Chasing Stripes – A Quest for India’s Wild Tigers

It’s been almost two years since I came back from my fantastic trip to India, and here it is, finally, my story on how it went! Why on earth did it take so long, you ask? Well, I was supposed to write it shortly after coming back, but things happened… First of all, I took about 30 000 images on this trip (you heard me right), and me being the perfectionist that I am, spent about 4 months going through them all and editing those I wanted to keep (which was more than I probably needed). I couldn’t write a post about my trip until I had all the photos done. But that was still more than a year ago, so why did it take even longer?

To make a long story short, I decided (for some reason) that I couldn’t write a post about my trip to India until I had gotten the rest of my website up to speed in terms of content from previous trips and photography experiences. And that ended up being a lot (I mean A LOT) of content. Next to my full-time job as a teacher, this all just dragged on for quite some time until this very moment. Finally, my website is up to snuff, and I’m ready to tell you about my incredible journey to India!

 

The Tour Operator – Chinkara Journeys

Before I delve into the details of my trip, I’d like to say a few words about the tour operator for this adventure. I did a lot of research before settling on this exact tour. It had to be the right combination of parks, and they needed to have a good reputation of providing tiger observations (to see a wild tiger had been my dream since early childhood). The trip had to be within my price range (not too expensive), and include the perfect number of days (about two weeks) to maximize my chances of seeing a tiger. I eventually found my perfect match on Responsible Travel (this is the exact trip I went on). After a few emails with Saurabh, who runs this tour through his company; Chinkara Journeys, all my boxes were ticked off and I booked my place on his trip.

We were lucky to have Saurabh as our tour leader and guide throughout our stay (I believe he has other guides running tours for him now and then). He is a top notch professional, extremely knowledgeable, has a great sense of humor, and to my luck, is a highly competent photographer and a massive birder. He gave me lots of tips on photography throughout the journey (this was my first serious outing with my equipment), and he had us stop every time he heard or saw a new bird or animal we hadn’t seen before. For me, who tries to get good photos of as many species (mainly mammals, birds and reptiles) as I possibly can when travelling, I had hit the jackpot! 

Not only was he the perfect guide, his choices of accommodation was also top notch! It was set up in a very smart way, as we felt each accommodation was a step up from the one previous, even though none of them were less than great. And the food! The food was fantastic! I’ve always enjoyed Indian food, but nothing beats Indian food prepared with local ingredients in India. That in itself is almost worth a second trip!

For anyone doing a trip to India, be sure to check out his website, as he has plenty of different tours, both cultural and for wildlife. I cannot recommend him and his company enough! And if tigers are what you want, he is basically a guarantee you’ll see one (even though he would never say that).

Now, let me finally tell you about the most amazing wildlife adventure of my life (thus far)!

 

I landed in New Delhi the 31st of March, and spent two nights at a hotel near the airport before flying to Jabalpur on April 2nd. A driver was waiting for me and two other tour companions that would be joining me on this journey. It was a married couple from southern England, Andrew and Anna. Andrew, as luck would have it, was a huge birder, which meant I wasn’t the only one who’d want to stop for all the birds. This was great news! After a few hours of driving and getting to know one another, we arrived at our accommodation, TigerGarh Wildlife Resort, in the afternoon. Here we met our final companion, Tracey from Australia, and of course, Saurabh.

After we settled in, had dinner, and got some important info, Saurabh took Andrew, Anna, and myself out for a short birding excursion just outside of the resort premises. This was going to be a sign of what’s to come. In a short span of time, and without walking too far, I had managed to photograph a whooping 28 species! Not all great photos, but at least some good ones (like one of the common hawk-cuckoo, which would become a species we’d recognize quite well by its sound by the end of our stay). Just to top it off, a couple of golden jackals walked by around the time we headed back inside.

 

We were up early the morning after, excited for our first safari drive inside Bandhavgarh National Park. I remember feeling a bit nervous. What if I didn’t see a tiger on this trip? Before my flight to India, I had decided that I would enjoy myself no matter what, knowing that I was guaranteed to see and photograph plenty of new species, tiger or no tiger. When I was finally there the old “what if” still came creeping up on me. I know too well how much luck plays a role in terms of wildlife sightings, having spent so much time in the African bush (we are talking several months here) looking for leopards that I just never got to see. If such animals don’t want you to see them, then you won’t see them. 

As you probably already know, luck was on my side this time around, and I did see tigers on this trip, but what really astonished me was how quickly it happened! We hadn’t gone far at all when we came across our very first tiger. It was a male tiger laying flat in tall grass behind some trees. To be honest, I still do not know if I actually saw him through all the vegetation, or if I just pretended to see him, but he was certainly there (as others there had seen him). It was nice having found a tiger, but it wasn’t exactly the sighting I had hoped for. Our driver and guide for the day decided to search for other (and hopefully more visible) tigers elsewhere. 

A bit further into the reserve we came across a few safari vehicles moving slowly towards us, as if they were driving in front of something behind them. We then turned a corner and were suddenly face to face with a female tiger walking down the road! I remember losing my breath in that moment. I began shaking as I fumbled to get my camera up and ready for some photos. Luckily, I managed to snap a few shots of her as she looked straight at us. It was an incredible moment, and one I had dreamt of for as long as I can remember (did I mention that my first written word as a child was “tiger”? Well, that’s how much this animal meant to me!). Our driver began backing up to give her space as she continued her walk towards us. Then he suddenly stopped and parked the car. The beautiful big cat then walked off into the grass next to the road and walked straight past us, just a few meters away. I took as many photos as I could, not knowing if I would ever experience a moment like this again.

As she disappeared into the grass, our driver turned our vehicle around and sped down towards a water hole and then parked next to it saying “she will come here”. And so we waited at the perfect spot. Just as he had said, she came out of the grass, walked along a ridge before heading down to the water. She then looked around before heading off into some very tall grass and disappeared. This time for good. I was shaking afterwards! I could tell that both Tracey and myself (it was only the two of us in the vehicle) was amazed by what had just happened, and were filled with emotions. A part of me felt like crying out of sheer joy, but it had been an explosive sighting and I felt more shell-shocked than anything else. It took a bit of time before I managed to land and get back to my senses. What an incredible start to this journey!

 

After that incredible sighting I could relax, knowing I had already gotten what I came for. From then on out, I would just enjoy whatever came our way and try to photograph as many species as possible. After a breakfast stop, we found that very first male tiger again. This time he had settled underneath a bit of vegetation on the other side of a clearing as he looked at some cattle out on the pasture. He was quite far away and still hard to spot, but this time I managed to see him at least. We left him there and looked for other wildlife. I got some decent photos of grey langurs and rhesus macaques, and in terms of birds I got nice photos of a green bee-eater and a jungle owlet.

 

In the afternoon we headed out for our second safari of the day, and I was ready to enjoy more of the Indian wildlife! This time we headed into a different section of Bandhavgarh. It was pretty clear that the driver had heard about a tiger sighting, as we drove quite fast past the open woodlands of this area. I managed to get him to stop for some birds along the way, but he didn’t really want to stay idle for long. When an Indian boar decided to cross the road, he had no option but to stop, which gave me the opportunity to get some good shots.

