The emerging king of BTR!
Good morning! Day five, 6 am, Kolsa FRH, TATR, 13th April 2010. Super breakfast at Nagpur, quick lunch en-route, reach resort at “Tala” at 10 pm! 16 hrs on road, 600 + kms. Good night!
I cannot remember traveling for such a long time by car on a single day ever! (add 42*C and AC not working). My fellow travelers, M. N. Jayakumar, Ajit Huilgol and Diinesh Kumble were up and running at 6 am next morning. They came back with some superb images of the most famous male tiger of Bhandavgarh - “B2”, while I had a sound sleep and a leisurely breakfast!
Thus, started my first visit into the “Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve” (BTR)! I felt fresh and well rested, as we began the 3 pm safari on the 14th April 2010. This video tells the story of my first drive inside BTR :
We spent until the 17th afternoon at BTR and had various encounters with tigers. I was able to enjoy seeing and photographing, A tigress on hunt , A tigress in a cave, Three grown up cubs together, A wonderful young male relaxing and a young cub crossing the road, during my six drives inside the reserve.
A cub surrounded by tourists...
A common scene at BTR!
Another common scene at BTR!
More Video:
BTR is full of life! Plenty of water flowing and shade. Ideal environment for animals to beat the heat. Langurs, Spotted Deers, Wild Pigs and Sambars are in plenty. The tigers certainly have enough food, I thought.
A tigress relaxing in a small cave!
The village “Tala” and its numerous resorts just outside the main gate, is quite tourist friendly. I felt quite at home and was able to buy beer, bottled water, soda, short eats, fruits and clothes from the numerous shops all along the road.
I learnt that there is a flight connection from New Delhi to Jabalpur. I think the next time I plan a visit to BTR, I will try this option. Here is a map to help you understand the locations. Tadoba, is on one side of Nagpur. Pench, Kanha, Bandhavgarh and Panna are on the other side. You can look at flying into Nagpur and flying out of Jabalpur if you are panning to visit multiple parks on the same visit.
A map to help you plan your visit...
I must not forget to thank our vehicle owner cum driver “Natthu Lal”. He was great company and was with us on all our drives inside the park. A “Tala” local, Natthu has spent over two decades doing what he does best, driving tourists to the tigers!
Bye...
On 17th April, after a short morning round, we drove to the Pench National Park…
Vijay Cavale
April, 2010
Addendum :
About a month after our visit, a female tiger was found dead inside the reserve. Her three little cubs suddenly orphaned. Read ->Dr. Rajesh Gopal's Report. The tigress was fatally hit by a speeding vehicle inside a tiger reserve! A road kill!! This makes me very very sad. I hope that the authorities ensure that such an incident will never ever repeat...
