Trip Report:

The Tigers and Wildlife of India
Photo Tour 2013

One of my favorite images from the trip, an encounter that lasted all of 72 seconds! This was one of the 'dream shots' I've had, of a ground-level view of a tiger walking directly towards the camera. Unless otherwise credited, the images in this report are either my own or Mary Ann McDonald's.

See our Pre-trip Report on Keoladeo and Kaziranga
Read our Snow Leopard Expedition Trip Report
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This year, 2013, we were only able to do one photo tour to India, and in a way we were lucky to even have that. Last summer, the India court system had made a decree essentially banning tourism from India's tiger parks. This ruling would have spelled the end for tigers, as without tourism the local economies surrounding tiger country would have been devasted. Although this may seem surprising, tigers are most abundant in the tourist-visited zones in all parks. Because of tourist traffic these areas are constantly patrolled, in contrast to areas off-limits to tourists where virtually no one goes, except poachers. Fortunately in late October the court decision was revisited and the tiger parks reopened and, getting a late start, we were able to get one trip arranged.

One of the provisions of the last court rulings was a concession to those originally advocating banning all tiger tourism. This concession was to reduce the area within the parks where tourist vehicles could travel, restricting this area to approximately 20% of the park area, down from an original 30-35%. This was not a good thing, but another change was the number of vehicles permitted inside the park. This, indeed, was a very good thing, and in the afternoon, when the number of vehicles was severely reduced, parks seemed relatively empty.

Another change involved travel routes and how these routes were implemented. In one park a one-way system was introduced, so that if you missed a tiger you were unable to retrace your route to try to find the cat. In that same park a route system was employed in a previously unrouted zone, restricting you to a particular area and, quite maddeningly, requiring you to drive the entire route even if, in your first few minutes of a game drive, you had a tiger right in front of you!

These changes may have accounted for our total tiger count, which was only 15 tiger sightings, but I believe, even more so, that we just had some bad luck. For example, my favorite park is Kanha, and normally we do quite well with tigers in this park, not getting the most sightings here but always getting several, and usually quite good ones at that. This year we saw no tigers in Kanha and few other vehicles, not a part of our trip, did either. Yet Kanha had the highest tiger count in years, with over sixty tigers in the tourism areas, with more females with cubs than ever before.

Tiger sightings are always a matter of luck, and while we were in Kanha, for example, a family party using three different jeeps had two of the jeeps pass by before a tiger stepped out into the open which gave those in the third jeep a good view of the cat. Normally I see 15 to 25 tigers on a trip and this year, had my luck been just a bit different, I'd have seen 14 tigers instead of the 7 that I did manage to see. Sometimes I'd miss a tiger by just minutes, as a tiger walked down a game track just a short time earlier, or I'd have a tigress family lying behind a screen of bamboo, hidden from view but so close we could hear the mewing of the three cubs that had just made tracks across the trail. This is, of course, frustrating, but it is a part of tiger photography and, in the trip report, I address these encounters as they occur.

Although our tiger count was down, everyone saw tigers, and as the eight images below show our participants shot some spectacular images.

On the last morning, Tom Wester had a shooting session that involved
this large male walking down the game track for over one kilometer!

After not having luck for several days Justine Carson had two great tiger shoots on two mornings in a row! Her positive attitude and not giving up seemed to have paid off with some wonderful shots.

Justine's male and Kris Norvig's female.

Nancy Gallimore shared that 'dream shot' encounter with me, and had
this tiger cub on the afternoon of her first day of game drives.

I do not think that the changes in how the parks now operate accounted for our lack of luck, as this does happen. As I always remind everyone on the first day of our tiger shoot, if getting tiger photos was easy we'd only spend two or three days in the field and our trip would be much shorter. You may need the entire trip before you have luck, but luck, and good tiger photographs, should come.

Although our tiger count was down in many ways this photo tour was the most successful ever in terms of all of the mammal species we did see and photograph. For the first time, everyone saw and photographed Sloth Bears, and Mary, for example, had an opportunity to photograph bears three different times! Everyone saw the Asiatic Leopard, and Kris, Richard, and I managed some decent images, and Tom and Justine (of course!) had a great encounter with the Wild Dog or Dhole. As the report shows, there were many amazing photo opportunities.

On our last day in Kanha Tom (left image) and I finally had our sloth bear, with the male that had charged Mary and Kris's vehicle a few days earlier now calmly walking down
to a waterhole where it took a quick drink.

In the report that follows I chronicle every aspect of the trip, including the triumphs and the frustrations. Some of the latter we subsequently discovered had a valid explanation. Some did not. But, the bottom line is, the Tiger is the most endangered of the big cats, the rarest of all, with less that 1,730 tigers in all of India, and India is the only spot on earth where one has a great chance of photographing a tiger in the wild. Additionally, however, India offers a diverse portfolio of other subjects that makes the trip rewarding regardless of the number of tigers sighted. Here's the report, and after reading it I hope you'll join us in 2014!

Day 1-3, Delhi.
We arrived back in Delhi by late afternoon from our trip to Kaziranga and at the Claridges Hotel we met our final participant, who had arrived a day earlier. The following morning we did a city tour of Old Delhi, a warren of narrow alleys negotiated by bicycle rickshaws and pedestrians, and the Red Mosque. The tour and a lengthy lunch took much of the day, finished by a stop at the Khan market where people bought final purchases. Khan has two well-stocked bookstores and between the two I found two great Indian mammal books, one, the Mammals of Southern Asia, Vol. I, is as good as any African reference I have.
We’ve stayed at the Claridges on all of our previous trips and this downtown hotel is probably the most famous in Delhi. We will not stay there again. Our welcome dinner, consisting of fried cheese, chicken, and bread predominantly, was outrageously expensive and the service agonizingly slow. Internet was charged, and half-hour or hourly rates were based upon time of clock-in, not amount of use, so people who were called away for a phone call or suddenly requested meeting lost their time. On our last morning, leaving for an early departure for our flight to Khajaraho, the water wasn’t working at first, but when it came it was scalding hot. I spoke with a desk clerk (the manager was not available for a face-to-face) and complained about the internet and the water situation, and, in conciliation, the clerk discounted us 30% off our internet bill -- $3 or so – for something most hotels offer for free. I’m usually very laid back about accommodations and service but considering the expense of the room, and the reputation or aura this hotel supposedly has, my dissatisfaction is worth noting. Avoid this hotel.
Our flight to Khajaraho went uneventfully, and by weighing in as a group for checked luggage we just barely met the weight limitation, although I suspect it may not have mattered. Carry-on luggage received no scrutiny and all of us had over-head space.
Because of our early flight we started our 5-6 hour drive to Bandhavgarh in the early afternoon, and for once could enjoy the drive in good light. In the past we’ve often travelled the last portion of this route in the dark, with dust swirling about so that our headlights simply punched a visible beam. It was pleasant to see Sambar and Spotted Deer, and the rare Munjack or Barking Deer in daylight, and to arrive in camp just at dusk.

Day 4. Bandhavgarh

Less than five months ago, all Project Tiger Parks had been closed, and perhaps were to be closed permanently, as misguided tiger conservationists petitioned the Indian courts to ban tourism inside the tiger reserves. Their argument was that tourism was intrusive and harmful to the tigers, while discounting the fact that one, tigers were most abundant in the tourist-visited sections of any park, and two, that the tourism provided ‘eyes on the ground,’ virtually a patrol force against tiger poaching. Eventually the ban was lifted, with new restrictions applied, which we fell under for this visit.
Now, in the Primary Tourist Zone, Jon 1, only twenty vehicles are allowed, with five VIP vehicles not included in that total. Vehicles are still assigned routes, but now each route is only one-way, and drivers can’t turn around to check out or exploit something they may have missed. Of course, going in reverse is OK, and if the road permits drivers are backing up hundreds of yards at time, so the rule is rather absurd. Other zones, previous without routes assigned now have routes, which further impacts tiger viewing as the other two zones are not nearly as productive and an assigned route might be senseless for tiger viewing. In the afternoon, all three zones are limited to only ten vehicles each, which is a good rule but, when coupled with no turning around and with an assigned route, the net effect is somewhat farcical.
We were assigned Jon 1 this morning, with our four vehicles dispersed between the various routes labeled A, B, C and D. My vehicle was assigned A and D, giving us a great drive through low country on the way in, on A, and a potentially less productive, bumpy mountain route on D on the way out. No one in our group saw a tiger this morning, although my vehicle, and others, saw fresh tiger tracks or scrapes, and we heard the alarm calls of Sambar Deer and Spotted Deer several times.
On our first morning we usually let the driver and park guide simply look for tigers, at least until 9AM or so when the heat of the day begins and the chance of a tiger walking down a dirt track is reduced. In this way, driving along, we found our tracks, but as we barely slowed at several waterholes where a tiger might be present, but not obvious, I wondered how many cats we may have missed. Last year, in Kanha, I started to insist we stop and wait and watch for a few minutes at any likely spot and that effort paid off. Still, as this was our first day, I let the drivers do their usual gig.
Bandhavgarh is best for tigers, while other wildlife is more easily photographed elsewhere, and so our shooting this morning was rather limited. Mary captured a great sequence of a flying Crested Serpent Eagle, with her AF system actually keeping track of the bird as it passed behind tree trunks and limbs. Justine and I had a nice Spotted Deer mother and fawn, in sunlight but framed against the black shadows of the forest, and a pair of Alexandrine Parakeet at a nest hole right beside the road. Tom did well with a backlighted Langur Monkey running, and Rich’s vehicle had Golden Jackals cross the road and drink nearby.


