Huge Dominant Male Tiger on Live Safari

On the crossroad much before the camp, we spotted some suspicious activity among the bison. Alert and quiet they carried an inspecting look towards the direction we had come from. The snort gives the game away in case the bison or gaur as the animal is called in Hindi. The huge male began to snort fervently and we stopped completely. 

Before I could utter Tiger! The predator came into the view. Huge as it was T 67 or Dhamangaon was making his presence in this zone in Kanha. Our guide upon spotting the tiger heading towards the camp knew the movement well and we moved forward a short distance and waited. As the guide had predicted the tiger came down from the elevated ground unto the road some distance before us. 

Then the chase began actually as soon as the tiger landed on the jungle road he became busy marking the nearby trees pacing right in front oblivious of our presence. This continued for at least 15 to 20 minutes and I could film the huge beast in our pursuit literarily speaking. Even though the big cats act oblivious of the safari jeep's presence they are quite alert and keep gauging the distance we were at.  

Anyway, who would dare to come to a halt as the dominant tiger continued to walk on the road marking his territory here and there on the trees and the bush? Eventually, another jeep arrived before the camp and they could see the huge tiger walking behind us but not for long as the best entered a nearby bush not to come out again.  

I was using the camera for the first time and was in movie mode. I could capture the safari live but with a lot of shakes since trepidation had set in a long time before. To this date, I have not edited the video in order to keep the live tiger safari alive in my memory bank.  

We encountered T 67 many times as he was the dominant tiger of the zone in Kanha National Park. Once again we experienced a live tiger safari but in another area. By this time he was stressed out by the presence of another rival Sangam Tiger. Nevertheless, he was as aggressive and confident as ever.  

Tracking tigers is a tough but interesting job and a naturalist should remain confident in case of failure. The big cats of Kanha National park though acclimatized to humans are by all means as wild and as shy as anywhere. We keep silent and always maintain a distance in order to make the animal feel safe.  

The tigers are not maneaters by instinct but can charge when feeling threatened. And you better not experience the charge. Maintain a distance and be safe. 

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Uday Freelances as Naturalist in Central India. He is an avid birder and tiger enthusiast. He blogs on tigers, wildlife and birds. He also writes on the environment and conservation.

Uday also provides SEO Services and Website Content in English. He teaches Digital Marketing in Jabalpur during Summer Holidays.
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Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323 

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Tigress Mundi Dadar Hunts Down a Fawn

It was one of those great mornings, and we were cruising along link seven road at Kanha National Park in Central India. Margeret Norah and her husband from France were with me hoping to see their first tiger. Link Seven drive is one of the most picturesque in the tourism zone of the park. 

The road is situated at the last leg of the tourism zone in Kanha Range neighboring some forest-clad ranges, a group of tabletop mountains that form a ridge in this erstwhile crater we call Kanha National Park in Maikal Hills of Satpura Mountain Range. The Satpura Range transects Madhya Pradesh giving rise to some of most exotic terrains in the World loaded with amazing natural formations. These fantastic biodiversity heavens are also known as Tigerland. 

It was Capt. James Forsyth a geologist in British India who has best described hilly regions of Central India in his book "Highlands of Central Indian".     

That morning we had decided to cut off from the crowd which always heads towards areas where the probability of tiger sightings is the highest. And as happened for much of a distance we did not encounter any big cat nor an exciting sight of creatures that dominate the wilderness. We were heading towards the Kanha Meadow and then we had planned to visit the recreation center a place to visit the toilet and then have breakfast on the jeep bonnet in the open.  Jungle drives without any impactful sightings can be boring and silence often prevails. That was what was going on in our minds not knowing that will witness a sight of a lifetime.         

It was at Badi Gansh or Tall Grass that we encountered the tigress Mundi Dadar at that time she was dominating the link 7 area and probably had cubs.  All we could see was her head popping out of the thick grass. We had come to a stop and were keenly observing her whence I noticed here avid glance in the direction of a deer herd far away. She was repeating the act well hidden in the bush.  

"She is planning to hunt", I whispered confidently to my guests. And then we changed our plans to visit the center and decided to wait. The guests were cooperative, and an expectancy in the air loomed over us. After some time, the deer began to inch closer to the meadow and the tigress decided to come out in the open and then she quickly receded into the back of the bush. She was completely hidden now.  We could not see her. By this time two more jeeps that had just arrived, they could not see her either.  The guides of Kanha are smart people, and they knew instantly that we had located a tiger. They parked the jeep behind us and sat quietly.  

                                                          Tigeress Hunting Fawn

Unfortunately for them a spotted deer female and her fawn were strolling down the road that connects  Kanha Meadow grazing frequently as they came towards us. Our hearts had begun to beat faster in expectancy by this time. And as we had hoped for...the deer and the buck veered around and went straight to the spot where the tigress was hiding.   This is it, I said to myself and readied my mobile phone camera, Margeret had her camera rolled out in expectancy too. 

There was a big rush shrill and alarm cry as the tigress charged. Completely surprised the female dived into the nearby bush. All we could see was the big cat chasing the desperate bewildered fawn. The fawn ran in our direction with the cat chasing behind. Very close to the jeep perhaps at a distance of 10 feet, the tigress pounced on the fawn as it let out a heart rendering cry. That was it. I stood in a trance as the big cat turned in the opposite direction and scampered away with the dead baby hanging between her canines. I was close to death standing on the stationery jeep well exposed. She could have chosen me instead of the fawn. But tigers are disciplined predators and they kill only for food and we humans are not included.     

