Travel Story Book » Madhya Pradesh

Tiger Tales – Bandhavgarh

Kausik Saha — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:40:14 +0000

If you thought that only human beings fought among each other over rights of land ownership, you are grossly mistaken. Land disputes, claiming land rights and acquisition of land by force is not restricted to humans only. The biggest member of the cat family – the tiger, is also endowed with these vices. Interestingly, tigers are not social animals. Each adult tiger requires a marked territory of his/her own and no other tiger has access in that territory. The territorial boundary of a tiger is marked by claw marks on tree trunks. These marks act as a signal to other tigers that they are in occupied territory, if they dare to intrude, either purposefully or by mistake. Intrusion leads to territorial fights among two tigers, that could lead to serious injuries or can turn fatal. Sometimes the vengeance is so intense, the hatred so strong, that the winning tiger kills the other and eats it. Cannibalism is not very common among tigers, but at the same time is not something that is not heard of. As there is no dearth of prey in the forests of central India, hunger is definitely not a cause of cannibalism among tigers.

The Bamera male at Bandhavgarh

The only time two adult tigers are seen together are during mating – for a few days. Once mating is over, each tiger returns back to their own marked and acquired territory. Even during the mating period, there is no sharing of food. They kill separately, there is no sharing of kill, whatever be the extent of passion flowing between them.
Cubs, once born, are taken care by the mother only. In rare cases, the father has been seen with the family for short duration. Till the cubs grow into adults, which is almost two years, they remain with their mother, feeding on the kills of their mother. After that, each one ventures out on their own, identifying their territory and claiming possession over it. This might not be as easily done as said, as it might involve vicious fighting capturing the area from another tiger.

Bamera male approaches a sleeping Kankati

All this and a deep insight into the life of the almost extinct animal was acquired in my recent trip to Bandhavgarh. A no-frills trip with some like minded friends – Dr Abheek Ghosh, Rajan Khinkhide, Adwait Mahajan, Nitish Mahajan, Saran and Safique Hazarika. All of them hard-core forest lovers with Abheek leading a NGO in Nagur for the betterment and conservation of forests and wild life and everybody associated with it. They had come from all corners of the country – Chennai, Mumbai, Nagpur and myself from Kolkata.

Is everything right in Bandhavgarh?

Bandhavgarh National Park is today one of the prime centres of tiger tourism. With a very high tiger density, the probability of tiger sighting is very high in this national park. But not without a cost. And this might lead to the destruction of more tigers in the near future. With an area of 448 sq Km, Bhandhavgarh has become too crowded from the predators.

Post mating - Kankati and Bamera male

Without sufficient habitable area, territorial fights among tigers is on the increase. Many tigers have died due to in-fighting among the tigers, some of them have mysteriously disappeared after having been ousted from their base territory by a stronger one of the species. Many cubs have lost their lives to stronger adults, as some grown-ups prefer to get rid of future rivals while they are young.

A couple of days after we left Bandhavgarh, a female cub was found dead, with its hind portion eaten. Though the reason was death was not identified, it was assumed that this gruesome act was the handiwork of an adult male. We were lucky to see a mating pair while in Bandhavgarh. The female named Kankati (one of her ear lobes is mutilated) also has a dubious past – she fought with her sister over territory acquisition and won over her in a gruelling fight on a cold winter night. Her sister was killed and Kankati went ahead and devoured half of her sister. So intense is the struggle for survival in tiger land!!

Another disturbing fact is the location of some of the habitations around the park. While in the park and in your safari vehicle, there is a small stretch where you can look up and see villagers doing their daily chores – separated from the forest by a stone wall boundary which can be climbed easily by any human being. So its left to one’s imagination whether the wild predators can cross the fence, if required. Project Tiger was started in 1973, but still there are habitations just beside the core forest area, separated by a flimsy boundary wall. Its bad for the predators and the villagers. The predators find easy food by killing cattle, the villagers live in constant fear about their lives and their domesticated animals. Compensation given by the forest department for the cattle killed by tigers, but according to many that is far below the market price. So it has become a practice for some to poison the old cattle and leave it to be fed by the tigers, and as a chain reaction, poisoning and killing the tigers. Human-animal conflict has manifested its ugly face throughout the country in recent times and Bandhavgarh is no exception. My feeling is that more needs to be done on this front, the administration has to be pro-active and be more sensitive to the real needs of the people who have been earning their livelihood for generations from forest products. Unless some urgent measures are taken ASAP, it is not far when India will be without any major stretches of forests.