PM. We went to Jon 2 this afternoon, leaving at 2PM in order to check in, get our park guide, and drive the twenty-five minutes to the entrance gate. Under the new park rules only ten vehicles are permitted to enter in each Jon during the afternoon session, but unlike last year, where in Jon 2 you could drive anywhere, now routes are assigned, and the system is absurd. The routes are long, and with just short stops for any wildlife requires a full three-hours of driving, an unnecessary expense of gas, pollution, and time. Jeeps are required to complete the entire circuit, which means that the last twenty or more minutes of a game drive might simply be a bouncing, unsafe sprint to reach the park gate before the witching hour of 6PM.
At 4:30PM today, on our circuit, a large male tiger strode directly down the road. No one saw it. The tracks were the only sign, but the forest staff that we spoke to after breathlessly following the tracks told us we were about 45 minutes too late. Mary, Kris, Nancy, and Tom, on a different route did see two of the three Tiger cubs. Mary’s vehicle had yet to complete the circuit and so her jeep was forced to move on, driving quickly to reach a point where one short-cut allowed them to return on the proper route before the 6 o’clock curfew. Tom’s jeep was going the other way and so could stay, and their viewing resulted in some nice shots when one of the 9 month old cubs sat up, giving them a great portrait.
Tiger cub, left, by Nancy Gallimore
Our drive started with Tom and Nancy’s vehicle spotting a Jungle Cat just crossing the road. My vehicle, and Mary’s, soon followed, and most of us got a view, although by the time I reached it the cat was almost completely hidden in the bamboo. Nancy got off a nice shot of this tawny gray, almost bob-tailed cat that is between a house cat and a bobcat in size.
My route continued into good lake country where, last year, one of our jeeps had a nice tiger. The lakes were empty today, although I did have a view of an Indian Cormorant, the first I’ve seen. Although we did not have tigers our drive was quite productive, with a very cooperative Indian Roller, truly frame-filling; a displaying male Peacock; mating and quite vocal Wild Hogs, squealing and grunting and a great lure for any tiger nearby; several Nilgai or blue bulls, and a trio of Golden Jackals that were quite tame and posed on a small rise along the road. Mary’s jeep had great luck with the jackals as well, and with Guar, the Indian bison, the largest species of bovine. Gaur were introduced into this park two years ago and are thriving, now numbering over 60. Although huge animals, a male tiger can kill one and as prey they will hopefully form an important part of the tiger’s diet in the future.
By 5:40 we had shot our last images of the jackals and were now in our sprint home, bouncing and careening along the sandy game track. Had we seen a tiger then it would have been pointless and frustrating, as we couldn’t stop and as it were we reached the gate, in line behind six other vehicles equally put out, one minute before the hour.



Day 5. Bandhavgarh

My jeep was assigned the same route as yesterday, A and C, while Mary’s jeep had C and A. The beginning of our drive was rather slow, highlighted perhaps by one clear, big, and very human-looking print of a Sloth Bear in the road, and later, quite close to the boundary fence, fresh tiger tracks. Although we waited at several water holes we saw, or heard, nothing.
When we intersected with Mary, who was doing our route in reverse, we saw ecstatic faces. Mary and Tom had had a male tiger lying in a nala, a dry wash, completely in the open. Five minutes earlier, they were told, the tiger had been walking down the game track, with only one vehicle in attendance. While Mary and Tom shot, the tiger did a roll, flipping upon his back with all four paws stuck into the air. A few minutes later the tiger got up and walked down the nala, disappearing from sight beyond a bend. When Mary examined her images later on her computer she saw the distinctive split nose and a side stripe with three circles that marked the dominant male tiger of last year, New Male. Now perhaps nine years old and perhaps just past his prime, his canines are worn and one of the top canines is broken in half, worn down almost to the gum.
Although Nancy and I were happy for them, there is always that bitter feeling of disappointment, too, that we didn’t have the same type of luck. I had just commented to Nancy on this, that seeing a tiger was such a crap shoot, a matter of luck so often, when, five minutes later, we had a Tigress walking down the road towards us. Our driver, presumably because he recognized that we had a female, started backing up immediately, for he later told us that females often yield the road, veering off into the jungle. By reversing, he hoped that the tigress would remain on the road for more photos.
I managed about 12 shots as the tigress walked towards us, and another 18 in total as the cat moved into the jungle besides us. At one point she paused and I thought she was going to stretch and claw the tree and I hastily stopped our driver for a moment.

 

 

Seconds later the cat had veered deeper into the forest and soon disappeared. Later, I checked my camera’s metadata and the entire shooting encounter lasted one minute and twelve seconds!  Spotted deer either smelled or somehow saw the tigress after she disappeared from our view and the deer gave repeated snorting alarm calls, which gave us hope that the tigress would reappear in view, but our guide suspected the cat was returning to her cubs. When we checked our images on the computer we saw that he was probably correct, her nipples and milk sacks were extended, indicating she was nursing and we suspect her babies are young.
Richard and Delphine, who had not yet seen a tiger, did get a less than completely satisfying view of New Male when he crossed over on to D route. Our other vehicles missed seeing a cat, and were a bit discouraged, but cheered up by knowing that we still had 11 game drives in this park, and so their chances were still extremely high and no cause for concern or despair.

Portfolio 1



Clockwise, from upper left, Mary's photos of
Black Stork, Peacock, White-bellied Drongo, and Green Bee-eater.

PM. We were booked for Jon 3, an area we’ve heard mixed reports about over the years, but sufficient negatives that we never voluntarily visited this area. At least one village is inside the actual park, and in some of the areas we drove through the understory had vanished, cleared by domestic cattle and water buffaloes. This was discouraging, but in other areas of the park the undergrowth was fairly natural, although game was rather sparse. During the course of the drive, however, we did have several Wild Boar, a family or two of Sambar Deer, a small number of Spotted Deer, and small groups of Langur Monkeys.
Several times we heard alarm calls, and one water hole we staked out looked extremely promising if, indeed, a tiger would show up to drink. None did, and after a half hour wait we moved on, where we met Mary and Tom who had just come from a leopard, perched distantly on an open rock. They did manage photos but the cat was quite small in the frame.
I was standing through much of the drive watching for game and once, as I looked to my left, a low-hanging bamboo branch whacked me hard in the head. I was pretty annoyed, and as politely as I could I reminded my driver to please let me know when a branch was coming since, presumably, he’d be watching the road even if I was looking elsewhere. Our park guide occasionally stood as well, but like most guides most of his attention was directed forward.
Although this is incredibly annoying it always amazes me how much most of these guides spot, even when simply looking ahead. I have to wonder, however, if they actively looked, glancing backwards after we pass a rock pile or a stream bed or clump of trees, what they might see. Instead, for the most part their spotting consists of whatever is ahead of them and, if passed, it is missed.
I didn’t shoot any images until after we left the park and were driving back where we encountered a White-throated Kingfisher perched fairly close to the road. While we watched the bird flew down and captured a beetle, then returned to the perch where it tossed the insect a few times, then dropped or discarded it without swallowing. In the last light of the day a Golden Jackal sat upright in a good position, but as we were prepared to shoot another jeep drove by, and stopped directly in our path. Despite our gestures they remained, and the jackal eventually trotted off. Most annoying was the fact that their guide was one I’ve had and who knows me, and yet he simply carried on with the uncaring and obnoxious behavior.  