The video enumerates the last scene well but is of poor quality having filmed using a small mobile phone. 

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Uday Freelances as Naturalist in Central India. He is an avid birder and tiger enthusiast. He blogs on tigers, wildlife and birds. He also writes on the environment and conservation.

Uday also provides SEO Services and Website Contents in English. He teaches Digital Marketing in Jabalpur in Summer Holidays.
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Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323 

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Indian Tiger Videos

 Tiger Cubs Playing With Mother 

This was a wonderful opportunity to film cubs frolicking with mother Choti Mada in Kanha Tiger Reserve in Central India of Madhya Pradesh.  The female tiger is very possessive about her progeny and keeps hidden in dense forests and grasslands. This female sired many litters and is still active in Mukki tourism zone and range. The sightings were excellent in the year 2018 and 2019 when all Mukki Tigresses had given birth to young ones.  Nearly around one year the cubs are fully out in the open in company of the mother when she is not their they stay completely hidden in the dense bush in the jungle.   

This was link 7 tigress Mundi Dadar who killed a baby deer or Chital Fawn right in front of me. Oops! She could have attacked me easily. The last cry of the baby was heart rendering and I will never forget it. But that is nature! She was not seen after 2019 the reason is not known she might have been killed by a rival tigress or an aggressive male in the wild. Bengal tigers at Kanha are able to hold territory for up to 10 or sixteen years eventually giving way to their progeny being accommodated in the neighborhood. But some females lose ground in few years due to territorial takeovers.   Dominant male tigers hold territory for four to five years while few like Munna in Kahna switched areas to accommodate rival males but he remained in the core for his whole life nearly, except the last couple of years.  T 2 held the area for only 4 o4 5 years although he was extremely aggressive. I have not seen aggression like that of the Kariaghati Male being the largest at that time. The Umarpani male is the largest at Kanha or perhaps in India.   

The roaring was very loud and the whole area could hear. It started with growling but enraged T2 or Kariaghati Male Tiger turned the growls into an earth-shattering roar. We were the only safari jeep enjoying this amazing natural history at work. The Kariaghati Male or T 2 had lost Kisli ground to a young male tiger M1 male and was stoking his claim at Indri forests. Young tigers are able to kick out dominant males when they cross four years and the erstwhile dominant tiger struggles for new territory and is eventually kicked out of the core into the sink are the buzzer zone where he survives among uncaring humans.  The Kariaghati Male had charged me twice since he could not tolerate jeeps. He came into the tourism zone from the buffer and took the jeeps as another animal and an adversary.   Buffer is good enough to hold the sink population since they come to die here anyway but life is hard and they are never seen after few years. 

Dhamangaon Male or T 67 is going strong for four years but there are frequent territorial fights with Sangam Male who often ventures into his area from Sarhi Range. The supremacy has not yet been decided and it often seems they deliberately avoid each other. There is a safety mechanism among the big cats and the fight rarely ends in death.  Of the two the Sangam male is very aggressive and he had killed an intruding male in the year 2019, the intruder was a tiger called Bamni Dadar male the one who had killed Bajrang Tigers cubs sired by link eight female Naina. The battle was over in one night and the half-eaten carcass of the Bamni Dadar male was found on Karaighati Road in Kanha.  Predators consume the meat of their own dead species as precious protein has not to be wasted. This is not cannibalism as presumed it happens by chance and is not a deliberate act.     

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Uday Freelances as Naturalist in Central India. He is an avid birder and tiger enthusiast. He blogs on tigers, wildlife and birds. He also writes on the environment and conservation.

Uday also provides SEO Services and Website Contents in English. He teaches Digital Marketing in Jabalpur in Summer Holidays.
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Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
09755089323 

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Indian Wildlife Videos

Sometimes wildlife is more interesting to watch than read about with digital cameras it has become possible to make and display videos on social media. Youtube and other video channels have proliferated the Internet so make hay when the sun shines.  

I keep on making videos to highlight various aspects of my wildlife adventures while working as a naturalist at Kanha National Park in India. The quality I believe is reasonably good to make it enjoyable. 

Hard Ground Barasingha 

Male Tiger at Kanha 

The herd of Hard Ground Swamp Deer was merrily grazing in the fields of Indri at Kanha National Park in India. The langurs are an expression of extreme delight whence they indulge in this grooming behavior. And nothing like an encounter with the majestic tiger hidden behind the veil of a misty curtain. 

My Tiger & Wildlife Video Channel

Video Male Tiger in Pursuit

Kanha National Park

Guests Roger & Key Topping UK 

Courtyard House Kanha 

Sr. Naturalist Uday Patel

It was a fine morning whence we located tiger prints on the hill while on safari. We tracked the tiger down after a lot of driving and reaching the right spot from where he usually emerges. We had to wait not for long for the trepidation among the heads of the gaur family to inform us of what to expect. 

Rightly so he emerged from the bushes silently like a ghost and then came into the open at the fire line. We rolled down the hill a bit and waited. The big male tiger emerged behind us in what looked like a pre-programmed move. Unmindful of us he began scent marking and walked down towards us. It was a shaky safari as we reversed to maintain a safe distance the video here tells all.  

Tiger Safari Videos - India

Tiger safari video - Tigress at Link 8 Kanha National Park

Massive Male Tiger at Waterhole - Kanha National Park - Kisli Zone

 Legendary Munna Male Tiger at Kanha National Park in India

Early Morning Encounter Tigeress at Kanha National Park