TADOBA the road to ecstasy
- shivaram1970
- Jan 15, 2012
- 3 min read
I have been travelling to wildlife sanctuaries for the past 5 years both to get away from the city as well photograph. Even though never been specific about seeing the tiger some part of my heart always wanted to see it and photograph it. My first sighting of a tiger was at kanha in December 2009 when a tigress crossed our path. I was too enthralled with my first sighting of a wild tiger to get a good shot of it. When the thrill of seeing the tiger waned it dawned that I did not have a good shot of the tiger so the pursuit to get one continued. The next four safaris at Kanha yielded nothing and then I paid a visit to pench and Ranthambore and still could not get what I wanted.
I read a well written article about Tadoba in the second issue of the lonely planet and landed up at Tadoba. Special mention has to be made of the resort at Tadoba called Tiger Trails .I was the only guest at the resort and got the best treatment.the owners originally from Nagpur were simply great there are not enough words to describe their hospitality. Speaking to them before my first trip in to the jungle I found that they were talking of spotting a tiger as if it was a walk in the park. I thought that it was part of their usual marketing strategy, but then I found that it was the truth. I spotted 6 tigers, sloth bear, dhole, bisons and also lots of deer and crocodiles in the course of my four trips into the jungle.
Some of the photos of my trip are there for you to see. The sheer variety of mammals astounded me and to have it at such close proximity to Mumbai is even more surprising.
A Tiger Cub looking at us humans with utter disdain
Shift from the normal eagle eye view it is a Tiger eye view
A pair of Gaur (Indian bison) having their afternoon drink
A male sambar along with its Fawn waiting for us to pass so that they can have a much needed drink
A stern looking Barking deer (Reminds me of my Hindi teacher)
The colorful Indian Roller (ask my Daughter she believes that if you spot a roller before entering a park the chances of seeing a Tiger are slim)
Bison & Sloth Bear sharing space
The sad part is that not many people know Tadoba, everyone thinks Ranthambore or bandhavghar when we say tiger (if I were to be selfish I would love it to be like that as it does not have lots of noisy tourists throwing plastic all over the park) I Feel Tadoba has a Substantial Tiger population and add to it the other mammals that can be sighted here it is a must visit for any wildlife enthusiast.
I Appeal to every parent to inculcate the value of living in peace with these wild animals and the need to the environment in their children. The last photo of the sloth bear and a bison at close proximity should be learning for us humans, animals kill for need not greed they do not horde so that there is enough for all.
People have to realize that the stripped beauty needs protection. Saving the tiger saves the environment. Let us all pledge to protect the tiger and hope our grand children enjoy the sight of the tiger crossing their path in the wild with its arrogant swagger. Let us all do our little bit towards tiger protection and environment conservation. Let our national animal be a living one rather than a stuffed specimen in a museum.Link to photos are below
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