Tiger Watching in Madhya Pradesh, India
Knowing that tiger numbers quoted by a lot of parks are overly optimistic or indeed, sometimes purely fictitious, I was looking for the best place to have a chance of seeing the Bengal Tiger in the wild. After a lot of research I found that the Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh, India just might be that place...and I wasn’t disappointed! These are some of my photographs (click on each one to enlarge):
I stayed at Skay’s Camp which is run by Kay and Satyendra and is a real home from home.
I cannot praise them highly enough.
Their tiger tracking skills are exceptional and they know each one individually. If you are in any way interested in photography or even if you are just looking to be guided by someone who knows their stuff, then I absolutely recommend booking with Skay's Camp. Satyendra is a professional wildlife photographer, and both he and Kay are passionate about tiger conservation.
After so many years working in the park, Kay, originally from the UK, has made a family tree of all the Bandhavgarh tigers and hopes to soon publish a book based on her day to day diary over the past 12 years.
Every morning in the park, the mahavats set off on elephant back looking for tigers that are resting in an area where they can take tourists on what they call “a tiger show”.
Despite the awful circus act sounding name, it is actually literally "showing" you the tiger up close and personal from the back on an elephant. In this photo the tiger is resting about 2 metres from the elephant. It costs Rs600 which is around £7.60 or €9.
Of course the most heart stopping way to see a tiger is when the mighty beast suddenly appears in front of you, stares ………
...and then simply walks away!
It is not just the tigers that make the park fascinating; there is a multitude of other animals to watch and photograph...
...my personal favourite being the langur monkey!
The park closes during the monsoon season but for the rest of the year, October to June, the opening hours vary with the sunrise and sunset. In May they were 05.30 to 09.30 and 16.00 to 18.30 so a typical day would consist of:
5am Wake up call with tea/coffee/chay.
5.30am To the park for a game drive.
9.30am Back to Skay's Camp for a breakfast of juice, fruit, cornflakes, samosas, eggs, toast, tea/coffee/chay and an excited discussion of the morning game drive.
1.30pm A tasty home cooked 2 course Indian lunch.
4pm To the park for a game drive.
6.30pm Back to Skay's Camp to discuss the days events and compare photos over tea/coffee/chay and biscuits.
8pm A tasty 3 course Indian dinner followed by tea/coffee/chay and chat.
Tiger conservation is of major importance and despite huge efforts, it appears that the numbers continue to dwindle. In July 09 it was finally admitted that there are no tigers left in Panaa Park which makes me even more appreciative of the six sightings of seven different tigers that I had in my four days in Bandhavgarh Park.
