Status of Tiger Sightings in Sariska

Dear IMers
Searced the forums for latest info on tiger sightings in Sariska, but could not locate any thread having latest info.

So my question is - Will it be worthwhile to go to Sariska for a weekend trip to Delhi and reasonable to expect tiger sightings ? I heard the sightings have improved after the tigers (are there 2 or 4 in Sariska ?) have been radio collared.

Any suggestions on place of stay ? I know about Tiger Den & Sariska Palace Only.

Any tips on booking safari & for better sightings will be appreciated.

MSK

What - No wildlife enthusiasts on IM ? Or everyone is avoiding Sariska these days ?
In any case please let me know if it is worthwile to go to Sariska with a High possibility of tiger sighting. I understand no-one can guarantee a tiger sighting.

MSk

This might be of some help to you.

MSK - Aarosh has responded quicker. I was going to say that we Jaipurites know of Sariska as a weekend picnic (more colloquially known as 'goth') spot during the monsoons. If you were to go there after the monsoons / during the same, plenty of people from surrounding areas are making daal baati churma on wood fire and enjoying jumping inside pandupol waterfalls. As a wildlife enthusiast, I've had only disappointment and wasnt suprised when the papers reported that all tigers in Sariska are dead (this was few years ago). Then, 6 were translocated to Sariska from MP and I think one of those died as well. The lake is nice though (siliserh) and you can certainly see plenty of deer. Ranthambore scores higher within Raj as far as sightings go.

Vaibhav, 6 Tigers were relocated from ranthambore and not MP.

Siliserh is not inside Sariska, its about 30 kms outside the park, though yes the lake is beautifull

I almost end up being at Sariska NP every alternate weekend. There are 5 tigers in Sariska (2 male & 3 female). Apart from that there are around 45-50 leopards.

All the tigers in Sariska are collared and each cat has a tracking party after it, keeping an eye on its movement. People might think that because of them being collared spotting them will be very easy, but thats not right.

A tracking antenna will pick up the signal from a cats collar from a distance of 200mtrs or so. Tha means the tiger could be anywhere around, hidden behind a bush or maybe in a dry river bed or behind the bushes. The undergrowth is so thick that untill and unless the tiger is on the move and decides to come on the track or cross it, you would know that its there closeby but wont be able to sea it.

But let this not dither you from going. The feel of being in the jungle is unmatchable. If you lucky, you will spot one feline sooner or later.

Actually the best time to visit will be may (yes!! peak summers) when there are very limited watering holes and the big cats are bound to come to them in search of water or food.

At the moment spotting the tiger maybe a bit difficult but the park is full of some lovely migratory birds.

Good luck

Deky

I ended up reading the team BHP write up link that Aarosh had sent ... splendid photos and looks like you've had a lot of luck sighting tigers.

I'm very happy to be corrected. I hope i can join you on one of your trips sometime? I don't care if its April or may ...

Vaibhav

Very interesting article Arosh with nice pics! Thanks for sharing.

Deky
Is it correct that only 4 tigers are left - one was found killed recently ?

MSK

Chances of seeing a tiger in winters are very rare try in summer you might get lucky

Sure Vaibhav, PM me your number and then we can plan on a Sunday suitable to both of us. Am actually waiting for March to come. It should get more drier then


The first Male tiger relocated in Sariska "ST-1" was apparently killed when he ate the carcass of a domestic cattle killed by him. The villagers apparently poisoned the carcass and the poor cat had to die.

After his killing in Nov 2010 Sariska was only left with 4 tigers (1 Male and 3 females) So another male was shifted to Sariska from Ranthambore and that is ST-6. ST-6 was earlier known as Mohan in ranthambore.

ST-6, is the biggest of the wild cat's in Sariska and is the most fearless one. (Even if you charge him with your gypsy he would not leave his path) The other male is ST-4.

Rest ST-2, ST-3 and ST-5 are females.

The big problem in sariska they facing is that the tigers have mated a few times, but the females have not conceived as yet. Initially they thought its to do with the collar, but now they realizing that the tigresses are under stress from the environment hence no litter.

So shifting of the villages from within the park is becoming a must!!

Had visited Sariska in end Jan. Did just one safari and no luck with spotting a tiger. Got a fleeting glimpse of a leopard. The guide cum driver claimed its rarer to see a leopard than a Tiger, not sure if he was only trying to make us feel better after failing to spot the tiger. Saw a lot of deer, crocs and some birds but nothing very exotic. A visit to Siliserh and the boating was fun.

Your guide and your driver are indeed correct, it is very rare that a leopard is seen in the open and that to during the day. So do consider yourself lucky

The thing is that during the time in Sariska when there were no Tigers left, the Leopard was supreme. And because of that it lost all fear and against its natural habit of roaming in the night it started to hunt in the day.

But now that 5 tigers are there in Sariska the 50 odd leopards are going nocturnal again. So lucky you that you spotted a leopard!!

I went to Sariska a couple of years ago after visiting Ranthambhore. The difference in commercialism was stark and for that I loved Sariska.

We didn't see any tigers or leopards but very much enjoyed safariing around without many other vehicles ever in sight. There was so much to see and watch so I say Yes go to Sariska, enjoy yourself but don't be on a mission to see a particular animal just enjoy what you do see.

As far as places to stay go we stayed at the wonderful Alwar Bagh and had a great time.

Here's a couple of posts and made about Sariska and the Alwar Bagh but sadly there's no photos.
Here's my journal posts from that trip: http://www.indiamike.com/india/journ...&e=816&enum=23

You are absolutely right. Ranthambore is way to commercialized than Sariska!!

Other interesting differences are:-

Sariska is twice the size of Ranthambore yet it has only 5 tigers where as Ranthambore has 40.

All Sariska Tigers are radio collared yet that does not guarantee a sighting.

Sariska as yet has not been divided into Zones, so that means you can take your hired gypsy to any zone you want to whereas in Ranthambore there are 5 zones and you can only go to the allocated zone on that particular safari

Thanks for the info. The guide had mentioned about leopards normally not coming down from treetops during the day. Infact this leopard we saw was about to hunt a deer but one safari jeep spotted him and other jeeps rushed in. Poor guy, realised that he's now an exhibition piece and just stared at all of us until he decided to get back to the treetop

I went to Sariska on 23rd MAY 2012. BUT ENTRY TO THE PARK WAS NOT ALLOWED AS THE LOCAL VILLAGERS WERE ON INDEFINITE STRIKE (RELATED TO REGISTRY OF LAND).

PLEASE CHECK BEFORE VISTING SARISKA.

However entry to the temple is permitted on Tuesdays and Saturdays

Regards
Venkat