 

After a little while we came to an area with lots of parked cars. We had reached our destination! Hidden behind a lot of vegetation there was a female tiger and her two cubs. They were hard to see clearly and there were lots of cars present, blocking the view. As he had done with the female tiger earlier that day, our driver again decided to park the vehicle next to a water hole a bit further up the road, even though these tigers weren’t moving. We just sat there for a little while, watching a boar and a chital (spotted deer) come down for a drink. For some time nothing seemed to happen. Then, suddenly, the two tiger cubs appeared from the forest! At first they went down for a drink, but then they decided to play a bit at the water hole. Their mother stayed mostly out of view somewhere in the vegetation. It was another incredible sighting, and because our driver had anticipated this, we were perfectly parked very close to the water hole. As more vehicles showed up, it was pretty clear that we had the best view! Massive credits to our driver who made this happen for us already on our first day! First the female in the morning, and now these cubs in the afternoon! Tracey and I, who still shared vehicle, could hardly believe the first day we had had! Here, let me show you a video I took of the cubs at the water hole:

 

We left the cubs and their mother after a while, only to come back about an hour later. The cubs and their mother was gone now, but we had heard that a big male tiger was one the move. So we sat and waited by the water hole once more. It didn’t take long before he also appeared from the forest. He walked down to the water and drank for a bit, before submerging himself in the water. It was a day that just kept on giving! We stayed with him for a while, until it was time to leave the park. On our way out, we came across a golden jackal on the road and a brown fish-owl. The sun was about to go down at that moment, but I managed to get some photos of the owl that I am quite happy with! 

 

After an incredible first day, we had another safari already the next morning. This time we went into another section of the park. We entered through the old Tala Gate and found ourselves in the spectacular scenery surrounding Bandhavgarh Fort. Because of the amazing sightings the day before, we now spent more time photographing other species, such as chital, sambar deer, and the massive gaur (the largest wild bovine in the world). But as soon as our driver got so much as a whiff of a possible tiger sighting, off we’d go! During that second morning drive, we got another two tigers! The sightings weren’t as great as the day before, and I didn’t get any decent photos, but any sighting of tiger was awesome! On the evening drive, we went back to the water hole where we saw the cubs and the male the evening before, and another male tiger was present this time (we were told he was different from the male the day before – and the two were probably competing over territory). In total, we saw 9 individual tigers within our first two days! Just incredible!

During the drives on our second day we also got to focus more on the birds. And there was one bird we kept seeing all over the place; the beautiful Indian peafowl. It was breeding season, and males kept displaying their tail feathers to attract females. It was quite the spectacle, and it was such an incredible bonus to have this happening at the same time that I was here looking for tigers. A few other birding highlights from the second day included red junglefowl (the progenitor of modern-day chickens), crested serpent-eagle, greater coucal, lesser adjutant, Asian woolly-necked stork, little cormorant, jungle nightjar, Indian scops-owl, and another brown fish-owl. 

 

In the evening, as the night of the Indian jungle surrounded TigerGarh for the very last time, we sat together on the roof and talked about our fantastic two days at Bandhavgarh. Suddenly, Saurabh appeared up the stairs, saying: “There is a leopard somewhere nearby!” He had heard it roaring from downstairs. We were all hurried on to one of the safari vehicles parked at the resort, and we headed up the road with flashlights to have a look. It didn’t take long before one of the flashlights caught two eyes shining back at us. It was the leopard! It was walking in the forest, parallel to the road, and we tried to follow along as best we could, keeping our flashlight on him. I tried to get photos, but it wasn’t easy, but at least I got evidence! What a way to end our stay at Bandhavgarh!

 

After a bit of mandatory birding around TigerGarh in the morning (by myself), we soon left Bandhavgarh behind and headed off to our next destination, Kanha National Park. After a few hours drive south, we eventually reached Shergarh Tented Camp, which would be our accommodation for the next five days (four nights). And what a place that was! The scenery was simply amazing! A large natural pond was situated in the middle of the camp property, with lots of lush trees and vegetation surrounding it. It was like a small corner of jungle heaven. Please click the above link to see the beauty of this place. Each of us got our own spacious luxury tent, and because I was the one most into photography on this trip, Saurabh had arranged for me to get the tent with the best view of the pond. What a guy!

Many who know me know that I am terrible at photographing anything but wildlife (not that I am bad at it, I just never do it), so I didn’t take photos of the area itself, but I did lots of walks in and around the camp to find and photograph birds when we had spare time on our hands. I got lots of species this way, with some highlights being Tickell’s blue flycatcher, black-hooded oriole, coppersmith barbet, common kingfisher, and black-naped monarch. A family group of langurs also passed through the camp now and then, providing opportunities for some nice shots.

 

Not only was Shergarh a beautiful oasis, but the people working there were incredibly nice and friendly too. We were well taken care of by Catherene, Rajan, and his daughter Aaisa. They frequently shared stories, asked us about ourselves, and showed genuine interest and joy in what we got to see on our safaris in Kanha. In the evening of the day we arrived, Catherene took us on an impromptu walk into the buffer zone of the national park to look for birds and other wildlife. I got even more photos of new species, such as the small minivet, large cuckooshrike, and plum-headed parakeet. It was getting dark as we headed back from the walk, which made it a bit more exciting (and almost scary), as we were told tigers moved through this area. 

 

The morning after, it was finally time for our first safari in Kanha National Park. The nature here was markedly different from Bandhavgarh, which had been mostly brown and dry open woodland (it was the dry season after all). Kanha felt a lot more lush because of its evergreen Sal forests, and I felt this place was the closest thing to what I imagined the Jungle Book would look like in real life (even though that story is supposedly based on the landscape in Pench – which was our next destination). Between large tracts of forests were wide open grasslands and wetland areas, which provided great variety in scenery on our drives here. 

Because we had seen so many tigers in Bandhavgarh, we could now spend more time focusing on other wildlife. I was looking forward to seeing and photographing the highly endangered barasingha, also known as swamp deer, which is found almost nowhere else in the world. And, just like the tiger in Bandhavgarh, the barasingha was among the first species we saw inside the park! We didn’t see too many of them, just a few sightings on each drive, and I never really got the perfect photo, but at least I got a few nice ones.

 

The first morning safari in Kanha was also the first safari where we were all together in the same vehicle (because these Jeeps were larger than those in Bandhavgarh). Since Saurabh now found himself in a car with a small crowd of birders (except for poor Tracey, who had to put up with the rest of us), he took it upon himself to provide us with as many species as he could (and always trying to get us in the best possible position for good photos). And wow, did he deliver! It was the most incredible birding experience of my life (so far), and when the drive was over we had registered about 70 species (or maybe even 80?). We had an exact number, but I just do not remember any longer (an obvious drawback from waiting too long to write about my journey). One thing I do know for certain, is that I got photos of 49 different bird species that morning (and 60 species for the day if you count the species I photographed in the evening as well – making it a record for me)! Some of these species were real gems, such as forest wagtail (no good photo of that one, sadly), Malabar pied hornbill, rufous woodpecker, sirkeer malkoha, and the extremely rare Jerdon’s baza (which no one had seen in Kanha before!). Other species of note where (in terms of photos): Indian peafowl, common myna, white-rumped shama, red-naped ibis, Indian thick-knee, red-headed vulture, shikra, and Himalayan griffon.

