Most wildlife?

Alphonse

Where in India would I have the best opportunity to see a Tiger in the wild? Ride elephants, experience the local culture, the whole package? Some place that is just teeming with wildlife. I happen to be an amateur photographer, so thats one of the reasons why I'm asking.

I have browsed the forum, and rantambore (sp?) and Corbett parks are the most mentioned..

Any suggestions?

aadil

You are right about Corbett National Park but at Ranthambore you will not find any elephant rides or much else than the tiger and everyone is only crazy about the striped animal!!! And not too many left there either so you may really be lucky if you see one in there. Corbett is a much better place as far as other wildlife is concerned and riding an elephant to see the tiger is also a possibility. Bandhavgarh in Madhya Pradesh is also one of the best places to see the tiger from an elephant as well as the jeep so choose what you want from these three. And hope you can see some tigers atleast. The rest of the wildlife will be easier to see than the elusive tiger which is also becoming very scarce with a lot of poaching activities carrying on to feed the lucrative Chinese medicine market. Just hope the killing stops soon. Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan state is also another place you might want to visit for the variety of birds on view.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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Alphonse

That really sucks. Tigers are one of the most magnificent animals out there.

How many are left in the wild?

aadil

Very true. The tiger is the national animal of India but there is no one to protect it from extinction atleast in India. They say there are about 2000 to 3000 (a few years ago there were about 5000) in the wild but no one knows for sure as the census is done without much understanding or skill so there are different opinions of how to go about doing one and then there are different results everytime leading to figures that no one agrees with finally. The less said the better about the way things work in India and the fact that many of the forest wardens are themselves hand in glove with the poachers goes to show that soon there may not be any tigers left in the wild in India and we may have to go to a foreign zoo to see one. SAD, BUT VERY TRUE!!! Hope the situation changes soon.

Aadil.

Travelingbhat

I remember I went to Sariska, Nagarhole, Kabini, Kanha in 1998 and of all those National Parks Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh was the most beautiful. I have recently been to Ranthanbore but I still think Kanha was a prettier park. Lots of other animals besides Tigers to view and the scenary was great. Never been to Corbett to compare. In Kanha they use to let you ride elephants into the forest and the guides would communicate to each to track down the tigers and would lead the elephants to the one spotted. Usually the ones we saw were the tigers that had eaten a kill and were snoring away!

I did see Tigers in Sariska but I have heard this has changed nowadays. We didnt see tigers in Ranthanbore in 2005. Consider yourself lucky if you do see any tigers anywhere in the wild these days.

PeakXV

They tell me Paharganj in New Delhi has some unusual specimens.



Corbett & Ranthambor get more queries because they are more on the
beaten path not because of any superiority. Consider season (time of year) as well as abundance of Fauna - some national park forests come into incredible bloom at certain times of the year providing optimim photo ops!

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

ddevadatta

I think you might be naturally over eager and therefore disappointed about the siting of Tigers in the wild. For one, apart from sheer numbers (or lack of them), the Tiger itself is very elusive creature.

A friend of mine owns the Jungle Inn at the Nagerhole National Forest near Mysore, Karnataka in Southern India. His advice I pass on to you.

"If you come looking a tiger you can count on not seeing it. If you come to
see the wildlife you might have a chance to see a tiger." It is all about setting expectations.

Contact Jungle Inn if you so desire at info@jungleinnnagarhole.com and they may have more direct information. It was a great time and my family thought that place and what we did see was still the most memorable part of our trip. Tiger or not wildlife viewing in India (and whereever) will be an experience of a life time. Enjoy!

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pateluday

Yvette

We're in Bandhavgah at the moment, at an internet cafe in Tala.
(stil can't spell Bandhavwotsit)

We got here yesterday, straight into the park (they opened late because it was Republic day, and we got in free ; )
So far we've seen 4 tigers, one jackal, one wild jungle cat and lots of chital, sambar, birds, wild pigs etc. The elephant ride to see the tiger up close was a bit strange, very much 'There you are, there's a tiger, take photos, back down the hill, Rs600 thank you very much"

It's been great however, can highly recommend it and it's mostly thanks to Aadil's advice on another thread. Shame I've got to get the train back tonight, but don't think I could really face the cold (it's absolutely freezing apart from between 9 and 4)

Will post more later, the internet connection here is really slow!

