutes to get through the gate. The bureaucracy here in maddening, and the fact that we had a photocopy of the passport left at home and a different passport for the visa meant everything – it was not the right one. We had our Delhi outfitter call and talk with the man and I could hear the screaming on his end, frustrated with a system that was addressed before we arrived at the gate.
The game drive proved uneventful as while we waited a thunderstorm advanced towards the park and the light got progressively darker. Eventually it was darker than it’d be at 6:30PM and a light shower started. It grew heavier, and some of our vehicles were caught in extremely heavy downpours. My vehicle was lucky, and although we got wet we were not soaked.

Day 13, Park Three

Today is Wednesday and the park is closed in the afternoon. Now that it is April the park closes at 10AM, which was fine as the heat just accelerated by 8:30AM. By 9:30 it was hot, and everything we saw was underneath a rock, bush, or tree. One of our vehicles had a Sloth Bear, but only a visual as the bear ran over a hill.
Our most interesting observation involved a fight between rival troops of Langur Monkeys. One or two adults of one group would charge at the leading elements of another group, only to be mobbed by the newcomers. The energy and action was exciting, although trees kept me from getting the best action. Still, with teeth bared and leaves and dust flying it was intense.
We had a great Blue Bull or Nilgai that was fairly cooperative, and three different Sambar that worked well. The visibility here in the park is unparalleled, with an easy 60 yards virtually everywhere.

Day 14, Park Three

Although we had a Tiger Show late in the morning, the tiger was not the highlight of anyone. Our highlight, for Dee Ann and I, and for Gary in another vehicle, was an incredible Peacock that walked along beside the track, occasionally climbing atop a rock for a full view. Although the bird did not fan its tail it presented wonderful colors and the best photo op I’ve had of a wild peacock.
We also did well with Spotted Deer, and Mary with Rhesus Macaque monkeys at the breakfast stop. There I also had a cooperative Golden Jackal that stretched out near one of the trees where we had breakfast.
The tiger show involved the radio-collared female that has the five cubs, but she was alone, and she seemed to be in the same rocky gulch that we had her in last year on a tiger show. It’s probable that it isn’t the same, but it looked it. Nevertheless, the shooting this time wasn’t as good, and the mahout did a very brief visit to the sleeping tiger that, even worse, had some vegetation that interfered with any view. Dee Ann and I were the last two to do the show, stepping back so that we’d have a two person elephant, but the SOB forest officer that gave us so much trouble about Johann’s passport insisted that we pay for four, even though we were the only two left. It was not worth the extra $16 each, but you never know.
PM. Another big storm seemed to be brewing and as we lathered up with sunscreen and carried our gear to the vehicles we made a quick decision to stay back and pack, rather than risking another soaking and an unproductive, dark game drive. Almost everyone else left for the game drive, and hopefully will have some great luck with us as the ‘human sacrifices.’
As we prepared to go back to our room I stepped back and into a low water pot with flowers that clipped me into falling. Luckily I was able to spin and I landed on my hands, rather than on my back on the cement, but I still wrenched my hip a bit. Nothing too serious.
I went back for my flash and an extension tube and spent the next half hour photographing the Indian Bullfrog subadults that inhabit the little water channels that line the pathway. As I write this the storm hasn’t materialized, although it is dark and thunder rolls by periodically.

Day 15, Park Three - Delhi - Home

We had to leave at a ghastly 3:30AM for our drive to the airport, but fortunately traffic was light and we arrived early, before the airport even opened. Check in went fine, although we were hassled at the gate of our 737 about our carry-on luggage. The officials wanted to check it, although there was plenty of room under the seats and even in the overhead for most of the bags. We got on with our gear.

The time in Delhi went too fast, and most everyone departed for home some time during the evening. Mary and I left at 10, and arrived home a day later -- I guess, the hours all blur with the time change -- but on Sunday I was out for the day with a very high fever. Monday, a day later, both of us went to the doc to for a check up but my fever had dropped to a normal temperature, and Mary's, who had developed a fever that morning, had disappeared as well.