This was part of our annual cross country road trip. This time we planned to drive upto Gwalior from Bangalore and stop over at the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve with the hope of spotting a wild tiger.
Though summers are touted as the best time of the year to spot tigers, winters are not too bad either. Its pretty cold out there during this time of the year especially during the early morning safari drive in an open Gypsy.
We'd been driving around the reserve since 6.30 am and spotted a few Spotted deer, a Barking deer, a couple of Sambhars, Wild boars, a myriad of birds (except the Asian Paradise Flycatcher which I wanted so much to spot) and a large crocodile in the Tadoba lake....
...and then....at around 7.30 am, our guide received a message that the tigers were spotted frolicking somewhere close to the Telia lake. Our driver spun around the Gypsy and raced towards the direction of the Tadoba lake where the cubs were reported to be probably stalking a prey.
As we reached, we saw a lone tiger prowling around the vast grassland giving furtive glances at the Gypsys parked around...with everyone aiming their cameras in anticipation.
That's when the action began...the prowling young Telia cub disappeared into the tall grass and quickly came out dragging out a freshly killed deer...a fully grown male spotted deer!!! The hushed conversations turned into audible expressions of awe and the cameras in all vehicles there went berserk, with their high speed shutters blazing away.
The guide in an adjacent vehicle mentioned that three of the four cubs were somewhere nearby hidden in the tall grass and that they has just brought down this deer while he and his clients were watching!!! We were disappointed that we missed that action by a few minutes apparently...till the guides mentioned that this is only second time anyone has seen a such an event in Tadoba...in the last few years. The last time something similar was seen was when one of these cubs recently brought down a large wild boar.
That's when we realized that we had witnessed a rare event at Tadoba! It was a wonderful experience for a first time Tadoba visitor like me and was worth the drive from Bangalore.
It took us 15 hours to reach Tadoba (Kolara gate) and we stayed at the Chava resort the Kolara gate side of the Tadoba reserve, very close to the Chimur village. Just a kilometer away from the Kolara gate, the Chava Resort is a basic resort with limited dietary options but the owner - Alok and his staff make sure that their guests are as comfortable as it can get there including booking the Gypsy safari and a guide for you.
The roads are great all the way from Bangalore to Tadoba, except for a few kms between Chimur and Kolara. Just make sure that you book accommodation and the jungle safari early enough...at least 25 days in advance, especially for the Gypsy safari vehicles.
After this awesome experience at Tadoba, we continued on our 10 day Madhya Pradesh road trip towards Khajuraho-Gwalior-Jhansi-Orchha-Sanchi-Nagpur.
The Visuals
All set to spot the tiger
The Kolara gate entrance
Pug marks...there are plenty of these, especially if you go in the morning safari. Apparently the tigers move around a lot during the night
The Telia lake...adjacent to which the tiger was spotted.
The vast grassland adjacent to the lake. Spot the tiger
We spot him.....
...prowling around
...and then he drags out what he and his siblings hunted a few minutes earlier!!!
A quick survey around...possibly to decide the safest place to drag his prey to.
..and then he continues to drag away...
...till he is satisfied with the seclusion of the tall grass
The vast expanse of the grassland where the action took place
A short video clip
Roads inside Tadoba...an extremely dusty and bouncy ride. They allow private vehicles, but the view from the open gypsy is unmatched
Oh deer!! My Deer!!...deers are aplenty, the Tadoba tigers are well fed
Camouflaged...a "Jerdons NightJar"
The afterparty
Awesome roads from Bangalore
Thank you for reading!!
