[gd1418]

A bit intriguing. When you say SH25 to Alwar are you referring by any chance to the Bhiwadi - Alwar mega-highway? Or you went via Shahpura - Viratnagar - Thanagazi & to Sariska?

Originally Posted by Baddychat

Thankfully did not run into much traffic till about McD Manesar. My friend wanted breakfast at McD's hence a 25 minute halt there and off we were and straight into a traffic jam. Past the chaos at IMT Manesar, the rest of the route on NH8 and then on SH25 to Alwar was pretty clean. The quality of roads to Alwar is pretty good and then we left SH25 to take SH13 to Alwar which is pretty much the regular route.

This means you took the following route:

Manesar - Dharuhera - Bhiwadi - Tijara - Alwar - Sariska & back.

Originally Posted by Baddychat

The quality of roads from Alwar to Sariska wasnt that great. Couple of nasty speed breakers and in general broken roads took us to Sariska by 11:30.

Coming back we took the same route only making a stop at Siliserh Lake. The total driving time while coming back was approximately 4 1/2 hours to Delhi.

For my next trip I plan to do a single day trip as you have been doing as preferably on a Sunday.

Looking forward...!

Originally Posted by Baddychat

Will upload a few pictures here soon.

[Baddychat]

Originally Posted by gd1418

A bit intriguing. When you say SH25 to Alwar are you referring by any chance to the Bhiwadi - Alwar mega-highway? Or you went via Shahpura - Viratnagar - Thanagazi & to Sariska?


This means you took the following route:

Manesar - Dharuhera - Bhiwadi - Tijara - Alwar - Sariska & back.


Looking forward...!

This is the route I took :

NH8 -> left towards Bhiwadi NH71B -> Right on SH25 towards Alwar (crossing Tijara,Kishangarh,Chikani enroute) -> alwar bypass -> SH13 towards Sariska.

This is the route on google maps
https://maps.google.co.in/maps/ms?ms...46dbc26ede9da3

[Baddychat]

A few pictures from the trip of mine. I used the resizing software so I do not exactly know how they would appear once uploaded.

[Baddychat]

Just came across the news in today's TOI which says that the Madhya Pradesh forest department is planning to relocate a few big cats to Sariska. This should be a much needed boost to the tiger population there.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/h...w/19487014.cms

Also attaching a pdf for the page.

[desertfox]

gd1418 - Gurudutt, I greatly appreciate your love for Sariska and your dedication, early morning road trips, spending full day in the Jungle. And of course your passion for photography.

I regret, having lived in Gurgaon for over three years, visiting other wildlife park, even travelling upto Tijara a few times but never had the opportunity to visit beautiful Sariska.

After reading this thread who else but you to accompany ? When are you going next. Do let me know and before that lets meet one evening in Gurgaon, and there will be plenty of talk of tigers and tigerwallah's.

I am also very much a Nikon man. Besides a couple of DSLR bodies I do posess a 70-300 lens to try out in the Jungle. Unfortunately the skeet shooting tournaments and routines have not permitted me any time for weekend getaways but I would love to do an afternoon safari near a waterhole in Sariska very soon.

Do send me your phone number via PM please.

[manolin]

Originally Posted by desertfox

After reading this thread who else but you to accompany ? When are you going next. Do let me know and before that lets meet one evening in Gurgaon, and there will be plenty of talk of tigers and tigerwallah's.

I am also very much a Nikon man.

Do send me your phone number via PM please.

Me too Sir. I have reading this log, and again and again planning. Unfortunately none of my friends are interested. If you have space on any trip, please let me know. If you could share your contacts/fb, that would be great.

[desertfox]

There will be plenty of space of course come along. Space in in the heart, not the car, but GuruDutt has to agree to come with us in the first place. I have seen his Scorpio in Gurgaon a few times but dont know him personally.

[gd1418]

Thank you desertfox for liking.

Originally Posted by desertfox

gd1418 - Gurudutt, I greatly appreciate your love for Sariska and your dedication, early morning road trips, spending full day in the Jungle. And of course your passion for photography.

Sariska as a jungle, on the whole is very beautiful. Irrespective of a Tiger sighting, everytime I go I get to see something new.

Originally Posted by desertfox

I regret, having lived in Gurgaon for over three years, visiting other wildlife park, even travelling upto Tijara a few times but never had the opportunity to visit beautiful Sariska.