 

Even though our first day at Kanha was all about the birds, we also got out first tiger on the evening drive. It was quite far away, laying down in the grass, and pretty much impossible to photograph. Still, it was another tiger to our ever growing list of tiger sightings!  

On our second morning safari at Kanha we went a lot further into the park, and ended up at a massive grassland area. It almost felt like we had entered a totally different park altogether. Tigers weren’t as common to see here, but there were lots of wildlife around, with large herds of gaur being particularly visible. Saurabh had us focusing on finding various grassland species of birds, which was more than fine by me, and we were also looking for one animal that I had really hoped to see on this trip, the beautiful blackbuck, an antelope with magnificent screw-like horns. Upon entering the grasslands, we did see a herd of blackbuck in the distance, but they were too far away. After spending some time birding, getting species such as yellow-eyed babbler, paddyfield pipit, brown shrike, black-rumped flameback, and crested serpent-eagle, we happened upon a second herd of blackbuck, and this time they were close enough to photograph! I got my one photo of a beautiful male (the females are brown and lack the horns), and another species got ticked off my list!

We also came across other interesting species on this drive; among which was another species I had hoped to get decent photos of, the northern red muntjac. This is a small species of deer, where the male has tiny antlers and a couple of sharp canine teeth. To me, it looked very similar to the red forest duikers of South Africa, but the two are not closely related and belong to different families (muntjacs belong to the deer family, and the duikers to the bovid family). They probably utilize very similar ecological niches, and their similarities are probably a consequence of convergent evolution. Just your typical musings from a biology teacher!

I also need to mention another species that was very prominent at Kanha, the golden jackal. During our days here, we had at least seven different jackal sightings, and many of them quite close to the vehicle. As someone who loves mammalian carnivores more than any other type of animal, this was very cool to me! They look like miniature wolves, and are quite charismatic, and to any American reading this, they are pretty much the Eurasian equivalent of the coyote. 

Here are some of the mammals we got to see on our second day at Kanha, with the jackal, blackbuck, and muntjac taking up the top three positions, and gaur, chital and Indian palm squirrel at the bottom:

And here are some of the birds (click on them for species names):

The evening safari on our second day at Kanha ended up being very different from any other drive we had in India, as climate change had to prove its presence in this part of the world as well. According to our hosts, the period of our visit is usually hot and dry, with minimal rainfall. This would not hold true come the evening of April 7th, 2023. As we entered Kanha that evening, we suddenly got hit by heavy rainfall and an intense thunderstorm. A sign of climate change according to the locals. But instead of turning back and heading out, we continued on (we got blankets to protect ourselves in the open vehicle). It was a strange and heavy atmosphere, and eerily quiet between the bursts of rain and thunder. 

After a bit of driving we ended up at a section with dense forest. There were several other safari vehicles about, and they all seemed to drive in different directions, as if looking for something but not knowing where to start. Apparently a male tiger was on the prowl, and they were all trying to figure out where he was. We joined the search, and went from one area to the next, stopping and listening at each location. Suddenly we heard roaring from deep within the forest. The tiger was on the move, and he sounded angry. Supposedly another male tiger was somewhere in the forest nearby with a female. They were mating, and this guy was not happy about it. With intermittent rain, distant thunder, and the roaring of an angry tiger, the atmosphere was tense and suspenseful.

We slowly drove our car forward and parked near a pathway into the forest. Many of the other vehicles did the same. For a moment it was dead quiet, except for the occasional rumbling of thunder, and no one said a word. A faint roaring began again, but each roar now got louder than the one previous. The tiger was moving again, and he was closing in on our position. Suddenly we heard the scream of a man behind us, and we all turned quickly, believing the tiger had attacked a person on a car behind us. A tourist had lost his balance and fallen off his safari vehicle. His guide quickly got him back inside. Just moments later, a massive male tiger appeared out of the forest in front of us. He looked at us casually as he crossed the road and disappeared as quickly as he had emerged. What an incredible moment, and one that I will never forget. The atmosphere, the tension, and the brief appearance of the king of the jungle himself. And… I managed to get him on camera!

 

The sun was back again the next morning for our last safari in Kanha. Because we had seen and experienced so much already, both in terms of tigers and other wildlife, we began the drive with a focus on finding rare species such as sloth bear and dhole (also known as Asiatic wild dog). Both these species are apex predators, and compete with tigers for prey, but they are more elusive and harder to come by (tigers don’t need to hide, as they are at the very top of the food chain). Both sloth bear and dhole were species I really wanted to see on this journey, but I knew that I would be incredibly lucky to see them.

We had already seen the carcass of a chital the previous day, which was killed by a pack of dhole, so we knew they were around. And on this particular morning we also got fresh tracks of a sloth bear. It gave us hope that this might be the day for at least one of the two. As the morning went on, we didn’t stop for much. We kept our focus on the search for something special. After a few hours of driving, our hopes of finding one of these elusive carnivores faded and we instead got the focus back on the main characters of this journey, the tigers. At least they were not shy or hard to come by, at least not for us.

A shift in focus was the right thing to do, as it didn’t take long before we got word of a male tiger sleeping near the side of the road somewhere close. As we found him, there were lots of cars around as usual. He was laying down flat sleeping with his back towards us, not bothered at all by the crowd on the road right behind him. As we were about to leave him (he wasn’t the most interesting subject to photograph), a pair of elephants suddenly appeared up the road. There are no wild elephants in Kanha, so these were domesticated elephants with park rangers riding on top of them. The tiger had a wound on his side from a battle with another tiger, and the rangers had come to get a closer look at it.

 

When the elephants arrived down by the tiger they were standing right behind us, making us feel quite small in comparison. And we weren’t the only ones reacting to the presence of these massive creatures. The male tiger, who hadn’t moved a muscle this whole time, found the elephants a tad bit more interesting than all the cars. At least enough to raise its head and have a look at the elephants over his shoulder. After a few seconds he laid his head down again and got back to sleep. He didn’t see them as much of a threat either, it seemed. Luckily I had had my camera at the ready, and got one of my favorite tiger shots within that brief moment!

 

After we left him, we did a bit of driving around to see what else we could find. It was getting quite hot and most of the wildlife had stopped moving around. We eventually decided to head back out of the park. As we got close to the exit, we met another vehicle who said that a female tiger was relaxing just down one of the side roads. We decided to go have a look.

