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Bamboo's Got Eyes...

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It was our second safari of the trip, in the Sillari zone in Pench. It was a blazing hot afternoon, and we sat in our jeep with an ice box full of cold water bottles. After our previous safari in the morning, where we had sighted a 10-month-old tiger cub, we had our hopes as high as the trees around us. Just as we entered through the safari gate and arrived at a Y-fork, our jeep stopped, and the guide looked for any pug marks that would direct us to the big cat. We heard grass rustle on our right, and whipped our heads towards the source of disturbance. At first glance, the terrain appeared undisturbed. However, our sharp-eyed guide, a middle-aged man in his 50s, pointed out to us the pack of Dholes, perfectly camouflaged. They were lazing and goofing around under the shade of trees, hidden away from the harsh afternoon UV rays. One was standing guard over the pack, one was getting ready for its nap, one was trotting around, and one was scratching a tree bark. Alt text: a Dhole trottin...
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An Adorable Sleepy Princess

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Jungle Book, the fictional story that lit up the childhood of almost every child, with its characters being so loved by children - Mowgli the "man-cub", Bagheera the panther, Baloo the bear, Kaa the python, Akela the wolf, and the iconic tiger villain, Sherkhaan. This is a story that is nestled deep in the dense jungles of Pench, situated on the border of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. In March, we set out to experience this fictional story in real life. We had heard a lot about the dense jungles of Pench and wanted to see for ourselves what it was about the jungle that inspired Rudyard Kipling to create his amazing little world. Our first safari was in the morning in the Khursapar zone. Our hopes weren't that high, yet we arrived at the gate with our cameras fully charged and our minds open for what was to come our way soon. The safari started off with us sighting a pair of Indian Scops Owls nestled in their nest, followed by multiple Thick-Knees, and numerous Owlets, a...
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An Experience To Cherish

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 The jungles of Jim Corbett spread over to about 1300 sq.kms. and have about 250+ tigers. As we set out on our first safari for the day, we hoped to sight at least one of the many tigers in this densely dense jungle. Our first safari on Day 1 was in the Bijrani zone. It was raining lightly but we did not let it dampen our spirits. A little into the jungle, we saw a pair of jackals sitting by the trail. And oh dear were they cute. The one closest to us was continuously yawning and looking around curiously. If I could, I'd pick one and take it home as a pet! We then saw a train of tiger's pugmarks in the sand, heading the opposite way. We knew they were fresh because they hadn't been washed away by the rains from the previous day. As we drove deeper, we saw a juvenile Changeable Hawk-Eagle perched on a tree branch. We drove further into the dense green jungle and across many water streams but still no signs of any big cats. By then we had completely given up the hopes of seei...
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So Close Yet So Far…

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The thrill of a tiger safari lies not only in the hope of spotting the elusive big cat but in the anticipation, the waiting, and the whispers of the jungle that surround you. Over the course of two safaris in the heart of a tiger reserve, we ventured deep into the wilderness with our hopes high, our cameras ready, and our hearts racing. While the tigers eluded us on both occasions, the experience left us with stories to tell and countless memories to cherish... The drive to Tipeshwar was very draining for my dad who is the sole driver. He fell sick on the way but still pushed on. On the way to TWLS was when I first drove our car- for only about 10 kilometers. The moment I got behind the steering wheel, my mom who was dozing off, sat up wide-eyed. My dad was holding onto the handle for his dear life. When we reached the resort where we were staying, we explored the property- climbed up to the treehouse and walked around the place, observing the numerous birds twittering away. We spent t...
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A Successful Unscripted Trip

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On a rainy Thursday morning, we woke up and planned an impromptu trip to Bandipur. After all, we did decide to give it another chance. Me and my dad got tickets for an open jeep safari, shared with two other tourists. It was drizzling slightly so we put on our raincoats, got the camera ready and set out on the two-hour long safari through the jungles of Bandipur. If you’re someone that absolutely loves the wildlife, especially tigers or any other big cat for that matter, you’ll never get bored of doing safaris. Although I’ve seen enough tigers by now to last me a lifetime, I can’t seem to get enough of the happiness of seeing them. Throughout the safari I kept hoping to see a tiger. But as usual, we saw nothing. Our guide told us that a tiger had been spotted the previous day in the area we were driving through. We got excited thinking we too would spot it. But we drove on and on with the ice-cold raindrops hitting our face. We concluded that as it is, it’s already very hard to sight a...
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