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Tiger-Baby Boom in Bandhavgarh National Park (2006)
Baby Boom in Bandhavgarh National Park (2006)
Certainly
year 2006 can be rated as year of the Tiger cubs in Bandhavgarh. The 6 Tigeresses
in the Bandhavgarh tourism zone have put Bandhavgarh on the world map today
when it comes to sightings Tiger cubs of any age you wish to photograph. From
3 months till 2 years, Bandhavgarh has them all in this age group. So if you
are a photographer and a Tiger lover then you are wasting your time by not being
in Bandhavgarh.
The Tiger experts say that the best time to spot Tigers is in the months
of April and May. As due to the heat the Tigers are found near the water holes
so it becomes easy to track them and therefore photograph. But the Tigeresses
of Bandhavgarh have proved all experienced Tiger experts wrong. You visit
Bandhavgarh any time of the year between October till June, and you will be
really unlucky not to spot a Tiger in first 2 hours of your safari. This is
a daily story for past few months, but how long will this continue is yet
to be seen. But by the looks of it, year 2007 as well will be a good year
as well. Reason for my optimism is due to the following:
Banvai Tigeress and the Sidhha Baba Tigeress will have cubs of about 8 months
to 10 months by October 2006. So there is no way that these cubs will not
be tracked by the expert mahouts on their experienced Elephants.
The Jhur Jhura Tigeress cubs will be about 15 months, getting bigger and
will be posing for some real good shots on the road.
Chakradhara Tigeress is expected to have a new litter by October as her current
cubs of 2 years are about to part ways from her, but her new litter hopefully
will not be seen before Jan 2007.
Also there is good news from Sookhi Patiya Tigeress, she has just given a
litter 2 months back, not seen be any tourists yet, but by the time park opens
in October they will be about 6 months, a good to see them.
Not that the Tiger sightings in Bandhavgarh were bad prior to 2006. But,
there has been a change in the behavior of Tigers in Bandhavgarh. Today the
big males, namely, B2 and Bokha are less seen, perhaps only twice a week.
But the Tigeresses are ensuring that the entrance fee paid by the tourists
is worth every penny. You will see them with their cubs on the road in front
of you, at times playing in water holes, at times trying to climbing trees,
at ties trying to catch the tail of the Elephant you are riding.
Our only advise to you is not to forget your camera to capture lifetime of
Tiger shots when you are planning to visit Bandhavgarh
Sharad Vats
July 9, 2006
