Tiger spotting in India - best parks, your sightings please.

bearable

6pence,

Are you saying that spotting a tiger in the "wild" that is not radio collared or otherwise monitored is a matter of careful planning and not chance? Can you tell us the procedure? TIA.

aadil

In Bandhavgarh it is not the radio collared tigers but regular wild tigers which are spotted in the vicinity of the place called Chakradhara after one of the tigers which used to stay in that location. The tiger show is usually held there. The rates for foreigners is much higher than for Indians so it is very unfair but then that is the way it is over there. I got to see a female with her four cubs all in one place and another male separately so it was six in one trip on one safari itself. You can also go on the one hour joy ride in the evening on the elephant but no tigers are assured on that trip but you do get to see a lot of other wild life and birds as you go through the jungle on the huge, slow but majestic animal. Do go during the summer months for better chances of seeing the tiger in the wild even from the jeeps. May to June should be the best time for sightings but you may find it tough on you as far as the weather is concerned so be prepared for the hot summers there. A suggestion I usually give is to drink a lot of water with Electral - a rehydrating salts powder which is very effective in this climate. Just mix one big sachet in one litre of water and keep drinking that throughout the day. It is available in all chemist shops for around Rs12 to 15 without a doctor's prescription so it is not a problem to get. Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Aadil.

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bearable

Aadil,

Thanks for your response. I have visited Kanha, Bandavgarh and did not enjoy the tiger show. My impression was that spotting a tiger was a matter of being at the right place at the right time.

crvlvr

Just an update. I did see 2 tigers (male and female) in Bandipur on Jan 13, 2009. It was during dusk and they were ata water hole. They did disappear into the undergrowth the moment they saw us, but reappeared and seem to be in no hurry to leave. We got a good sighting for about 20 min until the sunset after which we jumped into the open jeep got the heck out of the jungle.

I thinking spotting tigers is sheer luck as even the guides (forest officers) were really excited. However, you do improve your chances during dawn and dusk and, I think, the mating season. As the tigers appear to be in their world of their own and don't pay much attention to humans. I think this key as tigers are typically very shy and avoid giving us a glimpse of them.

voyager61

Hi! At Kanha,in 1997,one safari and one tiger,seen very well,for long time and from very near,it came towards us and got scared(and me too)coming out from under a small bridge,then slowly disappeared in the high grass

Bunkybest

saw 2 tigers (mum and 8month cub) in ranthambore this november -did 4 safaris and saw one on the last one but a brillinat close sighting with just us and one other jeep.look at my photos if you wish to see pictures.

Gambler2712

Hi,
My dad often told me how he & his friends when he was my age managed to escape from being attacked by a Tiger with shear presence of mind..hmmm & for some 6yrs the nearest i came across a tiger was its pug marks. Some of the places i tried was Kakankote, Antersante, Bandipur, Masinagudi, Nagarhole, Wayanad etc. Atlast my prayers were answered when driving towards Kutta in the Nagarhole reserve forest along with my wife. It was on 1st Sept 2007 around 5PM...it was midst of the monsoon season & there was a light rain. A kilometers inide the forest we found some animal & as we losed in, we found it was this huge Tiger in the middle of the road as though waiting to welcome us...& the moment it saw us closing in...it started walking straight towards us and for a moment...how i wished that it was just a dream & how i wished i had never pray to see a Tiger except in the zoo. Its all together a different cup of tea when you are with the game warden or the staff but it wasnt the case. We just closed the windows & all we did was to hope that it would pass us. But i guess it was hungry & it stood right in front blocking our way..watching us infact starring right at me. I tried to avoid making direct eye contact with it & asked my wife to do the same. After some 15minutes that was like 15hours to me, it climbed a small rock on the side of the road & this time the tiger was at a higher ground than us & that made us more vulnerable. It can just smash into the windshield & have a wonderful lunch of us. That was the time i decided that i had enough of tiger sighting & sped my way. Later that day i had a chat with one of the forest official & narrated the incident. As per him it was a peculiar case since he had no idea of tigers blocking vechicles.
This was almost like a year & half away. Since that day i have seen 6 tigers in & around Nagarhole. Some of the tips i follow could be of your help
1. Always avoid week ends. More vechicles on weekends that would drive the animals into deep forest.
2. Try petrol vechicles than diesel since petrol driven vechicles make less noise.
3. Safaris are not that good to spot tigers. I have found all tigers being on my own & none in safaris. Like for example try the H.D Kote to manthanwadi route at night or bandipur ooty route. Chances are very high especially during monsoon.
4. Some tribals & natives take deep long breath of air to find out traces of smell left by animals. Try this next time & you would be amazed how effective it is.