I would be very happy to accompany you. I normally go on a Sunday and come back the same evening after doing the morning & evening safaris. I plan to go on the 21st, but it shall be finalised only closer to the date. The fear of un-expected is always there... If you or anybody is willing to take me as a passenger, I shall be more than happy to come.

Originally Posted by desertfox

After reading this thread who else but you to accompany ? When are you going next. Do let me know and before that lets meet one evening in Gurgaon, and there will be plenty of talk of tigers and tigerwallah's.

Good to meet a fellow Nikonian. Can you detail the hardware please? Skeet - it tells me that you are a "shooter" and use a shotgun. I always had fascination for sawed-off shotguns but they are banned here.

Originally Posted by desertfox

I am also very much a Nikon man. Besides a couple of DSLR bodies I do posess a 70-300 lens to try out in the Jungle. Unfortunately the skeet shooting tournaments and routines have not permitted me any time for weekend getaways but I would love to do an afternoon safari near a waterhole in Sariska very soon.

Do send me your phone number via PM please.

Manolin, space would be enough, in the heart as well as in the vehicle, so long you drive and I ride as a passenger.

I tried sending you a PM but it said that the inbox is full and over quota..

Originally Posted by manolin

Me too Sir. I have reading this log, and again and again planning. Unfortunately none of my friends are interested. If you have space on any trip, please let me know. If you could share your contacts/fb, that would be great.

You don't have to know personally. TBHP is the bond that joins us together.

Originally Posted by desertfox

There will be plenty of space of course come along. Space in in the heart, not the car, but GuruDutt has to agree to come with us in the first place. I have seen his Scorpio in Gurgaon a few times but dont know him personally.

[gd1418]

Sariska update

Should we all be concerned? I guess so. All of you have been aware that recently two orphaned tigresses of RTR Bina-1 & Bina-2 got relocated to Sariska and were subsequently named ST9 & 10 respectively.

With great fanfare they were released in Sariska from their enclosures within a span of two hours. First of all they both were kept in two different enclosures. Why? In RTR these two sisters were together, then why were they not kept together in one enclosure?

This was the first mistake. The second was to release them separately after a gap of two hours - ST10 was released two hours after ST9 was released.

Thus when ST9 found herself all alone in a new & strange environment, she chalked out a new place for herself and she had a headstart of two hours.

Similarly ST 10 also behaved and took up a different territory. Funnily both the Cats have occupied territories much away from the main Sariska forest and near human settlement.

ST9 has taken up home at Taalvriksh near Kushaalgarh. This place also has a healthy Leopard population and is inaccessible. There are no tracks whatsoever and a few forest personnel are posted permanently to keep a tab on her through the radio collar signals and they report back to the HQ every hour. Current status: she has been very rarely seen and on only one or two occassions when she came up to Ghaanka area in Sariska.

ST10 has taken up home near Natni ka Bera which is almost 12 kms away from Sariska and closer to Siliserh. She has settled in the Garvaji forest near the Siliserh lake. Again inaccessible and a permanent posse of forest personnel tracking her through her collar & reporting every hour to HQ.

Of late she has been seen by villagers crossing over from Siliserh to Natni ka Bera and back. This is separated by a State Highway on which vehicles run at speed. I fear for ST10 in this situation.

Also since these two sisters were fed goats in RTR & as well as in the enclosure in Sariska, ST10 has started lifting goats of the villagers nearby. Till date these villagers are blaming the Leopards for their livestock loss.

The day they discover that it is ST10, I shudder to think of the consequences. Current status: Not seen at all after release.

My suggestions: tranquillise both of them again, bring back to enclosure, keep them there together for 15 days and then release again. Ensure that they don't drift.

SLOTH BEAR

GREAT NEWS COMING FROM SARISKA

A sloth bear was sighted at a village Satna (malakhera), on the peripheries of Sariska Tiger Reserve.

It was a great discovery since Sloth Bears were considered extinct in the region.

The bear was captured and has been brought and released in the reserve. History repeats?????

Yesterday, after release around 7 pm, the bear was seen headed towards the Pandupol area. Two tigers ST2 with cubs & ST4 are in the nearby area of Slopka. The bear has to cross this. I anticipate a confrontation.

The bear is new to Sariska and still to get its bearings. Hoping for everything to be ok.

This latest news item in TOI sent to me by a TBHPian - BaddyChat is heart-warming.



Do I see Sariska slowly returning back to its golden days? I am a very happy person with these developments.