aadil

Thanks for your comments, much appreciated. I'm glad you could see the tigers and especially when it is not the right time to see them in the winter season. They are more likely to come out into the open in the hot summers!!! A friend on IM from Scotland is going somedays later in February so I hope they also have a great experience there. Hope to see your pictures too. Sorry about the Rs600 elephant ride but the other one in the evening is much better with one hour on it instead of the 5 minutes you get with the tiger in the morning but in the evening the tiger is not guaranteed (as it is in the morning) when you don't need to pay if you don't see the tiger!!! HAHAHA!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

mikewill

Just spent four days in Bandhavgarh, with morning and evening park rounds. Saw tigers on two afternoon rounds from gypsy: female plus two cubs within two hours of arriving plus same female and cubs and two different males on afternoon of third day. We don't like the tiger show idea - it puts quite alot of pressure on the tiger - but people saw tigers every day from elephant. One day they saw female with four large cubs and a male all together (27 Jan I think).

We also went to Kanha for four nights and stayed at Baghira Log Huts which is inside the core zone so you have wildlife on the doorstep - literally. Saw chital, langur, sambar, jackal and gaur from outside our room. Didn't see tigers, but heard roaring across the meadow from the room. Not quite quick enough to spot a leopard that our driver and guide saw. Beautiful park, much bigger than Bandhavgarh with more mammal species. It's the only place in the world to see the hardground variety of the barasingha - a beautiful large deer.

If you want to enjoy these places at their best do take your time - try to spend two or three nights. Oh, and be prepared for cold weather at this time of year - there was frost on the grass two mornings in Bandhavgarh, although the sun is very hot by lunchtime. And remember, you may be keen to see tigers, but they cannot exist without all the other species. Try to discourage the 'must see tiger at all costs mentality' and enjoy the whole experience!

Mike

Grantaustralia

Saw this Rhino on an elephant safari at Jaldapara. Also saw deer, monkeys, heaps of birds but no tigers, We did manage to get up close to the Rhinos though.

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mikewill

Just a brief update.

Have recently been in Assam. Kaziranga was amazing!!!! So much wildlife that we didn't want to miss a chance of going into the park. One afternoon from the Dunga watchtower we could see 25 rhinos, 50 buffalo, 35 swamp deer, 300 hog deer and several thousand bar headed geese. We didn't see tigers but they were seen three times in the four days we were there. Also saw both hoolock gibbon and capped langur in Panbari reserved forest.

Went on to Nameri NP on the border with Arunachal Pradesh. Saw white winged wood duck (very rare) and ibisbill on the river. American chap saw a tiger at 15 metres while walking with a guide in the forest - he'll be talking about that for years! Nice place, no pressure to rush around. Capped langurs, assamese macacques, gaur, elephant.

Finally had three days at Manas. The park has suffered greatly due to the insurgency problems over the last ten years. There are now no rhino, but we did see elephant, buffalo, gaur, langur, macaque, hog deer and sambar. Managed to see bengal florican (rare bird) but not pygmy hog. Went to Mathanguri to see golden langur but they are no longer on the Indian side of the park and hadn't been seen for a week or so on the Bhutanese side. The Bhutanese are now not allowing tourists to go to the King's palace, only to cross the river and walk along the edge of the forest. The forest is also changing as the herbivore population has declined and the grassland is being invaded by trees. They are burning to try to keep the grass but as a result the species composition is changing. All in all a bit disappointing and probably not the place to go for most tourists who want to see wildlife. Save yourself for Kaziranga.

aadil

Mikewill: Really nice to read your update (sad that you could not see any tigers there) and wish I could also make it there someday soon!!!

Cheers,
Aadil.

jivan

Mikewell: good read. Somethings left out. It depends where u are & what u wanna see. For e.g. Bhimashankar a place near Pune has a big beautiful forest. There's also a crocodile nursery in the vincity & one can see much flora/fauna. I had been there few years back & we had stayed inside the forest area in a govt. rest house. It was mystical, magical with all the usual stories of ghosts & creatures who move in the dark.
Would recommend 3 places Bandarvgah, Kanha & Kaziranga with each having its own special moments. Kanha (M.P.) in particular as it has quite a few nature trails as well as camoflauged watch towers near lakes/small river-bed. This is the ideal time as animals come out to drink & cool themselves. The only thing is being patient (like famed Jim Corbett) & not passing any fumes (eating right) as the animals are very aware of smells & air currents. May u enjoy the views