Nicc66

Just imagine the news.. a tiger finds out how to smash into windshields to maul tourists. :-)

I wonder within which distance a person grown up in the city with less good abilities to smell would be able to notice the presence of a tiger actually. works only if the wind is right or the tiger is right next to you, no?

ozziegirl

Hello there,I would recommend Rathambore National Park. We were in India in November 08 and our tour went to Corbett and saw no tigers! Our guide who works for a well known tour company has sent me photos of tiger sightings (four tigers at a river in one pic) and all these photos were taken at Rathambore which he informed me has over 30 tigers. message me if you want pics. I will be returning to India just so I can see a tiger!

Gambler2712

smash windshields? Only humans know about windshield glass. Tigers or other animals dont . They may think its open & pounce...& in the process break it.

Well i agree..even i didnt have any idea about animal smells. To begin with you can visit some of the zoo & find the smell of different animals. But even if ya know the animal ya cant guess where its hiding or the way it went. To learn that...it takes lot more than few years of stay with the tribals Lol!
In one of my trip early last year, i met this young tribal chap working for some coffee plantation in coorg (they also run a homestay called happy holidays in kutta). He had a peculiar hair cut & had cuts all over his body. Later i found he was attacked by a tiger while working in the coffee plantation & amazingly he had escaped from its jaws using some wooden logs to fight back.

jackstrawdc

I'm planning some wildlife excursions for the next one month. Is there a good guide to environmentally conscious wildife viewing? I'd honestly rather NOT see a tiger than drive on a road paved especially for me right into prime tiger habitat. I was thinking Rathambore and Nagarhole.

pmvelu

@Jack,

In Nagarahole NP, Forest Dept personnel will double-up as excellent guide and If you could reserve well in advance the Forest Dept Guesthouses / Rooms out here which are the ONLY ONES which is just within the Sanctuary itself, you could do a excellent Safari !.

All other Accomodations including the best in that area, Kabini River Lodge is on the southern Fringes of Nagarahole NP and more on the Backwaters of Kabini River.

And in Nagarahole NP, Tigers , Hmmm Very remote possibility of sighting them and it's more on Deers [ In Tens and sometimes in Hundreds], Fox, Bison,Peacocks etc.

And this year, It is very very dry in all the Sanctuaries of KErala-Karnataka-Tamilnadu Borders [ Read Nagarahole NP,Bandipura NP,Mudumalai NP[Already Closed due to Dry season and possibility of opening up in next month is very bleak], Muthanga NP,Tholpetty NP,Wayanad NP] which infact share boundaries and hence Even though MArch is not the ideal month to sight animals , this year the probability of sighting animals is more in March too..

Hope this helps
Velu

Nicc66

Velu,
why exactly does the extreme dryness make sightings more easily, you think? why do they close the parks anyway, for the fear of bushfires?

tomdouza

Hi Alan

KANHA... i have been there twice and seen the tiger in both my trips..

if you lucky you will too..


i have been to all the santuaries in india.. Kanha is the best to spot the tiger..Good luck

Tom

pmvelu

I meant , Due to the prolonged extreme dry season animals are forced to move towards water bodies which makes them more visible to visitors !

For Ex, Nagarahole NP animals move towards Kabini Backwaters especially in summer months [And that's why Kabini River Lodge [JLR]]is best bet to sight animals in dryer months] and in Normal Months, forest streams would suffice ! And there are several small ponds [ Forest Dept made] in the Nagarahole forests which will have water apart from many a forest streams / Rivers this NP has ! [water Source being Hilly regions of Kodagu district] .

Ya Nicc,For your other question, that's true. Already quite a few Bush fires were there in Nagarahole as well as Wayanad NP parts !

Last week I went to Madikeri Via Anehokur[ Part of Nagarahole NP ] but not the actual Nagarahole NP and I found it's not at all scenic [Normally it will be very green which will give a good feel ] but I saw Teak Wood / Rose Wood trees [rosewood trees form the majority in Nagarahole NP] in Brown color and it's too hot too .
A sense of Dryness I felt after a long time in that stretch !

Cheers
Velu