Day 6. Bandhavgarh

A tiger sat hidden in brush, nearly impossible to see but the jeep’s guide saw it. They stopped, and the tiger slipped into a crouch, moving through the brush towards a small group of spotted deer. The tiger charged and the deer ran, and the tiger missed, as most hunts generally end unsuccessfully. We missed all of this action, too, and I was told this observation when another jeep passed by, and the lady inside excitedly shared her story which had happened just minutes earlier. That was her second tiger of the day.
No one in our group saw a cat today, and very little that was noteworthy. My jeep was assigned to D and B, and Mary’s to B and D, within another of our vehicles on the same route and the last on the route where the tigers had been seen. All of the drives ended early, and we were out of the gate by 10, and would have been out at 9:30 had we not dragged our feet the last section of the route, a distance normally covered in ten minutes or so. We were frustrated and angry, and when we returned to camp Mary had a discussion with her driver and another who had the misfortune of arriving at the same time, and I had one with my driver as well.
At lunch we discussed this situation with the group. The given, here, is that the drivers sincerely want their clients to see a tiger and when one hasn’t been spotted, or suspected to be in an area, they may drive fast in the hopes that they’ll encounter one along the drive. Consequently one may complete a game drive early, and may, in doing so, pass by or miss out on potential photo subjects. Alternatively, one may spend all one’s time photographing subjects and miss out on a tiger, and then rue the decision to have not moved on.
After lunch I had a talk with our drivers, two of which had been discreetly listening to our entire conversation, about our concerns. Fundamentally it comes down to communication. I told them if they heard of a tiger, either from the reports from previous game drives or from a report from another driver that day, they should let the passengers know. A tiger that’s spotted walking down a trail that is 45 minutes away from our location may not be worth the drive, and the drive might be better spent shooting other subjects en route. A tiger soaking in a pool might be worth expending that time and passing on other shots, knowing that the cat might not be there but that the chance is greater than it would be for a cat simply walking by. I stressed how frustrating it is for us to have the park guide simply looking forward and never turning around to look down a nala or drive wash, or down an intersecting game track. I’ve seen this so often that I’ve wondered if they don’t bother looking because that game track is closed to vehicles, despite the fact that such a tiger might walk down a closed track right to us! The meeting went well, as it always does with guides who maintain a professionalism and outward calmness that might mask any reaction or objection. Time will tell if the talk had any effect.


PM. If this afternoon’s game drive is any indication the talk did indeed make a difference. Everyone reported a much smoother drive, and more communication. Mary’s vehicle was the only one assigned to D and B and her drive was relatively uneventful. Our other three vehicles were on A and C and we had some action.
Shortly after starting the drive we met some forest workers who reported that a tiger had made a kill further along our route. As is typical of information this was distorted – they saw a tiger chasing a spotted deer but did not know the outcome. We suspected that the tigress was on one side of the road, where the chase occurred, while her three cubs were somewhere on the other. We patrolled up and down the road looking until Sambar and Langur Monkeys began giving alarm calls and we headed that way. Eventually everyone gravitated to a lala, or dry wash, where the langurs seemed to be directing their attention. My park guide pointed to a distant spot saying he saw the tiger but I misunderstood his directions and looked much further than where the 18 month old tiger cub was lying.
Peacocks moved in close to where the tiger was, but this too was disorienting because I thought that the cat was further out. When the peacocks flushed I finally had a reference and soon a tiger’s head appeared above the grasses. Soon after it walked across the lala, and after a few minute, paused and walked back. The distance was great and the intervening grasses tricked the autofocus for all but one shot, which was merely a record shot with grasses obscuring much of its face. The tiger passed behind a tree and moved up the hill, followed a few seconds later by another tiger (two of the three cubs) that disappeared in the grasses.

Portfolio 2


Langur Monkey with tiny baby; Spotted Deer;
Gaur calf; Peacock

Over the next half hour we jockeyed back and forth along the road in anticipation of the cats’ crossing but they settled down instead, giving us a distant view of the head and forequarters of one of the cats as it lay down. Frustratingly, the tigers probably would have walked down the lala and crossed the road in front of us except for the forest workers AND the Park Warden and a uniformed woman ranger who were standing in the road. All of the drivers and guides declared that this stopped the cats’ progress, and this is maddening. These uniformed officials must know how this impacts the tigers, and in doing so how this prevents a good viewing experience for the six tourists vehicles lined up, with passengers inside hoping to see or photograph a tiger. Yet it doesn’t matter.
By 4:45, just twenty minutes or so from the park gate and exit, we had to move on, to complete the entire A and C circuit, wasting gas, time, and producing wear/tear on both the vehicle and the roads. Why, when a tiger is spotted and likely to show itself, in the afternoon when only ten vehicles are permitted in the park, why then do the drivers have to follow their assigned circuit for no other reason than it is the route and the rule …. Absolutely insane.
On a positive note, when we returned to the lodge another couple did Jon 3, the route we did yesterday, and had a thirty-two minute tiger sighting of a cat just 25 meters off the road. They were thrilled, and had a great experience, and this does illustrate that on any given day, virtually any where in the park, magic can happen. One just must be lucky.
On another positive note, I talked with a Dutch photographer we’d previously met at the snow leopard camp. At Ulley, where we had little, he had a pack of Wolves and some very nice images, too, and he said he hiked up within 80 yards of the Asiatic Ibex we saw from such a distance. I think the young man is as strong as an ox. At any rate, he returned one day early from Leh and learned that another snow leopard had made a kill. The next day, being free, he booked a taxi and he and his guide drove to the Park entrance and then hiked up the valley to the site. The snow leopard moved off when they appeared but soon returned, and he and his guide had the cat to themselves, and those pictures ended up to be even better than the ones that I missed (and that some of our group did get) on our last full day at the snow leopard camp.
This was great news and quite inspiring as it proves that the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity I missed may indeed be a bit more common. For the first time, in writing or talking about this snow leopard trip and that lost opportunity, I can do either without an ulcer-like pain sickening me with self-recrimination and regret. I now feel a bit inspired, and quite motivated to return.

(left) Photo by Angus Fraser of the Snow Leopard I missed (read our Snow Leopard Expedition Trip Report).



Day 7. Bandhavgarh

Because of the reduction in vehicle permits and the uncertainness of whether or not tourism would even take place in any of the tiger reserves tourism is down. The jeeps are, of course, still full and all permits are used up but at least half of the vehicles once used now go empty each day, and I worried about some of the favorite drivers we have had in the past. One, particularly, was missed, as Kamul had been my driver on most of my best shoots. This was luck, not skill on his part, but nonetheless he had been my lucky penny. Today, much to my relief, I saw that he was driving other clients from our lodge and I had a chance to shake hands and say hello. Perhaps that would be an omen of good fortune for the day.
We were assigned A and D once again and our park-assigned guide was a good one, standing up almost from the start to watch for game. We had travelled almost the entire first leg without seeing a track and had just commented on this when our guide spotted the tracks of an adult and small cubs. We backed up to examine the tracks which led into the forest where the scent of an old kill we had smelled for days still lingered in the air. A short distance down the track was water, a forested pond with a vegetation-free zone that faced the track, and we hoped the tigers had settled nearby. Suddenly a spotted deer snorted a loud alarm, and our driver raced down the track towards the pond. Another driver joined us a moment later, coming from the opposite direction and stopping where we’d just been. He saw movement and signaled, but before we could move his jeep came barreling down the track to join us. Inside, a tourist with a short zoom lens peered out into the forest demonically, his anxiousness pasted onto his face in a leer that appeared almost murderous. I commented to Tom that I hoped we didn’t look so bad when we were driving!
Our driver spotted a little cub just as it dashed from a nearly hidden puddle deeper into the bamboo. I missed it, and with the roar of the vehicle that joined us the cats apparently settled down to hide. We waited almost 1.5 hours, joined periodically by other vehicles that quickly lost interest and moved off. As our clock wound down we needed to move on, too, to complete the entire circuit before the park closure at 10:30. Our tigers never showed.
Rich and Delphine, in another jeep and on the same track but in reverse, did have a good, if fleeting, view of a tiger walking through the grass. It was their best tiger sighting to date and Rich managed some decent shots between the grasses.
Mary and Nancy, and Kris and Justine, had spectacular luck with a Sloth Bear that walked into the open and crossed onto the game track several times. Mary and Nancy started their shoots with their 500mms and thought they had struck gold before the bear moved into the forest. Their park guide believed the bear would reappear and told them to get their short lenses ready, and indeed the bear did reappear, returning to the game track to sniff a tree trunk and then stand upright where, back to the tree, it rubbed itself in a languorous scratch. Multiple frames later the bear dropped back to all fours and ambled off. Tom and I did see bear tracks, from another bear on our route, for what that’s worth!
Seemingly pressed by the deadline we spent too little time at a Brown Fish Owl perched in the open above a small waterhole. We waited until the owl turned its head our way before shooting, but the bird never raised its head for a direct look. Soon after, in the big reflection meadow we stopped for a vulture tree where we got our best shots of Long-billed Vultures (a near look-alike for the African white-backed vulture) and a Red-headed Vulture, that closely resembled the African Lappet-faced or Nubian vulture.
Surprisingly the big meadow at the end of the game drive wasn’t far off and we reached that meadow by 10:05, which would have given us another ten minutes to wait for the tigers at the water hole. One never knows, however, and had we encountered a tiger en route and had to pass it by without a shot simply to make the park deadline is far worse than arriving a bit early. This did give us a chance to shoot the best Changeable Hawk-Eagle shots we’ve ever had, of an adult perched at eye-level quite close to the road.
After the game-drive we visited the art store just outside the park. One of the owners was in the process of painting a large canvas and I had the chance to ask questions and watch him work. He’d been working on adding black grass streaks to the background, while the orange shape of the lying tiger lay sightless, white canvas eyes poking blankly forward. I asked him to do the eyes and he obliged, just starting the process with a swirl of yellows swabbed across the orbits. A green-brown-yellow mix came next, adding shadow below the brow, and followed by a line of black defining the entire eye. Three dabs of white, marking reflected highlights, completed the rough treatment which the artist said he’d finish later. Nonetheless the eyes, and the painting, had already come to life and as one who poorly dabbles in painting I could only marvel at his skill, speed, and vision.
Lunch was lively with everyone sharing bear or tiger stories, and, as this is Wednesday, the afternoon was free as the park is closed this afternoon. While we missed the park it did give everyone time to rest or catch up on reading or editing.