[desertfox]

I will mark my calendar for April 21, we must go to Sariska. Yes we can go together no feed for you to drive, my driver will be there and we will nap in the car.

The Nikon DSLR equipment that I have personally is not much, D3100 body, a couple of lenses, 18 to 55 that came on the camera and a 55-300 4.5/5.6 which is good but not great. SOme UV filters, soft focus filters, polarizers, a few came off my older Tamron SLR lenses which are lying unused so is my old SLR a Minolta 300. Lots of expired Agfa film as well.

On the subject of tigers meanwhile I am quite familiar having spent a lot of time in the jungles. Any day I would love to spend a few hours in deep forest ideally 3 PM to 6 PM period listening to Langurs, the Dhonk of a Sambhar Stag, peacock calls, wow its mystic.

On the issue of Tigresses :

I dont know from where our forest officials derive their knowledge.
You dont introduce single Tigresses into a jungle. You interlude them into a Tiger's territory to live and mate.

Sariska Tigers are collared. If chippled there will be GPS pick up too.

A Tiger's territory is usually a Triagle of 15 KM each side, about 120 Sq, KM odd in normal circumstances where jungle terrain is abundant. Boudries are defined by the Tiger's visiting cards. Yes visiting cards. Look up a tree trunk in Tiger country. The bark of trees will be scratched by the male Tiger living in the area. Any other male willing to challenge the local Tiger may stretch itself to the full, measure its lenght against the local resident and then decide on taking the challenge or scooting from the area.

The tiger will also urinate on the boundry of its beat to mark out the stakes of his territory.

Females are to be first acclamatised and then gradually released into this area. The support comes in the form of providing a buffalo calf as meal for a few days within a fixed area. Soon the tiger too will discover the food and know the female. If the female is not in season it will leave it alone, although drive her away from the carcass initially but he will let her feed from it later, and remain within the territory. usually they will not wander off from this 100 sq km area if not disturbed by cattle grazers, poachers and wood gatherers.
It is stupid to simply release a tigress in thw wilderness.

What do Hari Singh and others say on the population of Cheetal, Langurs, Sambhars and young blue bull in the area, are the tigers making kills of these ?

[gd1418]

This sounds lovely Shahid. We shall connect closer to the date to finalise.

Originally Posted by desertfox

I will mark my calendar for April 21, we must go to Sariska. Yes we can go together no feed for you to drive, my driver will be there and we will nap in the car.

D3100 is a decent camera, you need to upgrade your lenses if you delve in wildlife. My suggestion would be to change the 18~55 to an all-time carry around 18~135 and the 55~300 to a better 70~300 lens.

Are the Tamron lenses Nikon compatible or Minolta compatible? The Minolta camera is a film camera and a classic in its time.

Originally Posted by desertfox

The Nikon DSLR equipment that I have personally is not much, D3100 body, a couple of lenses, 18 to 55 that came on the camera and a 55-300 4.5/5.6 which is good but not great. SOme UV filters, soft focus filters, polarizers, a few came off my older Tamron SLR lenses which are lying unused so is my old SLR a Minolta 300. Lots of expired Agfa film as well.

Sariska Cats are radio-collared & not chipped. Sariska has a very healthy population of Cheetals, Sambars, Langurs & Neelgais. Tigers & Leopards have been regularly making kills of these, thus keeping a check on their once booming populace when Sariska became devoid of Tigers due to poaching.

Originally Posted by desertfox

Sariska Tigers are collared. If chippled there will be GPS pick up too.

What do Hari Singh and others say on the population of Cheetal, Langurs, Sambhars and young blue bull in the area, are the tigers making kills of these ?

[gd1418]

10th April, 2013

Today (Wednesday) evening I got a call from Harisingh while driving back home from work and the conversation went like this:

Though the conversation was in Hindi I'm writing in English for the benefit of all.

Harisingh: "Sir namaskaar. How are you"?

Me: "I'm fine. What news of Sariska & the Tigers"?

Harisingh: "I've just come from the jungle and saw ST4"?

Me: "Oh wow, where"?

Harisingh: "Slopka".

Me: "What about ST2 & 6"?

Harisingh: "ST2 also in Slopka and 6 in Baghani".

Me: "Ok, 99% I shall be coming tomorrow. Will confirm in a short while".

Harisingh: "Ok Sir, but Tiger won't stay. Might go up. How many of you"?

Me: "Let us see. A lot can happen in the night. We would be two, husband & wife".

Harisingh: "Ok Sir, good night".

