[abheekg]

Its been a very different winter for me as I have been away from Jungles and from my favourite park (Pench) because of differences of opinion with the park officials. The park ranger has infact banned my entry for sometime.

This has been very unfortunate but my young team members are doing the documentation on my behalf and we are also helped by many one off visitors to Pench who are glad to share their photographs with us.

Breaking my silence for about 3 months now, let me show you how big the cubs of collarwali have grown. Infact they are on the verge of separation from their mother and young Shahrukh has grown into a big hunk.

The following 3 photographs are of the Tiger cub we have named Shahrukh courtesy Rahul Alpheus who's a doctor and a dedicated wildlife and 4x4 vehicle lover. These pics are from January 2012







The following Tiger shot is of the Tigress we call The Baghin nala Tigress - who's again looking for a mate after her 2 now adult cubs (a male and a female have left her). This pic is courtesy my driver Bablu.



Bablu has been photographing Pench Tigers literally right, left and centre after I gave away one my cameras to him (as I was not venturing into the jungles as frequently as I used to earlier) and he has managed to photograph a new HUGE male Tiger. Check out these 3 pics. The third pic will give you an idea of scale of the Tiger's size.








A compendium of Pench Tigers will be incomplete without the pic of Majestic Collarwali - again framed excellently by Bablu. Here we see her crossing the rise at Beejamatta.



Here's one more of Balu's composition. This time in vertical. I am really proud of this boy.



And here's another scoop by the youngest star on Wildcats' horizon - Tejas Parshionikar.

Scoop - Brand new adult male tiger (one of the cubs of the Baghin nale Tigress) doing the Flehmen response


Baghin Nala Tigress - Looking for a mate (Up close and personal)


Tejas got lucky with the collarwali cubs on a lot of occasions and here's Shahrukh again baring his fangs. Although not a sharp pic, this pic justifies its presence in this thread to complete the documentation of their growth.



Too many tigers in one post ?



Shahrukh and mom (scale) . Photographed in Dec 2011. He's bigger now. Check the first 3 pics.



Tejas incidentally is only 17 years old and is appearing for his HSSC exams as I am writing this. Tejas's enthusiasm knows no bounds and our own Fauji sir will be a testimony to that. These pics were shot around Fauji sir's last visit to Pench.

Hope you all enjoyed this long pending post.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

P.S: Please note that I have temporarily discontinued my old number. My current active number is +918805788633. Keep the old one (09960332228) as well.

[C300]

Good to see you doc after a long time. The Pench reserve seems thriving with some healthy tiger population. Thanks for sharing the pics.

Bablu is turning out to be a good photographer.
The new male tiger is a hulk.

[Avid trekker]

A new documentary on Animal Planet on Ranthambore tigers today caught my attention again to the tiger threads running on T-BHP. Thanks to GD, Sach.Sri, Subrat, Coolcat and others for bringing the stories from Sariska, Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Kanha & Pench.

Have been missing the story from Pench for the past few months and this thread has come to life again!!

Abheekg: Awesome pics! Thanks to the team who have contributed those pics. And yes, am also a witness to photography skills of bablu.

[abheekg]

Originally Posted by C300

Good to see you doc after a long time. The Pench reserve seems thriving with some healthy tiger population. Thanks for sharing the pics.

Bablu is turning out to be a good photographer.
The new male tiger is a hulk.

Thank you sir. I will try to update this thread more regularly with contributions from our collaborators.

Originally Posted by Avid trekker

A new documentary on Animal Planet on Ranthambore tigers today caught my attention again to the tiger threads running on T-BHP. Thanks to GD, Sach.Sri, Subrat, Coolcat and others for bringing the stories from Sariska, Ranthambore, Bandhavgarh, Kanha & Pench.

Have been missing the story from Pench for the past few months and this thread has come to life again!!

Abheekg: Awesome pics! Thanks to the team who have contributed those pics. And yes, am also a witness to photography skills of bablu.

Divakar bhai, I am sure you are thrilled to see Shahrukh grow into such a fine Tiger. It was your wife who gave him his name. I just hope that he goes on to become one of the best here.

I will try to be more regular henceforth.