 Day 8. Bandhavgarh

Writing about this will probably guarantee that this will never happen again, that it is purely coincidence and that this string of events will be broken. However, last night we danced.
(photo: Nancy Gallimore)
Dinner, last evening, was outdoors and a local troop of dancers performed their traditional dances while we sampled various appetizers. Always, near the conclusion of the program, the tourists are invited to join in the concluding dance, a bouncy, potentially rhythmic clockwise rotation where everyone has a chance to demonstrate grace, rarely, or complete ineptitude, for rhythmic-less folks like me. Most everyone joined in, as did Mary and I, and Kris, who would share a jeep with me today. The staff loves to see us participating, perhaps happy to see us sharing the culture or enjoying the comedy show as we shuffle along hopelessly.
Regardless, virtually every time I’ve joined in, as has my jeep partner, I’ve had luck, often the best shoot of my time in Bandhavgarh. Today was no exception, as Kris and I had the only tiger sighting, and we had three.
The day started quite slowly and our drive went rather uneventfully, with no tiger tracks and the best shooting being that of a Spotted Deer buck strongly backlighted against the dark forest. Perhaps because of the backlighting I noticed for the first time that the white spots on the deer consist of longer hairs than the ground color of brown. These hairs stick up like little tufts, and I wonder if this raised surface serves in some way to enhance the camouflage, as these light spots literally produce a 3D effect.
We had a small group of Gaur, the introduced Indian bison brought to the park two years ago, and a distant view of a Jungle Cat, and little else. A large gathering of vultures swarmed about a kill about 50 yards into the forest and more sailed in, and I suspect a tiger had left a relatively fresh kill within the hour. The deer and Wild Boar nearby were relaxed, and I guess the tiger had long gone.
At the Reflection Meadow, where this kill was located, we’re just about 30 minutes from the park gate if one drives directly. Knowing this, as we left the forest I had our driver stop several times and simply wait and listen. We continued like this until we were within three hundred yards of the last forest edge where I had the driver stopped at a crossroads with another, but closed, game track. It was only 9:15 and, had we continued, we’d have been at the gate within 15 minutes, or wasting a lot of time in habitually tiger-free country.
We waited, surrounded only by jungle sounds, as the minutes ticked by. It was tempting to move on, drawn by the lure that something might be ahead but that was pointless – there was little forest left ahead to worry about. After a half hour or so we heard some distant alarm calls of spotted deer, six in total, but they seemed far off and neither our driver, nor our completely worthless park guide, thought we needed to move on.
At 10:10 my driver suggested we move on, just in case anything was ahead and we’d driven only a hundred yards when we came upon two jeeps, just as a tiger was crossing the road in front of them. It was in the bamboo in seconds but we raced to the spot where that tiger, and two others, were lying in an opening between the bamboo clumps. They were the three 18 month old cubs, the same cubs I’d seen one year ago on a track nearby. The alarm calls we heard may have been for these tigers or perhaps for their mother, but either way there were no more alarm calls.
The shooting was tough, even though the cats were in the open as bamboo limbs and trunks criss-crossed the view before us. Still, there were small windows, enough for my 800mm to poke a hole but too cluttered for a shot encompassing all three cats. Time races by, and perhaps we had ten minutes, but it only seemed like two when our driver told us we had to move on!
Apparently the Park Warden had driven by and told our driver we had to leave. He had continued up the road and was supposed to be returning shortly and our driver was afraid that we’d still be here and he’d be banned from the park. The warden had a woman ranger with him, a nice-looking girl I’d seen several times that I’d greet by name, and she was riding in back holding his large telephoto lens. According to the driver this warden fancies himself a photographer, and doesn’t want any competition, and shoos others away when he arrives. Whether that, or the following fact is true – that he has the forest people walking the game tracks to drive the tigers away from the road, the rumor certainly is disconcerting.
Although we were elated to see tigers, especially at the end of an otherwise unproductive drive, we were immensely frustrated as the entire experience seemed rushed and unfulfilling. The entire reason why we’re here is to see and photograph tigers, and then, to have only minutes before being forced along, was truly maddening. If the warden’s worry was harassment it was pointless, as the three tigers were off the track and completely relaxed, lying down sleeping or lying awake, unconcerned by the three vehicles near by.
Richard and Delphine had a fresh tiger kill right next to their game track. The spotted deer had not been eaten but they could tell it was a kill, as the throat was still wet and obviously mauled. A park forest guy stood next to the kill, and his presence would obviously keep, or drive off, any tiger. The forester said that after the tiger left a leopard had come in, but was chased off by the tiger, and now both were gone. Neither would return until after 10:30 when the park was clear of vehicles, assuming of course that the forester left, too.
If this is true, if the forester was standing there to keep the tiger away, and thus to frustrate tourists, then the tiger ban that had been implemented (closing the tiger parks to tourism) and that has now been rescinded may as well still be a law. If the goal is to frustrate tourists, to discourage tourists, and to make the parks less attractive so that, even if open, the result is the same – no visitors, then the policy is working. (Later, speaking with one of the guides I came to the conclusion that the forest worker was not intentionally keeping a tiger away). The regulations and the day-to-day experiences, with uniformed park wardens and foresters standing in the open, blocking a tiger’s path (two days ago), or driving off a tiger (if that’s what happened today) or moving tourists along after a few minutes of viewing, can give the impression that this park is a madhouse.
Unfortunately, India is the only game in town when it comes to seeing truly wild tigers, and this spectacular animal, when encountered, is indeed worth all of the frustrations. Sadly, though, it doesn’t have to be this way, and I must say that these parks create the most unpleasant wildlife experiences I’ve had anywhere in the world. But they have the tigers, the world’s most endangered big cat.
PM. We returned to Jon 2 for the afternoon and on the long, bumpy main road that leads to that entrance gate Richard and Delphine had langur monkeys barking in alarm. Their guide was certain a tiger was about, just on the opposite side of the park fence, but the cat remained hidden.
No one saw tracks or signs of a cat on the afternoon drive, although once, at a big meadow where a tiger had been sighted in the morning we did hear alarm calls. We missed a jungle cat by a few minutes, but the cat was lost in the buff-yellow tall grasses.
The routes on Jon 2 require a long, continuous drive which, on the plus side, covers a lot of likely habitat and maximizes the chances of sighting a cat along the road. On the negative, the distance necessitates not stopping for long periods at any given subject. Our game drive was fairly slow, although we did have a nice nursing Langur Monkey with baby, and another troop lined up pleasingly on a slanted fallen log.

