Trip Report Central India Tour - Bandhavgarh and Kanha

June Month

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Destination Covers : Bandhavgarh – Kanha

This trip was led by Ms. Christina

BANDHAVGARH DAY 3 June 9th, 2018…..

The morning drive was very quiet, and peaceful. There were no big cat sightings this morning. I was only able to see huge pugmarks from a male tiger which I believe to be Bameras son. This was his area the guides said. I do commend the forest guard personnel of doing a marvelous job to protect and keep an eye on these beautiful cats. I have always dreamed of becoming a forest guard.

So our morning drive was not successful in sighting a cat Ihad hope of seeing one in Tala which was our evening drive.

It was also a very quiet ride, almost too quiet. As we drove past the caves where Solo (Rajbehras daughter) usually hangs out, we were all looking very hard but there was no sign of her. Maybe she was napping or about in another part of her area. We do not always get to see a tiger when we want . It is really up to them. And I kind of felt different that my good friend and tiger expert Manoj was not with me. He always had such an impact on every trip we shared together. Such amazing times people can share when they share a similar passion.

So as we rode along we entered Mirchani area and there is supposed to be a new female there called Spotty, her mother is the Sukki Patiya female. Her father was blue eyes male. She has some cubs but we were not fortunate to see any movement of tigers.

so we had seen some jackals, the gaur were around in the area. I feel like so much has changed since I first started coming in 2010. Back in the good days you were guaranteed to see a tiger in TALA zone. It also could have been that I was only here for 3 days. But this place has blessed me so much. I remember in November 2013 when I was the only person that saw tigers who visited for a few days. We were the talk of the dinner table.

Destination Cover :   Kanha

KANHA DAY 4 June 10th 2018

We are heading to Kanha National Reserve at 7:30am. I had a lovely breakfast. My favorite omelette. The resort I will stay at is called Celebration Van Villas. Manoj is always so sweet to find the comfortable and cozy jungle villas. I have always had an enjoyable time at the resorts. Just so peaceful for me. So after we arrived at the resort I had a little nap and was able to go on the evening drive into Kisli zone. Little did I know I was about to meet a beautiful young charming calm male tiger.

My driver name is Davis and guide is Membda . So as usual there were quite a few jeeps ahead of ours lined up at the gate , maybe like 30 but that is fine. I am in no hurry to be first. I was enjoying the surroundings and checking out the place.

One thing I do love about Kanha is that all drivers are not allowed to go any faster than 20kms per hour.. This is most important so one can truly enjoy seeing everything and all animals and the landscape.

Maybe about an hour into the drive we get to a certain area where there is a huge meadow on our right. As we came down a little slope of the hill I looked to my left and then my right and caught a glimpse of something which looked orange/yellow even though it was far away. I always tell people I have eagle eyes. This animal was laying down in a sphynx pose and the more I stared at it I knew it was a tiger. It was a miracle I had spotted my own tiger. Then I told Davis and Membda “guys” I think there is a tiger over there laying down. I said to them we are staying here I don’t want to leave this tiger at all. He was my dream come true.

We stayed in this spot for 20 minutes just watching this young tiger enjoying the afternoon in his jungle. I took many pictures as I rested the camera on the bar of the jeep. All of a sudden there was a spotted deer on his left and it had not noticed the tiger at all. It was grazing and slowly heading towards him.

The male took the position of being very close to the ground as possible and making himself blend in with the grasses.

I took some amazing pictures. As I zoomed in you can clearly see the expression on his face. He is approximately 2-3 years old . I have seen pictures of him . He is the son of Link 7 female tigress. So as the deer came pretty close I assume it smelled the danger and ran the opposite way. There was no hunt. And the tiger yawned a couple more times and decided to get up and move somewhere else. But we stayed put. He was walking parallel to us but towards the end of the meadow. I was just in lala land. My own male tiger to enjoy all to myself in peace.

I also heard him growling lightly, or maybe still calling out to mom. Im not sure. He was such a beautiful tiger, very handsome. The stripes on his face were very unique and I will recognize him when I see him again.

He had started coming closer to us again and he made plenty of eye contact with me. I could only be very quiet as I was in love with him. As he scratched a tree he only put one paw up very high. I was watching his every move. I felt really special. At one point he laid down in an area where he caught a scent of something. This smell, whatever it was made him start licking the dirt for a while, and made some cute grimaces. This was nice to see, a different behavior of cats.

A few minutes later he got up and started moving again , I think he wanted to rest again. As tigers do love to rest most of the day conserving energy. He got to another spot of the forest where he was able to lay down again, but this time with his back towards us. But this male kept his eye on me and looked back in my eyes several times. So sweet he was behaving. Her few minutes went by and he was up again. This was not the spot he wanted to choose.

He wanted to cross the road and get to the other side, so our driver pulled forward and gave him plenty of space. I was juggling my phone taking live videos and the camera. I just enjoyed spending so much quality time with him. He was so calm and quiet, but watchful of me. I really felt a connection with him. As he crossed the track his grace and smooth soft stares toward me were mesmerizing. My heart was melting. He has put an eternal spell on me. A gorgeous male tiger was only 7 feet away from me and I was not scared but felt honored that he trusted me.By this time another jeep had joined us in observing the male tiger. After he crossed the track there was another open meadow to our left and this is where he decided to sit down for a while and rest yet again. I knew he just wanted to relax on this beautiful summer afternoon in the jungle. I have had the most exciting time in my life, and we decided to leave him in peace. This experience was priceless. So many moods of a tigers life I have experienced today. I will never for get him.Returned back to the lodge for overnight.

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