Latest Update

Bisons relocated from Kanha - facing challenge from the tigers

I started writing this quite some time back – and since then there has been some incidents which I feel I should update in this article. The first update is about a female cub being killed and eaten by another tiger (this I have mentioned earlier). The second update is that two of the Mirchiani sub-adult cubs are on a human killing spree. As of today (8th July, 2011), there has been three killings and the last one person killed been eaten by the tiger. The two cubs have been removed from the forest and moved to Bhopal Zoo. This was waiting to happen any day – and one needs to visit Bandhavgarh and see the area that was the habitat of the Mirchiani family. It is adjacent to a boundary wall and people living on the other side within a distance of 50m of the wall.
Will this man-animal conflict continue or will we be able to come to a feasible solution? Personally, I am pessimistic on this issue and think that wild life will perish sooner or later due to lack of natural habitat.

Pench & Tadoba

Kausik Saha — Thu, 05 May 2011 09:11:18 +0000

I remember I first read the stories of Mowgli when I joined my school Cubs troop in primary school. Mowgli, Sher Khan, Bageera and Kaa were names that weaved stories in my mind. It was also the first time that came to know about Rudyard Kipling. And thus begun a long love for the author and his stories. It may sound strange, but the backdrop of Jungle Book was the forests of Pench.

A parrot takes a peek out of the comfort of the nest - in Pench

It was almost two years since my last forest visit and the heart was screaming loud for a trip to the forests. March to May is the best time for a trip to the forests if one is interested in wildlife. So this year we opted for the forests of Pench and Tadoba, both these forests situated around the border of the Indian states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh and teeming with wild life and birds.
Some amount of pre-planning was done, as my previous experience says that unless you get a good safari driver, you can literally be taken for a ride(pun intended) if you are unlucky. The first effort was to scout for partners. Jungle safaris, specially in MP is becoming expensive and getting somebody to share the cost is a breather for the pocket. This effort failed and so the next task was to identify a good driver for the safaris. I had been in touch with Dr. Abheek Ghosh of Nagpur, an avid wild life lover and spends almost every weekend in the forests around Nagpur. He arranged for the services of the drivers who take him around in Pench (Bablu/Lalan) and Tadoba (Sanjay). This proved to be very effective and went a long way in making the trip a great success.

Pench

We landed in Nagpur one Saturday night and proceeded immediately to our hotel in Turia village by a pre-arranged car. Turia is one of the entrances of Pench MP. The next day was Holi festival – the forests were closed. The day was spent resting after a long flight to Kolkata from New York just a day earlier. Holi in Turia was seemed to be a bit subdued and not many colorful faces were seen. I loitered around the village for some time but nobody even attempted to smear me with color!! Played with some of the village children for some time and then again returned back to catch up with some sleep.

Day 2 in Pench

Ready before six in the morning and rearing to enter the forest, we did not have to wait long before Lalan arrived with the gypsy. All formalities were soon competed at the gate and soon we had crossed the gate and were in the forest.