As we got there, there weren’t that many cars around. She was laying flat in the grass a bit of a distance from the road. No more exciting than the male earlier. But we had time before we had to be out of the park, and the gate was close, so we decided to just sit there for a bit. Then, after a while, she suddenly stood up and began walking. She was heading straight for the road, but not in our direction. Our driver knew were she would enter the road, and drove fast to get there so we could watch her come out. We were put in perfect position as we watched her move through the jungle towards us, and I got some nice photos of her navigating the dense vegetation. When she finally entered the road, she was right there next to us. She then crossed the road, and as she did she looked straight into my lens, providing me with another fantastic photo! Maybe it was the noisy shutter of my camera that caught her attention? I also got a few great shots of her walking amongst the dry leaves on the other side. She eventually found another path and disappeared into the forest. Another incredible sighting, and almost on par with that first female on our very first drive in Bandhavgarh. What an end to our safaris at Kanha! 

 

Even though we were now done with our safaris at Khana, I had one more adventure left before we’d leave this place. At the time that I was gathering information about this trip, I had asked Saurabh in an email about doing night drives. These are special safaris where you look for nocturnal species seldom seen during the day. I loved doing night drives when I lived in South Africa, and I hoped to do a few of those in India as well. Saurabh had asked Catherene and Raja if they could do one for us on our very last night at Kanha, and they agreed! It ended up only being me going, as the others were tired and wanted to stay inside and relax (if you read this Andy, Anna and Tracey – I’m sorry, but I have to write about this one – I still feel bad about you missing out). 

We headed out after dinner, and it was me, Saurabh, Catherene, Raja (I think), and one more employee at their resort. Because night drives aren’t allowed inside the national park, we went to a different area (part of the buffer zone). As we arrived, we got a couple of spotlights out and began searching for glowing eyes in the darkness, which meant we had found an animal. At first we got a few chital and a muntjac, but after a short while we came across an Indian scops-owl very close to the road. It just sat there posing for us, and we got lots of photographs. An amazing start to the drive! 

As we continued, Saurabh managed to find a species I had secretly been hoping for up in a tree; an Asian palm civet! A small nocturnal carnivore distantly related to cats, and very similar to the genets I often found on night drives in South Africa. I even managed to get a decent shot before it disappeared further up the tree. Exactly the type of sighting I was hoping for!

We were continuing onwards in the darkness when one of the guys in vehicle exclaimed “leopard!” in a hushed voice. And lo and behold, a leopard was moving between the trees! It quickly disappeared into denser forest. We tried to follow and anticipate were it would go, but we lost it. I got a photo of it as evidence at least, just as I did with the leopard at Bandhvagarh. But having seen two leopards after just a few days was crazy to me. As many of you know, I did research on leopards in South Africa for about 18 months, where I mostly used camera traps to collect data. During that time, I never got to see any of the leopards that I worked on, as they were extremely shy and elusive in those areas. When it came to leopards, I felt I had bad luck, and never really thought I’d see them in India. I had a faint hope, but me being me, I wasn’t counting on it. So, having seen two, even though briefly and at night, was very special to me!

Now, back to the night drive. As we tried to find the leopard, we almost drove over an Indian hare, which was another new species for me (but one I’d get better photos of later on). We eventually found an open area and stopped to listen and look around. Maybe we’d see the leopard come back out of the forest again. As we sat there, Catherene caught something small high up in a tree with her spotlight. It was definitely a mammal of some sort, but no one managed to see exactly what it was. And then it suddenly jumped off the tree and flew! Or to be more precise, it glided! It was a flying squirrel! Everyone in the car went absolutely crazy! Apparently, flying squirrels are among the rarest of the rare animals in the Indian jungle, and they are strictly nocturnal. Everyone just sat there in awe, watching it glide from tree to tree (some of us literally said “aawww” each time it glided). The rarity and specialness of that moment was really evident to me, as I sat there with all these experienced local guides and experts who were just mesmerized by this incredible animal. Just to cement the magic of the moment, we were also surrounded by fireflies, who were lighting up the area around us. As we headed back, it was clear to me that I had been part of a very special night drive that even the experts would remember for a long time! Another incredible end to another incredible stay. Next morning we were heading to Pench.

 

In the afternoon of April 9th, we arrived a Pench Jungle Camp, where we were to spend the next two nights. As I stated in the beginning of this piece, each accommodation was a step up from the last in terms of quality. This resort was much larger than Shergarh at Kanha, had multiple different cabins and luxury tents (we were in the tents), and a massive outside area that included large lawns, pools, sitting areas, and more. I am pretty sure I didn’t even see most of it. There was a large dining room, similar to a typical hotel, and a sort of conference room that showed the documentary series “Tiger: Spy in the Jungle” on a large screen if you headed inside (it was filmed here at Pench). Everything was top notch and the rooms were very high-end. What this place lacked, however, was the intimate, warm, and pristine feeling of Shergarh – and the wonderful hosts of course. Pench Jungle Camp was a bit too big for me, and too commercial – but the room/tent itself was the best one so far, no doubt. We were mostly there to relax between safaris, and in that case it served its purpose very well (and the food was amazing too).

As stated, we were there for safaris, and for our first evening, Saurabh had a special treat for us. He is a man with lots of connections, and seemed to know a lot of people most places we went. And here at Pench, he has a friend that could provide us with an experience a bit out of the ordinary. He was taking us out on another night drive, but not a typical one. We were actually heading away from Pench and the wilderness, and instead to a nearby village very close to the highway. It seemed a bit weird sitting in a safari vehicle as we drove across the busy highway, and then through narrow roads past various shops and restaurants closed for the night. But we were on the hunt for something special this night, something that we could only find here and not in the park itself. Wolves!

The wolves could not be found in the streets, of course, but in the nearby fields just beyond. Saurabh’s friend was an expert on these wolves. We headed into the fields with spotlights on, and looked for anything that moved. As soon as we got into the fields beyond the houses, we found a herd of Indian boar rummaging around. As is with many animals, they looked a lot scarier at night. We didn’t stick with them, however, as we had bigger fish to fry. 

It was clear that we were headed to a particular place, and on our way there we managed to find a few nocturnal species not easily seen during the day. The first species was an Indian nightjar just sitting still in the middle of an open field, providing us with a great photo opportunity. A few Indian hares jumped around in the area as well. One of the spotlights then found a pair of bright eyes staring back at us further afield. A carnivore, no doubt, but too small to be a wolf. As we looked closer, we saw it was a cat! A jungle cat to be precise. One of the smaller wild cats, but larger than a house cat. It is typically found near farmlands and villages such as this, but mostly at night. The smaller cat species are much harder to come by than the larger cats, so I was very happy with that one!

We eventually reached our destination somewhere out in the fields, but still very close to the homes of people. It was a carcass placed in the middle of an open area. A carcass to attract the wolves! To increase our chances of seeing them, we had to turn the spotlights off. We then sat in total darkness and waited. Now and then, Saurabh or his friend would turn a spotlight on to see if anything was there, and then immediately turn if off again if nothing was present. We sat there all quiet, and I could feel my heart rate increase in anticipation. Then, when one of the spotlights went on, what looked like a huge jackal ran from the light and into darkness and disappeared. It was a wolf! I saw it, but very briefly, and there was no time for a photograph. We waited in the hope it would return, but soon an actual jackal turned up instead. This was bad news, as it meant the wolf was gone. Otherwise the jackal wouldn’t have dared to show itself. 

