Tiger safari via elephant

kmp

This is my first time using the forum. My husband, two daughters ages 13 and 11, and I are planning a one day safari at the Panna Tiger Preserve. The gentleman I have been communicating with assures me that the best way to see tigers, etc, is by elephant safari. I am not afraid of riding on an elephant, but I am very concerned about our safety in terms of a possible tiger attack. Has anyone done this and know if it is safe? I am looking into changing to a jeep safari but I know my children will be disappointed. Thanks for any advice.

alext

Generally an elephant safari is done when a sitting/sleeping tiger is pre-spotted by rangers. You then head out to see the tiger at close range from elephant back. This is considered safe. From what I have heard attacks are very very rare. There is of course a famous video of a tiger attaching people on elephant back, but I don't think you will be attempting to shoot the tiger with a tranquilizing dart, so am can guess you will be fine.

A jeep safari would involve spotting tigers patroling their territories and doesn't offer any additional safty at all.

Or in other words I think they are both equally safe!

The trade off I think it how much of the park you will see vs the fun of riding an elephant and seeing the cat closer. An elephant doesn't move quickly and the jeep will cover a lot more area. However the cat will probably choose to walk as close to your jeep as the elephant would walk.

Hope that made sense. Still jetlagged from my trip! Just back from Kanha actually

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kmp

Thank you very much for your reassuring words. It was exactly that video about the tiger attack that scared me. If it were me alone I wouldn't be as worried but bringing my children definitely forces me to be more cautious.

alext

I 100% understand.

I need to correct a typo I made in the original note. What I mean to say:

On elephant back you are generally carried quite close to the sitting tiger. On jeep, you are in a chance encounter where the tiger chooses where it cares to walk. Generally they will NOT choose to walk as close to the jeep as you would get on elephant.

That said I was just in Kanha near to where you are going and saw 4 tigers on different occasions from jeep. 2 walked past, one about 10m distant and the other 5m max. The other sighting were more distant.

It was incredibly thrilling and a bit scary to have the tiger walk this close! In any event, in retrospect I felt the situation was safe.

From what I can gather, the only time tigers are really dangerous to people are a tigress with cubs. In that case I would use extreme caution. If they tell you, you are going to see a female with cubs, access the situation with care.

Have fun and good luck seeing a tiger!