As close it can get - Collarwali in Pench

We were in for hardly five minutes, when we were alerted by the assembly of a large number of jeeps in front of us. Even before we could realize what was happening, a huge tigress with a collar around her neck walked by the side of the road and almost in front of us. This tigress is known as Collarwali, because of the radio-active collar around her neck. This collar is used for tracking the tiger when it is not seen for a long time, primarily during the monsoons. The tigress flaunted herself majestically, oblivious of the surroundings, totally ignoring the presence of vehicles and jeeps around her. It crossed the road, circled a jeep and then proceeded along the road. Some of the vehicles followed Collarwali from a distance and those immediately behind her were suitable rewarded when she decided to go for a kill and killed a spotted deer in front of everybody. We missed it, but no regrets. Collarwali is the proud mother of five cubs and we hoped to catch the cubs and mother together sometimes during our stay in Pench.
Pench has a wide variety of landscapes and there are large meadows, water bodies – the backwaters of Pench river, sal forests and thick high grasslands. Even without any wildlife sighting, it is a pleasure to move around the forest. Pench is also the home of a large variety of birds and birding was a great experience for me in this trip. We saw around 50 varieties of birds in Pench and Tadoba. In the rest of the morning drive we saw lots of spotted deer, sambar deer and birds.

Queen of the forest - Collarwali eyes the tourists

Because of the afternoon heat, we started the evening drive a little late, around 3:30. The forest seemed to have withdrawn into a deep slumber and hardly any signs of life were visible. But gradually as the heat subsided, more and more animals came out. Tiger sighting is definitely attractive, but I am also fascinated by the way the guides track the tigers. Alarm calls and pug marks are the major indicators of the presence of a tiger or leopard in the vicinity. Alarm calls are raised by deer and langurs. As the tiger moves about in the forest, the alarms are also raised by these animals and are used to gauge the movement of the tiger. This, along with the knowledge about the location of the water bodies is successfully used to locate a tiger. This evening we moved about in the forest till Bablu, our driver stopped the jeep on hearing alarms raised by deer. The call kept moving, which indicated that the tiger was moving about, but soon the calls became irregular and infrequent. This left everybody around confused and soon some of the cars left. But Bablu wanted to wait and I went by his judgement. After all, he was the one who knows everything about this place. Soon, his judgement proved right as Collarwali once again walked out on the road. Collarwali walked around a bit and decided to lay down bang in the middle of the road. Two cars were in front of her and another four behind her.
It was almost 6:30 – past the deadline by which the vehicles need to be out of the gate. Reluctantly, we reversed and proceeded towards the gate. The cars in front of Collarwali were lucky, really lucky!! They had to wait for more than an hour before Collarwali decided to make way for the cars…

Day 3 in Pench

Another morning safari and Abheek drove in from Nagpur early in the morning to join us in the morning drive. This time we decided not to focus on the tiger but enjoy the forest. It was a learning experience and came to know a lot about the animals in Pench. Almost at the wee hours, we went to the central point of the forest, Alikatta, just to check if any tiger sighting has happened in the morning. It seems that Collarwali along with the cubs has been located by forest department elephants.

Colors of Pench in summer

We enlisted ourselves for the ‘Tiger Show’, hoping that we could see the cubs. So it was the customary elephant ride from a point on the roadside to the place where the tiger is. Normally once the sun is out, the tiger takes shelter in a shady area, preferably near a water body. The elephant ride was rough as the tigress had taken shelter quite in the interior. However, we had a good view of it lying down, but the cubs could not be seen. They were nearby, by had hid themselves and were not visible. Nothing significant happened in the morning, apart from waiting and scanning an area near Alikatta for jackal cubs. These cubs were hardly 1 week old and Abheek had seen photographs of them from another tourist. But we could not locate them and gave up after some time.
The evening drive proved to be fruitful in this respect and we could get the jackal cubs. They were hidden in a dead trunk that had fallen down and had a large cavity in it. The hole was home to the cubs (and most probably the mother too) and they playfully moved in and out of their home – much to our delight.

Day 4 in Pench

The morning drive was the last jungle drive in Pench. We would be moving to Tadoba immediately after the drive. Abheek had returned to Nagpur and was back again in the morning. God knows how he manages. We covered some parts of the forest that we had not been to earlier.