Day 9. Bandhavgarh

Three of our jeeps were assigned B and D in some combination, and one A and C. We hadn’t traveled far, crossing the big meadows that lead, eventually, to B route where I had the three tiger cubs yesterday, when a driver ahead of us signaled he heard an alarm call. About eight vehicles parked along the side and waited, and within a few minutes a Tiger appeared. My driver spotted it immediately, and his power of resolution and discernment is, as I’ve seen many times, simply incredible. He described where the cat was, just a bit of head sticking out from one side of a tree trunk and its rump the other, and through my lens I finally made it out. He, of course, had seen it immediately.
Mary’s vehicle was here, too, and when further alarm calls sounded up ahead she, and most of the jeeps, drove on, where she managed a glimpse of another cub. I waited where we were, and the other vehicles eventually backed up to join us here, but the tigers never reappeared. After a half hour or so of waiting we drove on.
The rest of our game drive was leisurely and fairly uneventful. We found more tiger tracks at the reflection meadow and heard an alarm call, and had a very close, back-lighted Crested Serpent Eagle perched in a low tree. Mary did well with some running langurs.
The big news, however, was that Justine, who had only had one very poor and distant view of a tiger up to now, and who was the only one not to photograph a tiger, had incredible luck today. On the same route I was on, but in reverse, D and B, she and Kris had a tiger stretched out on the game track in front of them! The cat lounged for a short while and then stood up and walked right by their jeep. In all, they had over twenty minutes with the tiger. (photo, left, Justine Carson).
It’s always extremely frustrating when you don’t see a tiger, especially if everyone else in the group has had some type of luck, but Justine’s spirits never flagged and she had remained upbeat. As I’ve told the group numerous times, getting a good tiger is a challenge, and if it was easy we’d only spend a day or two or three in Bandhavgarh. Sometimes someone doesn’t even have luck within this park, and sometimes, like it was for Justine, the luck falls into place on the last days. Either way, she had a truly great tiger and with the amount of time they had, Kris’s frustration that she and I shared yesterday with our aborted tiger shoot was now remedied by having another chance at success.
PM. We headed back into Jon 3 for our final afternoon game drive in Bandhavgarh and, having no assigned route systems, I looked forward to this visit. Park officials had ordered the cows and buffalo we’d seen on our previous visit out of the park, and, now knowing what to expect, it seemed as if we actually saw more game. I’m sure this was because our perception wasn’t clouded by seeing livestock, and perhaps without the cows and buffaloes there were no hidden human herdsmen either, and consequently the game animals were relaxed.
We spent about a half hour at the large open waterhole where we waited anxiously as the ‘chooing’ alarm calls of spotted deer sounded several times. At any moment we expected a tiger to round the crest of the pond’s embankment and appear, but only spotted deer arrived, giving us some nice shots as several snuggled up together for a long drink. When the last alarm calls drifted off into the distance we moved on, and soon Mary encountered a Leopard that was shy and ran off the game track even as she spotted it, a quick view of its hindquarters.
We took a different route and soon came upon three jeeps that had left the waterhole earlier, parked now and looking into the forest. A male tiger had just crossed their game track and now was hidden in the bamboo where it emitted a series of deep roars. Females often do so to advertise their coming into heat, while males do so to announce their presence and to define their territory. The roars were close and even from the safety of the open jeep they got our attention. The tiger moved off and we raced around to a game track where we hoped the tiger would cross, but the distance, about 3 km, was too great for the time we had remaining on the drive. No alarm calls marked its approach and so we headed for the gate, fast, to meet the 6PM curfew.
Close to the gate we joined the other vehicles which were parked for a Jungle Cat that was hunkered down, blending to near invisibility a distance off the track. My park guide said, ‘no light,’ and we moved on, and I assumed the cat had gone. Mary later told me it was simply lying still, although any shot would have been, indeed, at slow shutter speeds and of a cat simply huddled low to the ground.

Day 10. Bandhavgarh

Justine and Tom had a spectacular tiger today, New Male or Bamera, walking down a game track towards them. Their’s was the only vehicle when they encountered the dominant male of most of the Tala region as the big cat walked along the track. Two other vehicles eventually joined them and the three constantly backed up to keep the tiger within the frame. Tom used a 500 and 70-200, and with the 500 sometimes the cat was too close for fitting within the frame. (photo, left, by Tom Wester)
As Justine commented after the drive, she wishes she had another week here! Until yesterday, when she finally had a decent viewing she had little luck, but on the last two days of our 7 in Bandhavgarh she struck gold.  As Mary and I constantly tell our participants, usually everyone has luck, but it may take the entire trip to do so, and they may strike out in Bandhavgarh or Kanha and finally have luck in Pench. It is possible, of course, to have no luck, but in 5 safaris here that’s never happened to anyone. If it was easy, if you could almost guarantee getting a tiger in Bandhavgarh on the first day or so a trip wouldn’t require two or three weeks, instead perhaps only two or three days. But that’s not the reality.
The other three jeeps had no tigers, but both Mary and I agree that we probably have never seen as many tiger tracks on a game drive as we did today. They were everywhere, where, contrast, yesterday we’d not seen a single track until late in the drive, when we followed a set for a short distance. The various makers of these tracks had disappeared by the time we arrived, although we covered the areas quite thoroughly.
At the end of our game drive Delphine and I spent twenty minutes at a very open water hole. Shortly after we parked a small group of Spotted Deer materialized from the forest and walked directly to the water to drink. The reflections were nearly perfect. A buck appeared from the opposite side and after making a few perfunctory stops by the water finally settled to drink where the other’s had been, as if using that area as a known safety zone. One fawn joined the buck and for a moment the two touched noses, their reflections perfectly mirroring the act.
As we headed towards the gate we had perhaps the best Lesser Adjutant Stork I’ve had, close to the road and actively feeding. This stork, which resembled the African Maribou, is almost as unattractive, with a nearly naked orange head adorned with wispy, cow-lick feathers projecting from its bald crown.
This was our last morning in the park and after lunch we headed to Kanha, arriving in record time. Along the way, at a break, our driver unexpectedly opened the back hatch of our vehicle and my camera bag fell to the ground. Nothing seems broken, although I was pretty annoyed at his carelessness, especially with no need to open up the back.
At our lodge we assembled by 6:30 when, as hoped, a Giant Flying Squirrel emerged from its tree hollow, climbed to the top of the tree and, with a short pause, launched itself in what was probably the best gliding show I’ve ever had here. This gigantic squirrel passed almost directly overhead, its four legs stretching the skin folds into an effective sail as it volplaned to another tree. Perhaps this will be an omen for our time in Kanha, as this was a great start.

Day 11. Kanha

Mary, Kris, Richard, and Delphine struck gold today, in the shape of an incredible Sloth Bear that stayed along a game track for over 30 minutes. Prior to breakfast another tourist had a good sighting and, at the breakfast stop, showed us his images of the bear standing up and scratching itself upon a tree. After breakfast several of our vehicles went looking, and as Mary’s vehicle went to turn down a track that flagged them down and told them that the bear was on the other track. When they arrived the bear had just crossed a game track and started down another, where it remained, walking along and periodically standing to scratch at least half a dozen times.
They were able to stay ahead of the bear so almost all of their images were front views. At one point the bear actually charged their vehicle, perhaps doing six or ten strides while their driver sped ahead, keeping out of reach of the bear. Sloth bears are notoriously aggressive, and for people on foot these bears are quite dangerous. Oddly bad-tempered when one considers their diet of ants and termites, the bear ambles along noisily in the forest, apparently unconcerned by most predators. Tigers have killed and eaten sloth bears, but they are just as likely to leave this animal alone.
(Mary's photo is at left)
After more than 30 minutes Mary and Kris left, leaving the bear to Richard and Delphine who also had the bear scratching on a tree. The omen of the flying squirrel may prove true, as this was a lucky start to Kanha.
My drive with Justine was rather slow, although we followed several fresh tiger tracks for several kilometers through the sal forest. Twice we stopped at my favorite waterhole, Baba Tinka, with our second visit, after breakfast, a lengthy 30 minutes as we sat quietly, hoping for game to approach. Nothing did, and after a bit of excitement when we heard brush crackling consistently – discovering it was forest workers sweeping the road for recording fresh tiger tracks, we moved on.
Earlier, after spotting a Golden Jackal feeding on a fresh kill, we had a series of Langur Monkey alarm calls, but these proved to be false alarms, as the jackal had moved closer to their forest. Spotted Deer were in various stages of antler growth, and we stopped for one buck with antlers just sprouting, forming what resembled a medieval crown, and another buck with a fully grown rack that was stripped of most of its velvet. Spotted deer do not have a specific rut and bucks are likely to sport antlers in any stage, from buds to fully developed and bare racks, at virtually any time of year.
No one in our group saw a tiger but another jeep’s group did, after returning twice to the same set of tracks. At the second visit a tiger leaped across the road, giving the tourists a brief glimpse. One of our jeeps had also been to the spot twice, but the cat lingered until our people had moved on.
At lunch I posed a question to one of our participants who, four days ago, had said that he(she) would not recommend a trip to India. Now, after having had two or three days of very good luck, I wondered if that person had a change of heart. Maybe, was the answer, which was expounded upon by saying that personally she(he) was happy they came, but that they didn’t know if they would, or could, recommend the trip. Nothing against our trip, it was noted– the comment was based upon just the way India is.
We talked about the frustrations one faces here, with the assigned routes in Bandhavgarh and the park superintendent who seems to be only for himself. Kanha is entirely different in every way, and is far more pleasant. Nonetheless, I reminded everyone that the tiger is the world’s most endangered cat, and that India is the only country in the world where one can hope to see one in the wild.
Photos, above, by Justine Carson

We pointed out that we do tell people in our brochure that one cannot expect to see a tiger every day, and perhaps, if luck is against you, you may never see one, but that in our experience everyone does realize success at some point. It was mentioned that one of the frustrations here is that radios are not allowed, so although one vehicle, or set of friends, may see a tiger no one else might. We clarified this, explaining that the ban on radios certainly facilitates the anti-poaching efforts, as well as making tigers a special treat and eliminating the traffic clusters that otherwise would form. Certainly it is frustrating to have missed a tiger, perhaps just by a minute or so, that you could have had if a radio was used to call you back, but that’s how it is here, and it is something that must be accepted.
It was observed that in the Pantanal without a radio to call that person in they’d have not seen a single jaguar, but by having a radio they saw and photographed several. That’s a valid point, but that’s how the Pantanal works, it is not how India does things. On the positive side, without radios it is quite likely a lot of people doing a jaguar trip would not see one, regardless of the amount of time spent afield. In India, in prime habitat, you are likely to see a tiger despite not having a radio.
PM. While Justine and my morning was slow this afternoon was the opposite, although we did not, nor did anyone else, see a tiger or a sloth bear. Mary and Richard’s vehicles did have a far off view of a Jungle Cat.
The productive afternoon included a Racquet-tailed Drongo silhouette, a very cooperative Shikra (an accipiter hawk), a Common Hawk-cuckoo (which resembles the shikra), and several opportunities with barasingha or Swamp Deer, including a nicely-antlered buck in a grassy pond and a herd, towards dusk, sticking their heads up out of the long grasses.
With Jay, the 9 year old son of the lodge managers, I set up a Range IR bait site at a small artificial waterhole, with the hopes that we might capture a jackal or jungle cat during the night.