Me: "Good night".

Tomorrow (Thursday) was a very lean day for me and I made up my mind and told my wife on reaching home that I've planned for Sariska. She readily agreed and started making preparations while I readied my camera gear.

After setting everything up sent a message to Harisingh and went off to sleep with the alarm set for 2 am. The entry timings for Sariska changed from April as summer set in.

Morning - Entry at 6 am and out by 10 am.

Evening - Entry at 3 pm and out by 7 pm.

to be continued.../-

[gd1418]

11th April, 2013

It was a Thursday and the first day of the Navratras. I wasn't aware of this fact.

We got up as soon as the alarm rang and started to get ready. The target was to leave by 3 am as Harisingh had asked us to come by 5:30.

On my last visit I had got stuck in a massive jam on NH8 after Manesar and somehow managed to reach before 7 am after a lot of aggressive driving. On my return I had taken the Bhiwadi - Taoru - Sohna - Gurgaon route. Though had to endure a bad patch of about 10 kms a little before Taoru till crossing the town, I reached home in less time than the Bhiwadi - Dharuhera - NH8 route.

I had thought that from now on I would take the Sohna route for my Sariska visits.

We left home by 3:20 and were happily cruising on the Sohna road. Reached the Taoru intersection by 3:40 and started to climb the ghat road. And then disaster struck. There was a massive traffic jam on the ghat road and as far as the eye could see it was choc-a-bloc with dumpers, trailers & trucks. I was stuck. Waited with a hope that soon the vehicles would start moving. Shutting the engine and rolling down the windows brought misery of a different kind - blood-thirsty mosquitos. So the engine was switched on and AC started. The clock ticked and the time showed 4:15 am. I had had enough and decided to take a risk. Somehow reversed in that narrow ghat road, bullied a couple truck drivers to shift their vehicles to extreme left and drove towards the Sohna intersection.

I was taking the Mewat route much to my discomfort but had no choice. Though this route is a bit shorter than the other routes, it is dotted with un-marked speed breakers of varying sizes and after Naugaon becomes a single lane all the way to Alwar.



I had lost enough time and diesel and no way could have made to Sariska by 5:30 am. Stopped very briefly for a pit-stop near a toll at Ramgarh, called Harisingh and told him about the situation. Wife wanted to have tea somewhere as she was feeling drowsy (as always) and I stoutly refused. Reached Sariska at 6:55 am. Harisingh was ready with everything and while I was setting up my cameras, saw wife whispering something to Harisingh. He nodded and vanished away to appear after sometime with a hot cup of tea. She finally had her way. You can't win with a woman.

We entered the jungle; ours was the second jeep and there wasn't any tourist at all being a weekday. I thought we were going straight to Slopka as ST4 was seen last evening there. But on a hunch Harisingh said that we would go towards Ghaanka area first and then there. I agreed. While we approached the trail this what we spotted.

The Ghaanka trail



Fresh Pug-mark of ST 6



This pug-mark was as fresh as it could be and this was unbelievable. ST 6 was not known to be here today. Was Goddess Durga being benevolent & kind to me by sending her ride? How was I, a mere mortal man, to know this who wasn't even aware of the start of the Navratri.

Met a forest-guard who pleaded ignorance and when we showed him the pug-mark he was shocked. He said that the last signal of ST6 was tracked on to the hills. This meant he had come down.

The direction of the pug-marks indicated that he was headed towards Karna ka Baas. This meant he was thirsty & was going to drink water. Funnily no alarm calls though Cheetal & Sambar were present.

We raced towards the main road and parked ourselves at a vantage point near a small bridge from where we could see the road on both sides. He would be seen as soon as he crossed the road.



An hour passed, nothing stirred and I waited patiently in the Sun.



Then we heard a jeep at a distance. This was ACF Vipin Gupta. A known Tiger lover, he rushes in as soon as he gets a news about the prescence of a Tiger. Did he get a news?



As he neared us he queried from Harisingh and after getting to know about the pug-marks barked some orders in the wireless and drove further down. He was summoning the ST6 tracking party.

As soon as he left, my driver Jagdish got down and inspected the sides of the road for any tell-tale signs. A cheetal called and Jagdish ran back to the jeep. I set my camera at the expected zone based on the Cheetal call.



The Cheetal called twice again and fell silent. We surmised that the Cheetal got spooked because of Jagdish. How wrong we were. Suddenly the Cheetal emerged from the thicket, looked at us and then hurriedly crossed over. Now we were sure that the deer got alarmed due to us.