The Indian Roller - in Pench

Palash trees were in full bloom and some parts of the forest looked colorful and bright. Saw quite a few new birds which Aheli noted down in her diary. The list of birds seen were increasing!! Just like the previous day, we made a halt at Alikatta where we came to know that the Tiger Show was on. To go or not to go in Tiger Show is a big dilemma. Ultimately, we again decided to go only if the cubs are there. Fortunately they were, but unfortunately by the time we went there, the mother had relocated herself. One of the cubs was peeking at the approaching elephants from behind a big boulder. The second cub was also hidden behind the boulder. Soon they dashed towards the thick and dried undergrowth and disappeared. Well, it was not a grand sighting, but atleast we saw them for some time. It was almost mid-day and time to leave the forest. Soon after taking some rest at our hotel, we were on our way towards Tadoba in Maharashtra. As the route to Tadoba was through Nagpur, we took a food halt at Haldirams. It was scorching hot and we needed the lassis and cold drinks.

Bhedaghat

Kausik Saha — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:08:39 +0000

Bhedaghat is just 33 Km from Jabalpur and is ideal for a day trip from the city. We reached Bhedaghat continuing on our trip from Kanha & Bhandhavgarh. It was the final destination of our trip before we board the train for Howrah from Jabalpur.
As we reached Bhedaghat in the evening, there was not much scope of going anywhere. The Marble Rocks are just adjacent to the MPT hotel where we were staying. Night boating on the Narmada can be done only on full moon night and four days before and after it. As full moon was not nearby, the whole area would soon be plunged in darkness immediately after sunset. We took an auto to Dhuadhar Falls. But after reaching there, my daughter started complaining of stomach pain and we had to come back after a glimpse of the falls from a distance.

Marble Rocks

The next morning after a quick breakfast we visited the Marble Rocks. Early morning and tourists were few. Shopkeepers selling decorative items of stones and soft marbles were setting up their shops and getting ready for the day. A boat ride on the waters of the Narmada through the Marble Rocks is a must-do activity at Bhedaghat. As hardly any tourists were there we abandoned the idea of going on a shared boat and instead decided to reserve a boat. The roof cover of the boat was quickly drawn overhead, the red carpets on the floor rolled out and we were ready to board our vessel – a big boat, three persons on a boat that can accommodate at least twenty!! And for three of us, there were two persons rowing, one person controlling the boat sitting at the hull, one guide and another two attendants!!

Charm of a guided tour

Guided tour on Narmada

I cannot think of visiting Indian tourist sites without a ‘guide’. Many may wonder why, but to me the guides add a different dimension to the tour. Their narrations of history, which may be mostly incorrect, helps in transforming you to the historical period. Our tour of Marble Rocks was no exception. We came to know of the length, breadth, height, depth and all possible facts about the rocks. He came out with a big list of Indian movies that have been filmed there, occasionally spiced up with dialogues from those films. Enchanting!! The way they can capture the interest of the audience.

Extending the ride

Even before we realized, it was time to go back. But we want a longer boat ride!! Its possible, but at a cost – well exactly double. We decided to carry on – there is no point in not doing the entire length of the ride. It was a good decision – as the rocks along the shore became higher and higher. The stretch looked beautiful – vertical white marble cliffs along both the shores of the Narmada. By this time I was seated at the front of the boat, with my legs dangling out over the waters. We went as far as we could – till mini Dhuadhar falls. The mini Dhuadhar falls is a local name given to a small waterfall, that is created from the main Dhuadhar falls. 45 minutes over, it was time to return back to the jetty.

Strange means to earn money

While returning to the jetty, we noticed some local boys jumping(diving) in the waters from the top of the vertical cliffs whose height would be around 50 ft. They were shouting something which we could not understand and were jumping in the water. The guide informed that they do this feat on request from the visitors in the boats for Rs. 20. Surely a strange way to earn money.

Back at the jetty, we had a final glance at Marble Rocks and proceeded towards Dhuadhar Falls – about 1 Km away and 5 minute journey by auto.