Day 12. Kanha

No one in our group saw a tiger or sloth bear this morning, but we did hear a report that one tiger was seen for as much as a half hour as it sat or lay beside the road. Nevertheless, most of us had excellent game drives with plenty of subjects.
I was with Nancy and our morning began with a fast drive to where a tigress and three cubs frequented, but our progress was halted by a mature bull Gaur standing in the road. This, the largest bovine, or member of the cow/antelope family, is immense, standing almost six feet tall, supported by white-stocking legs, topped by a massive shoulder hump. The gaur was calling, a seemingly weak ‘ooooohhhhooohhhhhh’ whistle-like call, not at all like the bellow one might expect. The bull approached, walking along the leafy berm and paused several times to call before, almost beside us, it veered off into the bamboo. Nancy declared she already had her highlight.
In contrast to yesterday when tiger tracks were everywhere we saw relatively few today, although we did see, and stopped to photograph, two different sets of leopard tracks. Deer were cooperative and we stopped several times to shoot Sambar or Spotted Deer as they walked across the game track, often in silhouette against the misty background of the cathedral-like sal forest.
We stopped for a small troop of Langur Monkeys that I had hoped would leap to trees overhead but instead, one by one, they dashed across the road, giving us wonderful back-lighted shots. Later, at the Peacock Park, a male peacock settled beneath a huge banyan tree where it posed wonderfully. Although the light was poor, being in deep shade, the peacock was quite still and the colors glowed.
After our breakfast break we headed in the general direction of the exit, stopping for a Black Drongo, barasingha, and, quite surprisingly, a trio of Hoopoes that perched in a nearby tree. Hoopoes resemble woodpeckers in many ways, and to an extent occupy a niche similar to our American flickers. Seen from the side they remind me of a pterodactyl, as their crest, when relaxed, forms a long extension, almost giving the bird a two-beaked head. I’ve often been mistaken thinking a hoopoe was facing left, because of the crest, when the bill was actually facing right. When the crest fans erect there is no mistaking anything about the bird, and when doing so the bird is striking.
By 11:30 the sun and air was hot, and the difference in temperature from just a few days ago is striking. It’s said that winter turns to summer quickly in India, with little if any spring or transitory temperatures, and this year that certainly appears to be so.
PM. We’d barely started our game drive when I spotted a very nice Indian Roller perched on a partially burnt tree stump. We shot it from several angles, joined by Tom and Mary, before the bird flew to the ground, grabbing an insect and flying off.
Nancy and I circled a forest where a large male tiger was reported to have settled in the late morning, and our driver said we’d return to a fire break later to wait. As we drove through the area we again met up with Mary and her guide, and mine, said that a forest worker had spotted the tiger just upriver from the bridge where Mary was parked. She decided to wait there, while my vehicle moved up 200 yards to the crest of the hill where we could see several hundred yards down the road, back to Mary’s jeep, and, most importantly, down a fire lane where, if the tiger appeared and walked this easy trail, I’d have one of my ‘dream’ shots.
We waited over two hours but nothing showed up. At 5:15, after a 1.15 hour wait, our driver suggested we go look for jungle cats but I said no, reasoning that if we’d waited this long, if it had been worthwhile to wait this long, didn’t it make sense to stay when it is even more likely that the tiger would start moving? We stayed. At 5:45 Red-wattled Lapwings started screaming from the direction of the river and I suspected that the tiger had left the water and was moving. On previous trips lapwings have alerted us to the presence of tigers. Ten minutes later the calls stopped, and we suspected the tiger had left the shoreline. Where did it go?
It never showed, and shortly after 6 we headed back to camp. None of our jeeps saw cats this afternoon, although Richard and Justine had a nice Gaur. One jeep, not our’s, supposedly followed an unconcerned male leopard for a kilometer or more, and this morning, another jeep – with occupants that had only one day to visit the park – had a spectacular tiger, probably the one we spent the afternoon hoping for.

Day 13. Kanha

No tigers or sloth bears for us, but two of the lodge’s jeeps drove over to the Kanha section where, at 7:30AM, two tigers were standing in the road. The lodge manager raved about the pose and lighting, and wished that I’d had been there! By the time the second jeep arrived, however, the tigers were already in the bamboo and although close the photography was poor. Another tiger, perhaps their mother, had crossed the road a few minutes earlier, but offered no shots.
At Peacock Park, however, Richard and I had a spectacular male Peacock that was posing atop a large broken stump. As we pulled up the bird had flown from that perch and, just whipping up my lens, I shot an out-of-focus frame-filler that, a second or two more lead time, would have been wonderful. A few minutes later, however, the bird returned to the perch where it posed and preened, and eventually flew off.
Although we cruised various roads for tigers we did have other successes, including Flying black storks, the most cooperative Shikra hawk I’ve ever had, allowing us to get full-frame shots and never flying off, and a portrait of a  langur monkey perched as a sentinel.
PM. No tigers were spotted this evening by any jeep. Richard and I decided to ‘throw a Hail Mary pass,’ going for broke for tigers and passing up on birds or other subjects. We hadn’t traveled far when that idea was contradicted somewhat when we stopped for a Shikra that had just flown to the ground, caught a grasshopper, and returned to a nearby perch. We stayed with the bird the few minutes required for it to finish off the insect.
At the cross-dike we stopped for a bird I’d been missing, a Cotton Pigmy Goose, the world’s smallest goose. They flew to a further point when we arrived, but the view of the bird in flight was good, reminding me of a little bufflehead duck from North America. We lingered here, and after a few minutes our driver excitedly pointed to a Leopard he’d spotted on the opposite shoreline. At the distance I couldn’t be sure whether I was seeing the leopard or not, although I think it had passed. We heard alarm calls seconds later and sped off, as we wondered if it was for a tiger or the leopard we were chasing.
Several other jeeps followed us in this dash, and we arrived at a forest firebreak where we waited, with other jeeps piling in behind us. The leopard appeared, traveling through the undergrowth behind us and our driver tried to back up, but the next vehicle refused to move. I did get off a series as the leopard crossed the game track, but those images would have been full-frame had we been able to go backward.
The cat disappeared into the forest and we dashed to another firebreak where we waited, expecting the leopard to cross. Another jeep went on a scouting drive, and returned, telling us that the leopard was in a tree at a spotted deer fawn kill. We drove there and, with some difficulty, found the cat but the distance was great and with trees and leaves there were no clear views.
We continued on, driving the roads for tigers but without success. Nancy and Justine, in the last light of the day, had a great Jungle Cat, nearly full-frame, that caused us some confusion when we saw Justine’s images later. (photo, left, by Justine Carson) Our first impression was that the cat was a domestic cat, not a wild jungle cat, as the black ear tufts appeared to be missing and the tail seemed too long. Later images, however, showed the back of the ears and the tail, when compared to the guides, was within limits, and, with the foreleg stripes, the identity was confirmed.
There was some discussion later about visiting a pond that is ideal for shooting, if a tiger would appear. However, none had been sighted in that area for several days, and no tracks, and our guide and driver recommended that we move on. This made sense to me, as the guides would take us to locations where tigers were known to be, even if hidden in the jungle. Perhaps tomorrow, after a night’s movement, visit.