Now I just want to get a couple of facts out of the way. The Indian wolf is the same species as the one we have in the Northern Hemisphere (like in Norway), but it is a different subspecies, meaning there are distinct differences. Indian wolves are smaller and scrawnier, and do not live in large packs like other wolves. They are also more likely to scavenge for food, hence why a carcass would be a good way to attract one. The Indian wolf is also quite rare in India, and found less in national parks than tigers and other large carnivores (which would compete with and kill wolves). It is also highly endangered. 

It was awesome having seen a wolf, but I was still a bit disappointed that it didn’t stick around for a few photographs. As we headed back, Saurabh wanted to end the drive by taking us to a specific location in the middle of the village. It was a massive tree right next to a house, but in the tree were hundreds of egrets! There were cattle egrets, little egrets, and great egrets, and all of them roosting here for the night. It was quite the view! And as we went to leave, a barn owl suddenly flew by. We followed it and found it perched a top of a dead tree in a back alley. Another new species for me, and I got nice photos to boot! 

 

The next morning we were all excited to enter Pench for the first time. We only had one day here, which meant we only had two safaris. One in the morning and one in the evening. Apparently, Pench is the wilderness that inspired Rudyard Kipling when he wrote the Jungle Book, and this was very evident here. There were references to the Jungle Book everywhere, particularly outside the park, but inside as well, such as an a bit off-putting statue of Mowgli at the place we had breakfast. The dry season might have influenced my view, but to me it didn’t feel like the Jungle Book at all (based on my subjective recollection and visualization of the story). The park was quite open, with scattered trees all over (but no dense forests, at least not where we were). It was also quite hilly, with rocky outcrops here and there. The brown and yellow colors of the dry season didn’t help, either. As mentioned earlier, Kanha fit the bill a lot more in my opinion, with its denser and lusher vegetation.

Even if it wasn’t as attractive as Kanha, it was still very different than both of the previous parks, and had its own distinct feel to it. Being open is also a positive when looking for wildlife, as animals can be easier to spot. And it was wildlife everywhere! We seldom got far without seeing another wild animal. Most of the animals we saw, however, were chital, langurs, and Indian peafowl, and quite often together in larger groups. They benefited from each others presence due to the safety of many lookouts. Other species we saw were gaur, wild board, sambar deer, rhesus macaque, golden jackal, and a new species I had also hoped to see, the weird-looking nilgai. Nilgais are large bull-like antelopes, closely related to the elands and kudus of Africa. I wish I got better photos of it, though (it was a bit far away). Maybe next time! I also got a photo of one of the few reptiles we saw, the Bengal monitor lizard, which I think is awesome!

 

Pench was also a great place for birding. I finally got nice photos of some species I had seen a lot of previously, such as the Indian roller, Oriental honey-buzzard (the most common bird of prey during my trip), jungle babbler, rufous treepie, rose-ringed parakeet, black drongo, and red-vented bulbul. Other species I got decent photos of, but weren’t that common for me (or were entirely new), was the white-rumped vulture, zitting cisticola, ashy-crowned sparrow-lark, and Indian spot-billed duck. 

 

This one day at Pench, April 10th, 2023 will always be a date I’ll remember for the rest of my life, but not be because of the birds, nor because of the other wildlife I just mentioned. I was happy with all of that, of course, but this day had something else in store that would make it very special. The first indication that this day was going to provide us with something very different came within the first hour. We had been driving for a bit, not seeing a lot, when we entered a more open area. Suddenly an animal appeared on the road, running towards us with hasty steps. My first instinct was “is that a dog?”. I was almost right. It was a dhole! Also known as Asiatic wild dog. It’s one of the more elusive carnivores of the Indian jungle, highly endangered, and a species I only had a faint hope of seeing! Dholes are pack animals, just like the wolves back home in Norway, and this was a small family of a male, a female, and their two pups. 

The dholes were not shy at all, and ran back and forth along the road. They would run ahead a bit, then settle down for a few minutes, then run a bit further again before settling in the grass once more, and we got to tag along! They were very active as they played with each other, rolled around in the grass, and ran around. Their behavior reminded me a lot of the African wild dogs I was lucky to see a few times in South Africa, with lots of activity and playful behavior. Dogs will be dogs, I guess! Everything happened within meters of our car, as they didn’t seem bothered by us at all. We were also the only vehicle there, making this observation even more special and intimate. I couldn’t believe the luck I was having on this trip, but little did I know it was even more to come!

 

We were running on a high after the experience with the dholes, so we just relaxed and enjoyed Pench and all the other wildlife for the next hour and a half. As we were heading back to the area we started, our driver and Saurabh got word from another car that a female leopard had recently been observed at a rocky hill in the area. Knowing my luck with leopards, I didn’t really think we would find it. Not in the middle of the day like this, at least. But it never hurts to look. There were multiple vehicles in the area looking for the same leopard, and everyone kept looking up at the rocky hill where it was supposedly hiding. Then, just by chance, I looked down in the leaf-littered trench on the other side of the road and saw something moving along the bottom up towards us. It was the leopard! She was well camouflaged against the yellow leaves, but her movement betrayed her. She was somewhat close to the road, but it still took a while before every vehicle had registered her presence. I almost couldn’t believe what I was seeing. A leopard walking unperturbed so close to our vehicle, and so far into the day! To me, this was almost unheard of! 

As she walked up from the trench, she continued up the side of a hill parallel to the road, and we had a great view of her as she navigated the rough terrain. Based on my own experience, I knew exactly how rare this was. I just had to make the most of it, and took photos non-stop! In contrast to what a lot of people believe, I still manage to be present and in awe, even when taking photos. To me it is the combination of both the experience and getting the good shots that makes a sighting special, and I was not going to let this opportunity go to waste. 

The leopard continued up the hill, before she suddenly changed her direction to cross the road, and then went up the rocky hill were we had first looked for her. I got a few nice shots as she crossed, and then we drove ahead of her to get a better angle. She went up and down over the rocks and it was hard to get a good photograph, until she jumped onto a larger rock and stopped to look around. Seeing that female leopard, in all her majestic beauty, just standing there, posing on that rock for everyone to see, was an incredible moment. I got my photos of her, but then I just stopped and looked at her standing there. I had a massive lump in my throat and actual tears came to my eyes (I do not cry easily). I spent 18 months in South Africa, doing research on these fantastic cats, being out every morning hoping and dreaming for a moment like this to happen, but it never did. And now, in India, 9 years later, it finally happened! I don’t think anyone in that car knew how much this meant to me, as I do not show emotions like this all to well, but inside I was a complete mess. 

