Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) - Where the Tigers Rule

Well, this is the second of the articles submitted to the travelogy competition of my company. Only rule was to compile it around 200 words.

Here it goes...the readers are the best judge of the brevity and content.

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TATR, in Nagpur, India welcomes everyone with its outstretched arms.

The open-top gypsy safaris take the visitors inside the jungle through a series of really narrow gullies. The fragrance and the 'sound of the silence' of the - the pristine air, the tweeting of the birds, falling leaves and the occasional roar of the animals - create an enthralling trance.

Being a deciduous forest, an absolute dryness engulfs the whole region in summer. The yellowish-brownish color of the grasses gives a natural camouflage to the predators like the big cats. It needs an experienced eye to spot them.

The excitement and the thrill are in the chase, but the joy knows no bounds when a tiger can be spotted in the open - truly an experience of a lifetime. The majestic style and the total disregard of the surroundings portray the traits of a king, full of pride.  Fear, joy and respect - the emotions flow rapidly from one another. A silence prevails, the only sound that can be heard is the relentless clicks of the cameras. Nobody moves, as if being numb under a mesmeric spell. Even the time stands still.

All good things come to an end, but leave nothing but the footprints and take nothing but the memories and a vow to return again.

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101_The Jungle at Dusk

102_The Royal One

103_Majestic

104_Nilgai

105_Spotted Deers

106_Spotted Deers

107_The Jungle

108_Bulbuls

109_Oriental Honey Buzzard female

110_A Really Close Shot

111_Water and Biodiversity

112_Sambar and Family

Emirates Park Zoo - A Tiny but Compact Place for All

The Emirates Park Zoo in Abu Dhabi is a place for one and all. Not only the kids but also the veterans like us can also take immense pleasure for a day being here.

The zoo is small and can be nowhere close to Abu Dhabi's more renowned Al Ain Zoo. But still it has it's own charm in a way. There are limited number of animals to be seen - mostly birds - but all the animals are kept in great shape. There are a few predators as well including the Royal Bengal Tiger and White tigers. It also houses a few reptiles as we'll and quite a few herbivores too.

All in all the place is enjoyable , although the options for food are a bit limited in my opinion. Another downside is the connectivity and accessibility of the zoo which need to be improved a lot. There is only one bus that goes too the zoo. If you miss one bus you shall have to be waiting for an hour for the next one. It is always better to have your own vehicle. The parking is ample.

Overall it is recommended for a day's outing , especially if you have kids.

Into the Wilderness - The 7th Safari at TATR

Day 5 5th May 2012 – 5.30 am


This was the last safari for us so obviously we were a bit sad. I was excited from the previous night. I captured the full moon without the tripod:

We started our journey at sharp 5.30 am. This time instead of Roshan, Ravi himself was driving. Our quest began with a sighting of a couple of roadside Sambar:

Some jungle fruit was abundant. Bantu actually quickly got down and picked up a few ripe ones – sweet as honey they were. Amazing!

An Indian Gaur with a familiar pose:

A wild boar could be seen from a close distance, crossing the road:

A family of spotted deer:

We didn’t really expect that we would see a tiger today, but we did. We saw one female strolling besides the road leisurely:

It was a female. She saw the cars are queued up at both sides so she decided to sit and look around, perhaps waiting for the cars to leave:

But no one was in a mood to leave her alone, so she decided to give a damn and started to cross the road and leave. The car ahead of us did not start as its ignition didn’t work. Since there was no place to overtake, we actually see her crossing the road unfortunately, which could have been a tremendous capture.

Below she was trying to cross the road:

And here, she has already crossed the road:

From a long distance one spotted deer was also watchfully staring at the Tigress, without making any movement:

His full family surrounded the male:

Another watch tower close by:

Dancing Peacocks, this time we saw them from the front:

Leaving the memory behind:

Landscape:

A group of spotted deer, they were really abundant in the jungle:

A skull:

We shall miss Tadoba:

Returning back we noticed a curious incident. A group of Indian Wild Dogs were resting nearby a waterhole. A sloth bear was peeping from the jungle and it was coming to waterhole. We were ready with the cameras, but the dogs suddenly attacked the bear and it ran away. We could not capture the shots of the bear. This happened for a couple of more time. The Wild Dogs made a statement to us that the waterhole was now ruled by them and they would not tolerate any intrusion from anyone. How true this is for every animal in the jungle – they are the rulers there and we are just intruders.

See his eyes:

Green Bee Eater:

Returning back, the big boss was inside the water with his head popping out:

So we finished off with a tiger sighting. We bade farewell to this amazing place and promised to come back again, but not only to see its inhabitants, but also to enjoy the sheer beauty of the jungle itself. 

Day 5 (5th May 2012) and Day 6 (6th may 2012)

We checked out from MTDC, had our lunch. Our car was waiting outside, arranged by Ravi. We headed off to Nagpur.

We boarded our train on time from Nagpur (Nagpur – Pune Express). It reached Pune at its scheduled time as well. So we were moving from one jungle to another, the concrete one.

Reaching home, it felt like that we have woken up from a dream. One really cannot imagine the experiences we had sitting at his couch at home. One has to be there and feel it by himself.

We certainly want to feel it again and again.