Day 14. Kanha

Still hoping for tiger we drove rather directly into the forests. En route we revisited the Leopard who was still in the tree with the spotted deer kill. Our driver drove us to a better viewing site, which happened to be only a few yards up the road from the location where we had parked and waited for the leopard to cross a fire break. Last night, we drove right by that spot as we headed to where the cat had been reported, and in doing so had driven right by the best spot!
Although far off and with a few branches or leaves obscuring the view we did have a long view of the leopard as it fed and despite those obstacles did manage some good shots. Afterwards we continued along the game tracks, finding more tiger tracks but not their maker. Elephants and their mahouts were lined up by the forest, waiting for the park director who later boarded an elephant and disappeared into the forest, visiting a tigress and her three cubs that had just made a kill.
The rest of our game drive, and everyone else’s, was spent driving, stopping and listening, and moving on, hoping to find a tiger. Our lodge manager had visited the central part of the park, the Kanha section, again today but saw nothing. Yesterday he’d had three tigers, but the photography, after the first minute or so, was negligible.
The latter part of my drive was spent in conversation with my companion on the frustrations and reality of tiger photography in India. In truth, Mary and I experience a huge amount of angst here as well, as it is disheartening when someone misses tigers or seems to be having terribly bad luck. Our efforts at buoying spirits by pointing out where we’ve seen tigers in the past can backfire, I learned, as participants then expect to see a tiger in that very spot. Our intentions were to illustrate that here and there we’ve seen tigers, that indeed even the most mundane track of bamboo or dry water course or field can have a tiger and that one should be watching everywhere for you just never know.
At any rate, the conversation was illuminating and although I had intended to add a bolder notice on our brochure about this trip I did so immediately after this game drive. That document is copied below in its entirety.



Please Read this IMPORTANT Notice

Tigers are the rarest of the big cats. Less than 1,700 survive in India where one has the best chance of seeing this cat across its geographic range. Tigers are jungle cats, not conspicuous grassland species like lions or cheetahs, nor do they linger in trees like African leopards which can be seen from afar.
Although we have never had anyone strike out and not see or photograph a tiger on the five trips we’ve made in the last three years, it is entirely possible that you might not see or might not photograph a tiger to your satisfaction. In 2013 we had our lowest number of sightings, with 15 for the group, and our worst luck in our favorite park. In contrast, in 2012 one of our groups had 55 tiger sightings, and one lucky participant had 34 sightings alone. In 2013 I saw 7 tigers, and photographed three to my satisfaction, with one being one of the dream shots I’ve always wished for. Had luck been just a little different, that personal tally would have been 14, as I missed several tigers by mere minutes, and in one case, after waiting nearly an hour, I’d have had a tigress and four cubs if she only would have moved from behind the screen of bamboo where she and the cubs were playing. That’s another dream shot of mine, and one I’m still waiting to get.
A tiger safari perhaps embodies the real meaning of wildlife photography and all that this truly implies. In contrast to a photo trip to Antarctica, where one practically stumbles over the photographic subjects like penguins and seals, or East Africa, with multiple charismatic mega fauna – rhinos, elephants, big cats and nearly two dozen other species reasonably easy to see and photograph - one has to work for tigers, and have luck at the same time.
Our trip goes to the three best tiger parks for quality photography. One or two other parks may have more sightings than the three we visit, but for various reasons the photography can be severely compromised and hence we avoid them. But I cannot stress enough that even in being in the best parks, and scheduling our time allocation in such a way to maximize our chances, ultimately, photographing the world’s rarest big cat in its jungle habitat is a matter of luck. That said, by our itinerary and use of skilled driver/guides we’ve done everything possible to stack the deck in our favor.
I’m not trying to discourage the right people from joining us, and I sincerely believe we offer the best tiger shoot available (our past numbers and images should confirm that). However, I do want to discourage the wrong people from joining us. The people we’d love to join us are those who can accept the possibility of failure, of not getting their dream shot. Those people are the ones who can appreciate all of India’s wildlife and will take the time to photograph the peacocks and langur monkeys and gaurs and various species of deer and birds that can make any excursion into a park a rewarding experience. People who truly realize that India is not Africa or the Pantanal or some other wildlife rich area, and that for tigers, one is dealing with their habitat of forest and jungles and sometimes the inane or incomprehensible (to us) rules that are implemented in various parks.
For example, in many wildlife rich countries radios are used to notify everyone when a desired animal is seen, or in some private parks trackers follow rare species continuously. Radios are not used in India, and so one might pass by a tiger that just stepped on to the road a minute after you drove by. Drivers share information when they meet, but the standard East African practice of everyone getting a radio call and racing to a location does not occur in India.
Another contrast with many African locales is the prohibition of off-road driving. Game drives are restricted to established tracks, and so a tiger in clear view in an open field may be too far away for good shooting. This can be frustrating, but it also saves this dry environment and it does provide peace for the tigers from harassment. If a cat wants to be by the road it will be, but it makes the choice; not you or your driver. People comparing Africa with India on these two points, off-road driving and radios, are frustrated, but the best, and really only, wild tiger photography in the world occurs in the Indian parks, and these are their rules.
In truth, May and June are probably the best months for seeing tigers and if that’s all you wish to see then go at that time. We do not visit India during its summer months because the temperatures are extreme and tiger viewing is restricted to the earliest and latest hours of the day when daylight temperatures are their coolest. At that time tigers visit waterholes more regularly to escape the heat, but that does not mean the shooting at these waterholes will be optimal. Luck is still involved. Some waterholes are far from the game tracks, and in some parks the rules prohibit a lengthy stay at any one area, so patient waiting might not be possible. Finally, and this is one of our biggest reasons for not going then, a May or June trip becomes almost completely tiger-centric, as the hours are constricted and the wealth of animals one might shoot in more clement weather are usually in the shade. To us that trade-off isn’t worth it.
We love photographing in India and although we’d love to have easier tiger photography it is what it is. Luck, a good attitude, good karma and a desire to shoot a complete portfolio of Indian wildlife are the qualities required to really appreciate this experience; this endeavor to photograph the world’s rarest big cat. It is not always easy, and immediate gratification is quite rare, but we are talking about the trophy cat, the rarest cat, and we certainly believe that the prize is worth it.
If you can’t accept that, don’t visit India or book a trip with someone who is not telling the facts to you honestly.

.

PM. The park is closed on Wednesday afternoons and so we had free time, which was involved in selecting and converting images for a slide show this evening. In total we showed around 400 images, which included our snow leopard expedition and our two pre-trips, to Kaziranga and to Keoladeo, as well as the tiger trip. Great images and very inspirational. What a wonderful portfolio!

Portfolio 3

Dragonfly by Richard Roth, the elusive Giant Flying Squirrel by Delphine Ho

Signature Spider by Tom Wester, Langurs (above, below) by Mary


Forest worker burning, Temple statue


Brown Fish Owl, Egyptian Vulture, below - Black Stork


Day 15. Kanha

Our last morning and our last hope of seeing a tiger in this park. No one, in either the Mukki section where we’ve been searching, or the central area, Kanha, saw a tiger today. It was the worse string of luck I’ve ever had in this, my absolute favorite park.
Despite not having tigers we had a great game drive, and at the waterhole Baba Tinka we had  a Sloth Bear. We’d just rounded the small hill that gives the first glimpse of the pond where two of our vehicles were parked and, in the forest nearby the black shape of a sloth bear was clearly visible. We raced to join the others and just as we parked the bear moved towards the pond edge. Our driver immediately backed up, giving us a clear view of the bear as it did a too brief drink and then leisurely lumbered off into the forest.
Sloth Bears were, when first named and described, thought to be a type of sloth because, like sloths, the mature bear lacks the middle upper incisor teeth (that would be ‘buck’ teeth on a human) and the bear does possess very long claws, as a sloth would. Subsequent analysis revealed that the animal indeed was a bear and as a baby the bear has those middle incisors, losing them as milk teeth later on. Although a bear, the sloth bear is placed in its own genus in the Ursidae family, and is believed to have diverged from the ancestral bear stock around 4 million years ago. The more familiar members of the bear family, in the genus Ursus, branched into the polar, black, grizzly, and sun bears around 2 or 3 million years ago.
With Tom and I finally getting a sloth bear on this trip this marked the first time, ever, that everyone in our group saw and photographed this species. Mary was there, and this was her third bear, having seen one in Bandhavgarh and another in Kanha, with good photos of each.
Leaving the bear Delphine and I had a pleasant conclusion to the morning with very nice portraits of Spotted Deer, including a tiny fawn that, bleating, ran towards a doe where another fawn joined the first, attempting to nurse from a female that simply ignored the two and walked away. A Golden Jackal, nursing Langur Monkey, a very close White-necked Stork, and a kingfisher completed the day. As we drove toward the park exit we missed a Jungle Cat by a few seconds, as the cat had just crossed a forest break before us.
PM. We left shortly after 1 for the drive to Pench, our final park, arriving while there was still plenty of light after a pleasant, uneventful drive.

Day 16. Pench

For the last two days, both here and in Kanha, the skies were overcast and with a threat of rain. Although the first half hour of both game drives was dark the light for the rest of the morning was soft and the temperatures clement. Unfortunately the noon exit time of Kanha doesn’t apply here in Pench and at 10:30, as we left, the time seemed to go too fast.