After the leopard left the rock, she went up the hill, and suddenly we saw that she was not alone! Waiting for her among the rocks were three cubs! How could this sighting get even better!? I had never seen leopard cubs before! I was at a loss for words. The four of them stayed up there for a while, and the cubs moved around a bit and I got many photos of them in various actions. The whole sighting felt unreal to me. I am glad I have the photos to remind me that it actually happened. After a while, the mother stood up and went down the hill to cross the road again. Her cubs followed, one by one, but a couple of them were nervous with all the cars around. We all sat still, trying no to spook them as they crossed. When there was one cub left, I remember Saurabh say “get ready” for us to be ready with our cameras, and I stood up slowly to get a better angle for a photo. The cub crossed, and I got a few more photos. To my regret, however, I had unknowingly stood up in front of Andy who was also trying to photograph the cub. He got annoyed with me, and I felt really bad for having ruined someone else’s moment. That moment still hurts a bit, as I would never do such a thing on purpose knowingly. I’m sorry, Andy! We then left the little leap of leopards (which is the correct term for a group of leopards), and went for a late breakfast.  

 

After an unbelievable morning with a pack of dhole and a leopard with cubs, we didn’t think we would get much more on that drive, but just on the way out after breakfast, we came across another leopard sighting! It was quite far in the distance, and you had to be at the right angle to see it, but indeed, another leopard was right there laying in a tree. Two leopard sightings in one drive? Incredible! 

As we got back into Pench for an afternoon drive later that day, we were hoping for our first tiger for this park, and for a sloth bear, as that was the one species we hadn’t seen yet (but still very unlikely). In the beginning we didn’t see much other than what we had seen already, with a massive sambar and a nilgai as standout sightings (both shown in photos earlier), but as we got to the area were we had seen that leopard in a tree far away, a bunch of cars were now parked by the road. Wouldn’t you believe that the leopard was still there! It was still in a tree, but this time a lot closer. Another dream of mine got fulfilled, as I finally got a decent photo of a leopard in a tree! After a while we realized it wasn’t alone, as we noticed the top of the head of another leopard in the grass just underneath the tree. Apparently it was a breeding pair, with the female up in the tree and the male down below. This day was just insane! How was this even possible?

 

We stayed a while with these leopards (even though we hardly saw the male in the grass below), and when we were satisfied with the sighting and got our photos, we began the journey back to the gate to exit the park. It was getting a bit late, so we had to drive a bit faster than usual. On the way, a vehicle with tourists had stopper underneath a tree and they were looking up at it. We stopped and looked up as well, and there was a mottled wood-owl up there! It was one of the coolest looking owls I have ever seen, but sadly I didn’t get a decent photo. It was behind a lot of branches and the lighting was pretty terrible. So, we continued on, again quite fast. Suddenly the driver hit the breaks and stopped, as right there in front of us was another leopard! What on earth was going on!? It was a young leopard, and it was laying down low partly concealed by a piece of dead wood quite close to the road. This was insane, and probably the craziest safari day of my life! Four separate leopard sightings, and seven different individuals! It was like the Universe gave me everything I didn’t see for 18 months in South Africa in one single day! I was utterly speechless.

 

That concluded our stay at Pench, and even though the stay was short, we had a day out of this world! I didn’t miss tigers at all, even though it would have been nice to add another one to the tally. Seeing those leopards, especially the female with cubs, made me realize something. All my life I have loved and adored tigers. I drew tigers all the time as a kid, from the age of 4 until my teenage years (when I forgot all about drawing). It is an animal that has been a constant throughout my life (it was my first written word, if you remember me saying earlier). But now, after having finally seen these majestic cats in the wild for the first time, it just cannot beat the sighting of a leopard. It’s the elusiveness and mystique, the extreme chance encounters, as well as their elegance and beauty. It’s just something about leopards that gets me every time I see one that trumps most other wildlife encounters. Maybe being desperate to see one for 18 months had something do to with it, but I do remember having similar feelings the few times I did see leopards before then as well.

Except for that sloth bear, I now felt I had seen everything I needed to see, and could travel back home a happy man. But we weren’t finished! We still had four more days (three nights) at Satpura. This was the only park I had never heard of before I left, and the itinerary said it was supposed to be the park with the lowest chance of tiger, but an increased chance of the other carnivores (such as the mentioned sloth bear). It was very smart of Saurabh to leave such a park as the very last one, as most tour groups are likely to have seen plenty of tigers before coming here, and will be ready to look for all the other interesting wildlife. We were lucky and had seen almost everything already, so anything new from here on out would be a bonus! There were, however, two species I really wanted to see and photograph here that were not found in any of the previous parks, the colorful Indian giant squirrel and the grey junglefowl, a relative of the red junglefowl we had seen in the other parks. In the forests of Satpura there is also a chance of spotting the extremely rare rusty-spotted cat, arguably the smallest cat in the world, but that was highly unlikely, and bordering on impossible in my eyes. 

Now, a bit about the accommodation. We stayed at a resort called Reni Pani Jungle Lodge, which is placed deep in the forest (at least it felt that way). And this was the finest accommodation of them all! It had the high-end luxury of Pench Jungle Camp (or maybe even slightly more luxurious), combined with the more intimate and exclusive feel of Shergarh at Kanha. The staff was very nice and welcoming, and the daily manager (at least I think he was – and I can’t seem to remember his name) even joined us for a few safaris. My room was, well, a lot more than a room! I had a small house to myself it felt like. With a spacious bedroom on the ground floor, a large bathroom downstairs, and an outside terrace upstairs. It was definitely a step up from the other accommodations in that regard! The food was also fantastic here, and maybe slightly better than the others if I remember correctly. As it turned out, Saurabh also used to work at this resort before he began his own company, so he knew this place very well.

One thing I enjoyed about Satpura was the diverse safari offerings, as we took part in three very different safaris. We did the standard morning and evening safari inside Satpura National Park, we did late evening to night drives in a buffer zone close to Reni Pani, and a boat safari for birding on the Denwa River, a river bordering the national park. Already the first day, after arrival and some food, we went out on our first late evening/night drive in the buffer zone. To get there, we had to drive past a couple of small villages. As we entered the buffer zone we also met people from the village harvesting something inside (can’t remember what), which is allowed in a buffer zone but not in the national park itself. 

Even though this drive wasn’t inside a national park, it certainly felt like we were in one, as this was a large wilderness area, with forests, steep hills, dried up riverbeds, and even some grassland areas. Because we had seen so much already, we didn’t really stop for species we had seen before, unless it was a species I wanted better photos of. One brand new species we saw was the grey junglefowl, but similar to its relative the red junglefowl, it was very hard to photograph. Before it went dark, we came across my very first and only Eurasian hoopoe, a species of bird I thought I’d see a lot more of on this trip, but at least I got one, and I also managed to get a decent photo.

When it got dark, the drive became a lot more exciting (I love my night drives!). There were nightjars flying about, and I finally got a good photo of an Indian hare. As we continued further inside, the backside of a massive striped cat suddenly appeared in the spotlights in front of us. A huge male tiger was walking along the road! And we weren’t even supposed to see tigers in this place! We followed him from a short distance as he kept walking. He only stopped a couple of times to mark his territory. It felt very different seeing a tiger at night. This was his time and domain, and we were uninvited guests with poor senses, and easy prey if he wanted to. He didn’t seem to mind us following him, however. Which was a good thing. After we had followed him for a bit, he decided to follow a path into the forest, and we left him there and headed for the exit. 

