Documenting the growth of 5 Tiger cubs in Pench Tiger Reserve : 2011-2013

Awesome pictures. Is Elephant safari possible in the month of monsoons for everyone like Nikhilesh did ?

Ronak.

It would be wonderful to get such pictures in a zoo, even. To get them in the wild must be just amazing. What a terrific experience it must have been to watch these lovely beasts in the water.

Thank you everybody. Elephant safari is possible anytime if you have the right contacts and the moolah for the exclusive drives. You can also do it for free without spending from your pocket if you happen to be the relative of the FD

On a more serious note : Yes exclusive elephant safaris are possible and are the best way to have these exclusive sightings. But it comes at a big price.

Apart from the exclusive 5 hour elephant rides, the forest department also organizes mini rides on 5 minute durations on some days during the safari hours. each person is charged a sum for the 5 minute ride. These mini rides can sometimes get you great footage like this pic for instance :

1 male + 4 female cubs cooling off in their private swimming pool on a hot May monday morning.


regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

KS & SK found how precious those 5 minutes of Elephant ride was when they found tigress with her prey. Me & Wife found out how Elephant back is more rewarding during our 1 to 1.1/2 hr. ride in Bijrani area of Corbett during this April.

Famous Tiger photographer Kakubhai generally prefers to shoot from Elephant back when he is in Bandhavgarh & hires Elephant for full day. But as metnioned by Dr. Abheek it comes at a hefty price & Elephant back can break your back financially.

Wish I was a relative of a FD or two even a distant one was fine. But no such luck.

Let me clear out that Jeep safaris are equally rewarding as Dr. Abheek finds very often but if & when Elephant safaris are available do grab that opportunity as they are your best bet to photograph a tiger.

Ronak.

Very true and rightly said Ronak. Depending on the scene at Pench from October onwards I will also look to go for a few elephant drives if I feel that is going to ensure me lifetime footage. But yes, you can save the money that you would spend on the elephant and take multiple jeep safaris instead and spend more hours around wild animals. The more time you spend inside the jungle, the better chances of you being lucky.

Check this for instance.........

We got this while returning back after having the amazing sighting of the 5 cubs playing in water (from elephant back) that I posted in my last post.

Defiance (mother Deer to Jackal): I won't let you take my baby:

With the mother distracted by one of the Jackals , the other went for the baby.....


Mother tries to save the kid as the Jackles go for the kill.


A drama of sorts unfolded before our eyes when 2 jackals injured a deer fawn only few days old and tried to kill it. They had to face a very resilient mother who fought with them for over 2 hours. In the end though, the jackals had their say.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

I totally agree with you the more time spent in the jungle the better sightings & you get to witness incidents of hunting some successful some unsuccessful.

Ronak.

Dear Dr.Ghosh,

This link is awesome. The wealth of information and photographs that you have posted is fantastic. I have moved to Nagpur for the next 1-2 years for exploring all the wildlife around. I'm expecting some visitors from Kolkata in the first week of Oct and I wish that I could take them to Pench.

But some one informed me that it will open only after 15th. Is it so ? In that case where can I take them in 1st week of Oct ? Can I able to go on safari ? and can you let me know the staying options too and the approx cost ?


Thanks for the excellent work once again.'


regards..

Dr.Ghosh

The deer n jackal encounter was really well captured.Looking forward to meeting u in december.

Regards
Kunal.

You have the right information sir. Full fledged tourism will start in Pench only after the 15th october this year. You could take your guests to Visit Tadoba where we are havng an equally good time. See this http://www.indiamike.com/india/1239131-post1/
I am unable to send you a pm. Please feel free to contact me by email at dr . abheek @ gmail . com
I am travelling to Pench this weekend to distribute some digital cameras to locals who are helping me monitor the Pench biodiversity in the monsoon months. I should be able to get back to you with a reply by monday.

I am also based in Nagpur. Lets meet sometime for a chat.

Sure Kunal . Do you have any dates in mind ?

Also the quality of good images is directly proportional to the number of times you visit.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh
# 0 9 9 6 0 3 3 2 2 2 8

That's true. Hope that in future we (wife & me) have the time & money to make more wildlife trips in a year instead of our one or two trips in the whole calendar year.

Ronak.

Hi, Dr Ghosh (abheekg),

I have read with great interests this post and your other posts in IndiaMike Forum, which provide valuable info for visiting the tiger reserves in the MP state. The efforts for the conservation of tigers; and also the problems of man-tiger conflict are appreciated!

In fact, I'm a newbie to IndiaMike and find it difficult to get in touch with you thr' the Facebook link you have provided. The purpose to find out more info than that can be ascertained from this Forum.

My friends and I are from Hong Kong and would like to visit, hopefully from mid May to early Jun 2012 (3-4 weeks), Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Pench and Todoba tiger reserves (in this order or the reverse order Todoba_Pench_Kanha_Bandhavgarh ). We have never been to India before.



Joe Cheng

@gypsyking23 - If ur relatives are coming in Oct and u wish to take them to see some great wildlife, then TADOBA is the best option available. This is probably the only park open in monsoons...though I was talking to the FD a while back, some incidents may force them to close the park. U shd check with the local hotels / guides before u go and since u r in Nagpur...Dr. Ghosh is the best person to guide you. You may refer my blog on Tadoba.

http://jalpeshmehta.blogspot.com/201...e-baap-of.html

Or visit - www.thewildindia.blogspot.com

Tadoba has been very lucky for me always and ur relatives from Calcutta could never get similar experiences in any wildlife parks in the east incl. Sunderbans and Kaziranga, if they have been there. Best of luck

@jkccheng - Have been to Todoba_Pench_Kanha_Bandhavgarh and its definitely doable in 3-4 weeks... Have my articles on all of them on my blof- THE WILD INDIA - www.thewildindia.blogspot.com
Hope the same is useful. Wish u the best of wildlife in India

#147, jalpeshmehta,
Many thanks for the info. I've read thr' the links given; and now known much more about Todoba. Also, I'm interested in Gir NP for the Asiatic lions.

Great posts Dr. Ghosh..

Dear Dr. Ghosh:

Read your posts with great interest. My name is Priyo Goswami and I live in New York. I am retiring this month and planning to offer whatever service I can perform toward preserving and protecting wild life in India, particularly, tigers. You appear already headed that way big time and may be you can give me some guidance as to how to proceed. We have a place in Goa and I plan to stay at least six months in India. This is a part of my paying off a little bit of my debt to my mother land. Forty years late, but better late than never. Please let me know if you know any way I can be useful in these initiatives. I would love to meet you and you being a fellow Bengali adds more interest to the equation. Please drop me a mail whenever you get a chance at Priyo13@yahoo.com as I do not visit Indiamike that often.

Sincerely,

Priyo Goswami