Although Pench has many tigers and has the largest population of prey animals in any of India’s tiger parks the big cats are seen infrequently. However, the game animals, the deer, boar, and monkeys are extremely tame and it’s easy to round out a portfolio of India wildlife here. This morning was no exception.
Our subjects this morning included Ghost Trees, Wild Boar drinking, Langur Monkeys playing and swinging from tree limbs, a cooperative Rhesus Macaque, and a Shikra that was being harassed by a Palm Squirrel which would chatter and climb down the tree trunk quite close, but always out of reach of the hawk should it attempt a grab.
Although we didn’t photograph the pair we did watch two Indian Rollers mating. Unlike most bird matings I’ve seen this one was lengthy and quite mammal-like, as the male repeatedly rocked back and forth. Most bird matings, with the possible only exceptions being ostriches and other members of the Ratites (rheas and emus and cassowarys) are very brief affairs, literally a ‘cloacal kiss’ as it is called where the two sexes cloacas, the universal excretory and reproductive body opening) come together for a brief contact, literally like a peck of a kiss. The rollers were truly rocking!
Our first subject of the day was a pair of Eurasian Thickknees, a nocturnal shorebird that is extremely cryptic. Resembling a well-camouflaged killdeer, these huge-eyed birds often stand or sit quietly and go unnoticed. This pair had a nest and the female had moved off it as one of our jeeps approached and we worried that our presence might keep her off her eggs. Accordingly we backed off, only for that space to be filled by another vehicle that parked directly beside the nest. The occupants moved about but to my surprise the female circled the area and finally settled on her eggs, despite the talking, pointing tourists nearby.
The time went too quickly, but as we left dark storm clouds intensified and the first large drops of rain speckled the dust. Thunder echoed in long, rolling series and we wondered if we’d reach the lodge in time, and what this afternoon’s game drive would offer with the weather.
PM. The skies remained overcast through the early afternoon and as we started our game drive gray-black clouds threatened heavy storms. We did have a light sprinkle, and thunder boomed around us frequently, but otherwise the weather held and towards evening the skies cleared.
Kris and I had a slow afternoon with little especially noteworthy. Near sunset we reached the Pench lake shore where a partial fireball that cast an orange-pink glow reflecting the setting sun, and we tried to have our driver align our jeep with the silhouette of a Spotted Deer against this color. While our driver was a friendly and genuinely nice guy, and one of the most charming in that venue, and certainly meant well, it was extremely frustrating as he continually stopped prematurely instead of simply waiting for my signal. Although we did manage some shots other deer, presenting a similar target, were missed.
This truly is one of the frustrations we often face and it is a hard one to surmount. Most likely, for most game drivers the drivers are conditioned by non-demanding tourists who are not looking at the light or a particular angle as a photographer might, and therefore when they are driving a photographer they are starting from scratch. The road system doesn’t help much either as it is sometimes difficult to swing a vehicle at an angle so that both rows of seats have a comfortable shooting position rather than both shooting over the front or the back of a jeep. Most drivers will make the swing, if directed, but most don’t go very far in this, as if they do not comprehend why you’re asking them to do so.


Asiatic Wild Dog, or Dhole, by Tom Wester

We spent several minutes, twice, at the large pond where several Wild Dogs, or Dhole, were seen this morning but aside from distant and short-lived alarm calls nothing happened. We moved on, but at 5:45 Tom and Justine were lucky once again as five Dhole trotted down to the lake to drink, after first passing so close that Tom shot true frame-fillers and, at times, only head shots! The dogs came and went quickly but they did manage great shots in the short period.
Mary’s highlight was a Madras Treeshrew, the first one we’ve ever had on a safari. These very squirrel-like insectivores may, according to some taxonomists, be the distant ancestor of the Prosimians or primitive primates like lemurs, or they may not … there is dispute. Nonetheless it was exciting to watch the small mammal forage, digging and rooting about with its snout, probably feeding upon ants or termites it dislodged. Although the light was low Mary and Nancy did manage some shots.

Portfolio 4

Clockwise: Peacock well-camouflaged in a tree; Langur swinging; Spotted Deer on alert; Rhesus Macaque Monkeys grooming; Langur Monkey babies playing.

Day 17. Pench

It again was overcast this morning and warm although the skies brightened and the threat of rain seemed to disappear. Mary’s vehicle did encounter one tiger track when a tiger crossed a game track but that was the only sign of tigers. After our game drive we asked the lodge’s head naturalist what may account for the lack of tiger sightings and he attributed it to the weather, that with the cloud cover it was warmer than usual and that, had we had clear skies the mornings would have been cooler and tigers would have been moving.
That explanation may indeed be correct, as the naturalist, Doc, has nine years experience here but it doesn’t ring true to me. If a tigress had made a kill and left it to retrieve and return with her cubs weather would, I suspect, have little to do with that. Also, if that were true, then mid-morning or early afternoon a thirsty cat would be more likely to visit a water source. I think it is just bad luck.
Nevertheless, as Mary commented when we returned from the morning game drive, we’ve never gone so long without seeing a tiger, without anyone in our group seeing a tiger, and indeed, in the last two parks, for so few sightings being made. We learned, last night, that Pench has 33 tigers and 20, when one counts both mothers and cubs, are found in the tourist zone. In Kanha, in two different sectors there are over 60 known tigers, with 28 or so in the area we visited, another 30 or so in the central section, and there are more in the third section … so 60 might be an great underestimate.
This, of course, is the challenge of wildlife photography but it is maddening and frustrating, but it is simply a matter of luck, and apparently virtually no one is having any, in our group or with any of the other tourists we’ve spoken to.
Tom and I did little shooting this morning, and although we hoped to see the wild dogs again (or me, for the first time this trip) we were watching for other photo opportunities. We did have several Gaur and a few close views of Sambar Deer and Nilgai or Blue Bulls, but the light or the vegetation or the positioning was such that we passed on simply making happy snaps. Our best was a Langur Monkey with a young baby perched on a photogenic log, and that was marginal. We arrived back at the gate about ten minutes early, worried a little that we might have missed something by doing so.

Several times, even with a slow morning, our park guide and our driver failed to either point out or, more likely, see a possible photo subject, be that gaur or sambar. In the sambar case I am certain that they missed the pair, which again illustrates how rarely any of the drivers ever look behind them to see what might be hidden in an approach. Had we the time, I’d love to do an experiment that would last a few weeks where we’d quietly drift down hills with the vehicle’s engine off, and wait several minutes at any likely crossing. It would be interesting to compare, during the same time period, this methodology with the tradition technique of driving fairly constantly and pausing briefly to listen for an alarm call.
Tom observed that when he had New Male, the tiger, walking down the road in Bandhavgarh for a kilometer or so, and when he had the wild dogs yesterday, he heard no alarm calls the entire time. And this was with two photo subjects in very open locations! My experience, in past years, is similar, and the conclusion I draw from this is the need to constantly be watching, and the desire that the park guides would do so more dynamically as well. Some do, but most do not, and instead look straight ahead, relying on (usually) their excellent peripheral vision to spot game.

Portfolio 5




Rhesus Macaque Monkey, Langur Monkey,
Golden Jackal, Kanha Game Track,
Sambar and Spotted Deer in Kanha


PM. Our last game drive and the conclusion of the trip. No storms threatened and we hoped that in the good light we’d have a tiger magically materialize from the teak forest or the yellow grasses lining the permanent shoreline of the Pench lake. It did not happen.
Nor did the wild dogs appear and our last game drive for everyone was productive but quite ordinary, with great shots of Spotted Deer, Rhesus Macaque Monkeys, Langur Monkeys, various birds including several species of eagle, and even a landscape scene. Mary had a Rufous Tree-Pie perched atop the antlers of a spotted deer in the process of stripping off its velvet and Tom and I had several nice portraits of buck deer in all stages of antler development, from full velvet to fully bare.
At dinner that evening we concluded the safari with a recap of the entire trip, excluding the snow leopard expedition, as 7 of the 8 of us were a part of most pre-trip excursions. Photo highlights were diverse, and Tom and I were the only ones who cited a tiger photo in our top three pictures. The rest ranged from Rhinos and Elephants from Kaziranga to Wild Dogs and Monkeys in other the other parks. Kanha was the favorite park for the majority, but the picks here were diverse and include Kaziranga and Bandhavgarh as well. Pench was not. We also asked the favorite lodge and favorite lodge for food, and those responses will provide valuable feedback that we’ll forward to the trip outfitter. The recap was a pleasant reminder of all we’d seen and, with a 3AM wake-up call tomorrow to start our long journey home we adjourned early to pack for the travel ordeal ahead.

Tiger panorama by Tom Wester

Because of the demands of our 2014 schedule (and possible back surgery for me in late March of that year) we will not be able to do more than one or two trips in 2014. We do plan on a pre-trip to Kaziranga for One-Horned Rhinos, and we can arrange other pre- or post-trip excursions as well. However, we plan on doing at least two trips, perhaps in different months, in 2015, so if you are interested in joining us, contact our office and get on the First Alert List. For Mary and I, we can’t wait to get back!

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