 

We continued our night drive with spotlights even after exiting the buffer zone, as you never know what you can find, or where you find it. Between the two villages on the way back was a small stretch of forest, and as we entered it we saw movement by the side of the road up ahead. These animals looked really weird in our spotlight, as they looked like big black balls of fur moving back and forth on the ground. It was only one animal that could be: sloth bear! Here it was, finally! It was a mother and her very large cub. They just kept walking around next to the road, as they munched away on whatever it was they were eating (some kind of fruit or plant). I had my big lens on, and the bears were almost too large for me to photograph this close, but I did my best and got something I could use at least. Getting sloth bears on the very first drive at Satpura was fantastic! We had basically seen it all now! At least all the big stuff. Now we could relax and enjoy our last few days even more! But the night drive wasn’t over quite yet. In a haystack in one of the fields near the last of the two villages, we got ourselves another jungle cat! And this one was close enough for some decent photos as well! Another great start to another destination!

 

After an excellent drive the night before, it was time for our first visit to Satpura National Park itself. It was a bit of a drive to get there, as we had to drive through a large section of open fields and houses. Even though it was outside of any wilderness area, this drive actually ended up being one of my favorite stretches of road. Mainly because there were so many different birds around this area, and they would often perch on fences, poles, wires, and similar man made structures. Often on the way back (and sometimes on the way in as well), we would stop multiple times to photograph new species. One of the highlights were finally getting a good photo of the magnificent greater racket-tailed drongo! Here is a collection of birds I got to photograph on this stretch of road over the next few days (the drongo is in the first picture): 

 

As we got to the end of this road, we actually had to cross the Tawa Reservoir by boat to reach Satpura on the other side. Always a nice ride over, as we got to see various water-dependent birds, and even mugger crocodiles (such as the one below):

 

When we reached the other side, our drivers and their safari vehicles were waiting for us. We jumped in and got on with our safari! 

Satpura was very different from the other three parks, and it’s almost hard to describe it. It was large and extremely varied, with dense forests, open grasslands and meadows, as well as steep hills and rocky areas. It was also a lot more lush and green, compared to the drier Bandhvagarh and Pench. The buffer zone of the night before was in a similar vein to Satpura, but drier. Now that I had seen all four parks, Satpura might come out on top as the one with the most interesting and varied landscape, but I think I enjoyed the feel of Kanha just a tad bit more. My preference for Kanha might also be the result of the fantastic drives we had there, as Satpura didn’t provide us with the most spectacular sightings (not including the buffer zone). 

We did two drives here, one morning drive on the 12th of April, and an evening drive on the 13th. We saw a lot of similar wildlife on both of these drives, so I’ll combine the two here when I go through what we saw and experienced. First of all, we did not see any large carnivores here. We were close to finding a tiger once, as we, and other safari vehicles, tried to find it based on alarm calls from other wildlife, but it never got out in the open for us to see it. That didn’t bother me at all, as we had seen a lot already, and I was more than happy to look for other wildlife that we had seen less of, and of course, getting some last few shots of various birds we came across.

For me, these two safaris became drives to try and tie things up, and I had a wish list for Saurabh of animals I still wanted better photos of. And he tried his best to help me succeed! If I remember correctly, I wanted better photos of a big gaur bull, a sambar stag, a nilgai bull, a grey junglefowl, and a sloth bear during the day. I also wanted to see and hopefully get decent photos of the Indian giant squirrel, which was only found here. I knew the sloth bear was a tall order, and it would be down to sheer luck, but the others were more likely to be granted. There were lots of gaur and sambar in this park (a lot more sambar than chital, for once – as chital had been the dominant deer in the other three parks). Nilgai was present, but harder to come by. Grey junglefowl was common, and we’d see them regularly, but they were extremely skittish and were often gone into dense vegetation before I even managed to get my camera ready. As for the squirrel? Well, I just had to cross my fingers for that one!

So, how did it actually turn out? As stated, there were lots of gaur around, and on our second drive we came across a large herd in the forest. There was one massive bull there, and he was walking through the forest towards a water hole. Our driver managed to get us into a perfect position to watch him approach the water for a drink, and I managed to get my photos! I was very happy with that one! We also came across sambar multiple times. Of the ones we saw, none were stags with decent antlers, however, so that one was a bust. The nilgai? We saw one group of females behind lots of vegetation, and one male too far in the distance, so another bust. Daytime sloth bear? That was never really happening. The grey junglefowl didn’t cooperate either, even though Saurabh really tried his best to help me on that one! That leaves the Indian giant squirrel. On the first drive we did manage to find one, and I got ok photos, but it was a bit far away. On our second and last drive, we came across another one a lot closer, and I got my photos! Not the perfect lighting on it, but decent enough! I did get plenty of different birds as well, so overall, I was very happy!

 

As a nice bonus, on our very last evening drive in Satpura, Saurabh wanted to take us on a detour on the way back to camp. It was getting dark, which was perfect for what he had in store for us. Since he had worked here, he knew those special places where one might find what so many others might miss. This time, it was a special species of owl, the rock eagle-owl, he wanted to find for us. It is one of the largest and most powerful species of owl in India, and a very close relative of the Eurasian eagle-owl we have back home in Norway (they were believed to be the same species for a long time). With the luck we had been having, of course we found one! Exactly where he thought they’d be as well. They were two, but the other stayed somewhere out of sight and we never saw it. The one we saw was perched perfectly on a branch over the road, and I managed to get some nice photos! Thanks again, Saurabh!

 

Since there were only a few days left of my stay in India, I spent most of my free time between safaris walking around camp trying get photos of more birds. Within the premises there were lots of flowers and vegetation, a pool, and a bit further out from the main lodge was a medium-sized pond. This attracted many species of birds to the area, either to drink, to feed on nectar, or to feed on insects drawn to the flowers. I spent most of my time around the main lodge and the pool and got a lot of species there, but I also walked up to the pond and a got even more species. A pair of white-throated kingfishers was found near the pool almost the entire time (which was a real treat), and beautiful species such as purple sunbird and Indian white-eye visited the flowers. Here are some photos of these and other birds taken as I explored the premises of Reni Pani: 

 

On the evening of April 12th, we were heading out into the buffer zone again for our last evening/night drive. With a male tiger, sloth bears, and a jungle cat the night previous, our hopes were up for something special tonight as well. I was of course hoping for more sloth bear, and before dark this time. At least we knew they were there. When inside, more grey junglefowl appeared, but I still could not get that photo. A few sambar as well, but not the stag I was hoping for. As we got a bit further in, we heard the alarm call of a sambar, and not long after, a female tiger appeared ahead of us! She was doing a really bad job of stalking the deer. When she knew she had blown her cover, she picked up her pace a bit and walked normally. We followed alongside her as she walked parallel to the road. After a short while we came to a turn in the road. We stopped and she crossed the road in front of us. It was very open in this area and we had a good view of her as she walked along the path away from us. At one point she stopped and turned, and I got some nice photos. She then kept on going a bit further before she decided to lay down in the grass. We stayed with her for a bit, but she was a now too far for any decent photos. It was another fantastic tiger sighting, and one we didn’t expect at all!