At a distance a Peacock was dancing and trying to impress the peahens. The jungle was so silent and calm.



There was s rustle in the bushes and spotted this Sambar who was looking a bit nervous.



Suddenly two forest-guards on a motorcycle came from behind and stopped next to us and excitedly said - "what are you looking at the front? 6 was standing behind looking at the jeep and just went inside. We waited till he crossed over". Bloody hell. The fellow had given us the slip. So near and yet so far.

We went back with those guards where they had seen him and sure enough there were faint pug-marks on the hard soil. We thought he had crossed from our behind to Karna ka Baas, drank water, came back and crossed over to Latthavla. We immediately went to Karna ka Baas to see if had come to drink water. Here the pug-marks would certainly be there due to the soft mud. And also a herd of Cheetal was grazing peacefully. Indeed if ST6 had come they would have certainly called.

No pug-marks at all. This meant that he got disturbed for whatever reason and turned back without drinking water. He was thirsty and would not have gone far and could come again to drink. The Cheetal that had called earlier had seen ST6 and called. If only we were a bit more observant.

We went back and parked again at the same place waiting patiently. In a distance we heard a motorcycle and this was the ST6 tracking party. They came and parked near us and started checking for signal. The receiver was getting a very strong signal. They removed the lead from the antenna and again the signal was very strong. As I had mentioned earlier, if the signal is received by the lead without the antenna, then the collared animal is in the vicinity of 20 odd meters. The tracking party then removed the lead from the receiver and pointed the receiver towards the source of the signal. Oh boy, the receiver, without the lead and antenna was getting the signal loud & clear. This meant that the Tiger was within 3 meters.

Now it becomes very interesting. One of the main signal trackers went slowly towards the bridge and peered down. In a flash he ran back as if stung by a bee and whispered hoarsely - Tiger.



Next moment everything happened in a flash. ST6 was resting beneath the bridge in the cool shade. Thoroughly disturbed he got up in a flash and looking highly irritated vanished in the bushes. What I could get was only a record shot.



If only Science could invent a device that could capture the images in the mind. I was seeing ST6 after a gap of almost 1.3 years. He has grown huge & powerful than before, looks very healthy and agile. He is slowly becoming the dominant male of Sariska after having encroached much of ST4's territory and pushing him farther away.

Goddess Durga had blessed me.

We waited for some more time hoping he would return but that was not to be so. Returned back from the jungle. For the evening we decided to go to Slopka looking for ST4 and then come back and park at Latthavla for ST6.

Returned back at 3 and drove straight to Slopka. Waited for over an hour. Heard a Sambar call once and then the jungle fell silent. Saw this Sambar female injured in a Leopard attack and surviving. Must be a juvenile inexperienced Leopard.



The Sariska forest is looking beautiful in the spring. New green leaves all over and the flame of the forest blooming everywhere.





Waited again at Latthavla for ST6. Nothing happened. Went to Brahmanath to see if any Leopards were there since there was no crowd in the jungle. Only a few Kingfishers were swooping around.

Returned back via Kaalighati. When will we learn? Tourists come into the jungle and litter it posing danger to the residents. Why can't they carry their leftovers in a bag and dispose it in a proper dustbin? I wish if some concrete measures could be taken to stop this menace.





Thus ended my safari of Sariska on a satisfying note and the Tiger drought ended...

Hope you enjoyed my travelogue.

p.s. I returned back to Gurgaon taking the Bhiwadi - Daruhera - NH8 route.

[gd1418]

A few facts & pictures have been left-out. Given below:

Harisingh discussing with me about the probable location of ST6



Spooked Sambar in the background



At Ghaanka water-hole a Sambar called. Looking in that direction




This is for the information of all who take the SH 25 - Daruhera, Bhiwadi, Tapookara, Tijara, Kishangarh Bas, Alwar to either Jaipur or Sariska.

Please note that the toll rates between the Bhiwadi - Alwar section & vice-versa has been raised.

Bhiwadi - Alwar one-way - Rs. 55/- (older rate Rs. 50/-)

Bhiwadi - Alwar two-way - Rs. 82/- (older rate Rs. 75/-)

[sach.sri]

finally - the drought ends and the king gives you a darshan, even though fleeting.

Great going would have loved to see a nice picture though. ST6 did the same to us when we went to Sariska last year before the jungle closed.

Still - a sighting is a sighting is a sighting