Kanha & Bandhavgarh

Kausik Saha — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:40:15 +0000

Kanha

A grand welcome

‘I have seen five deers’ – My daughter triumphantly announced as soon as I came out of the reception of Baghira Log Huts at Kisli after completion of checking-in formalities. ‘Deer? From the hotel? You must be joking’. She surely was joking!! As soon as we moved in our room, we saw not five but maybe fifteen of them outside our room. Have you seen a beauty pageant of deers? That is what gradually unfolded in front – pristine beauties strutted from one side to the other in front of us. A few peacocks joined them occasionally. What a place to stay!! And what a welcome!!!
After a long journey to Kisli, Kanha we were late for the evening safari. If only the train was not late by an hour! A quick stroll around the hotel ensured that even it had something even for those who did not want to go for safaris. A decent amount of wildlife viewing could be done sitting here. Deers, monkeys and peacocks roam inside the hotel premises or around the virtual periphery of the hotel all the time. A small watering hole within attracts a lot of animals – recently a group of bisons have been visiting it in the evenings almost regularly. In the early hours of the night the deep roar of an animal was heard for around 5 mins. Is it the tiger? Need to confirm it the next morning…

The Jungle Safari

Peacock

In the meantime, while enjoying the surroundings, arrangements were done for the safari the next morning. The jeep will come at 5:45 AM and we would be sharing it another group staying in the same hotel. The morning was exceptionally cold and left us shivering and wearing not only one but a couple of shirts. I had no idea that it would be this cold and we were caught unawares without any warm clothing. Within a few minutes of entering the Kisli gate, we were on one of the dirt tracks. Our guide said that there were fresh bear foot marks on the ground – most probably a bear was nearby. For us, there could not have been a better start. We were tense and silent and within a minute a big sloth bear was viewed – some distance away under a mahua tree, busy relishing the fruits of the mahua tree. Barely had we seen enough of the bear, the guide signaled us to move on. He could hear the alarm calls of deer, indicating that a tiger could be in the vicinity. Our jeep moved on and about 50m ahead, we were stopped by the vehicle in front of us. A leopard had run beside their car, crossed the road and raced into the forest!!! Wow, that’s luck!!
We had a very rich experience for the remaining part of the safari. We saw herds of bison (gaur), barasingha deer, sambar deer and of course spotted deer. Its the default at Kanha – with around 21,000 of them. A tiger was spotted just around 30m off the road. It was resting in the shade beside a small pool of water. We waited for about an hour for it to make any movement, but it just lazily remained there, enjoying the water and the shade. The evening safari was equally enjoyable, although the duration was less.

Tigress

Another two safaris the next day – we saw wild boar, barking deer, the barasingha from very near and a variety of birds. With the nearing of the mating season, the guides taught us the difference between the alarm call and mating call of the spotted deer. We were lucky to see two tigers and a leopard on this day. Both the tigers that we were able to view had been tracked by the elephants and a short elephant ride was required to go near the tigers. The first one hid itself among the long and dry grasses, but the second tiger was sitting just a couple of feet away from us. It remained calm and was not at all bothered by the elephants moving in its vicinity. Seeing the tiger from a distance of 2 ft was quite an experience.

Sunset

A leopard was viewed in the evening – perched on top of a tree trunk. I felt the need of a good zoom lens, something which I did not have. And I felt jealous of the people around me who were carrying lenses like machine guns and capturing the leopard as if sitting 1ft away. Again a patient wait for an hour for it to move was futile – as it decided to maintain status quo, at least till we left. Our wait was not in vain – we were rewarded by a beautiful sunset with the sky flaring up in shades of red. A big herd of bisons had visited the watering hole adjacent to our hotel, but when we returned from the safari, only two of them were still there.
After spending three wonderful nights at Kisli, it was time to move towards Bandhavgarh. There are two Nature Trails from the Khatia gate – one 3 Km and another 8 Km. I had planned to do the 8Km trail on the morning of our departure. Unfortunately the car which was supposed to come in the early hours of the morning arrived late and we could not go to Khatia, which was 3.5 Km from Baghira Log Huts. May be next time….