 

It got dark not long after we left the tiger, and our safari turned into a night drive. The spotlights were on the ready, and we were again looking for glowing eyes in the darkness. The first interesting species we came across was a muntjac, rummaging around on the forest floor. A few more Indian hares showed up as well as we kept driving. Another jungle cat decided to show itself too, which is always special. As we kept on going, we met another safari vehicle. Apparently a big male tiger was down by the water. We headed there to have a look. As we got there, we just caught him as he finished drinking. He then quickly walked up a little hill and out of view. It was the same male tiger as we had seen yesterday, and seeing him again made me realize what a monster of a cat he was. He was massive!

It was pitch black and we could not see anything aside from our torches and spotlights. We knew the tiger was up the hill somewhere, but we had no idea where he had gone from there. A part of me was skeptical about going up after him. What if we got him annoyed? Still, our driver took the chance and went up the hill after him. When we got up, the male tiger was right there in front of us. He had laid down in the grass to relax. Safari vehicles are totally open, with no roof or sides (only an arm rest), which is awesome for photography, but now that I sat on the seat furthest in front on the right side, I felt extremely exposed. I have been in this situation before with lions in Africa, and I never really felt scared, even the few times it happened at night. Sitting here in the middle of the night with a massive tiger just a few meters in front of me and no barriers between us, however, really had my nerves going! This tiger was just a different beast compared to anything I had experienced before! We were also told, afterwards, that this tiger was the reason we hadn’t seen that many sloth bears. Apparently, this tiger had killed and eaten them!

Another vehicle eventually came in from the side, and now we were two cars watching him and shining lights in his eyes. Nocturnal animals, such as cats, are really not that bothered by lights, and he didn’t seem to care one bit. The tiger kept yawning now and then, and I began taking pictures of him in the hopes of catching him with is mouth open wide. My camera shutter is quite noisy, and every time I took a series of photos, I could see his ears twitching. It was a bit unnerving. Then he did another yawn, and I was ready to smash that shutter button to get that photo. I got what I hoped for, but it seemed my shutter was his final straw and he suddenly got up on all four. He first looked my way, and my heart nearly jumped out of its chest. He then began walking. There was a gap between the two cars, large enough for him to pass, and it was right next to me. If he went that way, he would be within one meter from me! Luckily, he went on the outside of the other car and onto the nearby road. Our driver was quick to react and managed to get on the road just behind him. We followed him for quite some time. I was done taking photos, and now I just sat there and watched him in awe. My nerves hadn’t really settled yet, and a part of me just wanted the tiger to get off the road and leave us so I could relax again. Eventually, that is what he did. 

That big male tiger was our final tiger for the trip, and what a perfect way to end this tiger journey! I ended up with 15 tiger sightings in total, and quite a few of them were really good! It was also nice to get some fear factor in from that last one, as it increased my reverence and respect for these animals even more! They really are the kings and queens of the jungle, and not to be messed with! However, they are just a bit too present and easy to find, just like the lions in Africa, for them to overtake the leopard as my favorite cat to see in the wild, but they come in as a close second!

 

But our night drive wasn’t done just yet! It had one more surprise for us after the tiger. On our way out, Saurabh asked the driver to take a special route through the jungle, as it was an area he had previously seen a very different species of cat. One that very few ever get to see. As we drove through this area, his torch suddenly hit a couple of eyes and he erupted “rusty-spotted cat!”. There it was, just after seeing the largest cat in the world, here was the smallest! The driver went off the road to get closer, in between the trees. He managed to get ahead of the cat a bit, as it walked along the forest floor, and I got the perfect angle for a photograph. And I got it! Possibly the most unique photograph from the entire trip! I feel very lucky to be one of few, I would think, to have photographed a wild rusty-spotted cat. Massive thanks to Saurabh for finding it for us! Our luck lasted straight to the very end! 

 

On the morning of my last full day in India we were doing something I had looked forward to ever since I heard about it. It was time for a boat safari along the Denwa River! The reason I was so pumped about this one, is because you often get an incredible vantage point when photographing from a boat, as you are level with the water. Shorebirds are also a lot easier to spot from a boat than from land, where there might be vegetation and other obstacles in the way. And let me just tell you right now, the trip did not disappoint! We got plenty of species, and I felt I got good phots all the time, of almost every species we saw. In terms of photography alone, this was the best safari of the entire trip! You do not want to miss this if you ever come here and want to photograph birds. Alright, no more talking, this is one of those times where the photos speak a lot louder than words. 

 

We were now almost finished, and my flight home was the next day. But there was one adventure left. Before leaving Satpura for the airport, we were ending this journey with one last morning drive in the buffer zone. That meant I had one last chance of getting some of the photos I still wished for. It felt weird knowing this was the very last time in a safari vehicle for now, and that I would be back home in Norway the next day. Did I actually get anything on this last drive, though? Nothing new, but I got the best photos of some of the birds I had already seen, such as paddyfield pipit, yellow-footed green-pigeon, and Indian robin. I also got a last decent shot of a gaur bull and a male langur in a dry riverbed. But the best bit was finally getting an ok photo of the troublesome grey junglefowl! It had to wait for the last day, but I got it in the end! And that concluded my Indian safaris in April 2023!

 

Here are some of my stats from this trip (which lasted 13 days – from April 2nd to April 14th):

Total number of species photographed: 190

Number of bird species photographed: 154

Number of mammal species photographed: 25

Number of reptile species photographed: 4

The rest was 1 amphibian, and 6 insects photographed – this is wildlife I do not really focus on.

To me that was an incredible amount of species, and more than I could have ever dreamt of!

If you want to have a more detailed look at what species I saw and read about them, see the final section below for a list and links to fact pages.

If you want to see the complete species list and all the observations, have a look at this iNatrualist page.

Before I finish I want to thank everyone involved in making this such an amazing trip! The hosts and employees of all the places we stayed were great throughout, with a particular thanks to everyone at Shergarh at Kanha, who went that extra mile to make my stay there extra special.

I of course need to thank my tour companions for all the laughs and great talks. I was very lucky that I ended up with you guys! Andy and Anna, thanks for being just as interested in the birds as me! It made all the difference! And thank you, Andy, for your tips on birding trips! I haven’t gone yet, but I already have the bird guide to Lesvos you recommended, and will definitely visit at some point! A special thank you to Tracey, who was my partner in crime throughout this journey. We always shared safari vehicle when the cars didn’t fit all of us (which meant you had to put up with my birding alone), and we had long talks about everything and anything on the long drives between the parks. You were exactly the kind of supportive and understanding person I needed with me, with lots of wise counsel whenever it was called for.

Last, but not least, a huge thank you to Saurabh for taking us through two incredible weeks! You went far and beyond to make this trip the best it could ever be, for each and everyone of us. With your experience, humor and professionality, you steered us perfectly through all four parks, and it would have been impossible for me to find and photograph all those species without your knowledge and guidance! I hope to see you again for another adventure in India someday (I still have that snow leopard to photograph)!