Here's today's installment :

Collarwali and Shahrukh on the prowl. Latest action documented by Gypsy driver monu from Pench . Shot near Bagdev tri junction.





These are going to be the last of the pics of the entire family together fter the cubs separate from the mother.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

[abheekg]

Confirming the news that atleast one of the 4 female cubs of the Collarwali Tigress has become independant from the mother and has established an area of her own.

Here's the evidence shot yesterday in the morning round by our current expert on Pench Tigers - Tejas Parshionikar.





Hasn't she grown into a fine beauty ?

With this we can be sure that the Tiger numbers in Pench will rise exponentially as these 4 female cubs will give a lot of male Tiger good opportunities of creating more cub magic in the coming years ahead. The fate of our dear Shahrukh remains to be seen.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

[gd1418]

Is this Gauri? She was the naughtiest of the females..

Originally Posted by abheekg

Confirming the news that atleast one of the 4 female cubs of the Collarwali Tigress has become independant from the mother and has established an area of her own.

Here's the evidence shot yesterday in the morning round by our current expert on Pench Tigers - Tejas Parshionikar.

Attachment 905001

Attachment 905002

Hasn't she grown into a fine beauty ?

With this we can be sure that the Tiger numbers in Pench will rise exponentially as these 4 female cubs will give a lot of male Tiger good opportunities of creating more cub magic in the coming years ahead. The fate of our dear Shahrukh remains to be seen.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

[abheekg]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Is this Gauri? She was the naughtiest of the females..

Dear Gurudutt sir
Why don't you compare her stripes and tell me who she is and in the process enlight a lot of forum new comers how we differentiate and identify each individual Tiger/Tigress from the other ?

Others who have shot the cubs of Collarwali, can you tell me if you have seen this beauty in my previous posts or shot her yourself ?

Dr. A Ghosh

[abheekg]

Not only the Tiger cubs but the jackal famaly that I had posted sometime back has grown too and the brothers are preparing themselves for the real life ahead by indulging in some sparring games.













I was lucky to get this family at their games all to myself sometime back.
Pench is by far the best place on earth if you want to shoot jackals.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh

[abheekg]

I visited Pench today after about 3 months to meet the internationally acclaimed wildlife presenter and documenter of "Big Cat Diary" fame Jonathan Scott and his wife Angie Scott who are my guests in Pench.

Something more interesting than this was the news of 5 new cubs : 3 of the tigress Baghin nala (whom I had reported sometime back was looking again for a mate after successfully bringing up her 2 cubs to adulthood and who seems to have mated with a known male Tiger away from prying eyes) in Turia range and 2 of another Tigress in Jamtara range.

I was also informed that Collarwali is again in heat and is seeking a mate and that the indomitable Rayyakasa male (the father of her last litter) has again started courting her.


Collarwali and Rayyakasa male to recreate their magic (in all probability) [click on the pic to enjoy the visual in full size]

This is something which I consider most significant for continuity of this documentation and for the future of Pench - Collarwali , inarguably the primma donna of all tigresses in Pench and Rayyakasa , inarguably the most dominant of all mal tigers in this park (which translates into the best possible genetic makeup available for the next gen) are going to create the next super breed of Tigers in this park.

While the documentation of the 5 now adult cubs of the last litter of collarwali will continue and I will continue showing you glimpses of how their private lives undergo a change in the years to come, I am super excited to start the documentation of these new cubs as soon as we start having confirmed sightings.

The future of Pench , as I see is bright indeed. I am just waiting for the day when I can start filing reports to all of you in person again.

Here's presenting to you the first "unofficial" tantalizing photo of one of the new cubs. I am unable to post further details till the situation in the park stabilizes.



But I assure you that very soon I will get you more.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh
www.facebook.com/abheekg

(For all those who want to talk to me, I can be reached on my new number 08805788633 although I will prefer a pm or an email to dr . abheek @ gmail . com more than a phone call during working hours )

[abheekg]

Bablu called me this evening to inform me that he saw the 3 new cubs of Baghinnala Tigress this evening and wanted me to come asap. I told him that i could not but would send Tejas and Parag to try to document the cubs tomorrow morning. All the best Tejas and Parag.

Lets hope that the lady luck is with them tomorrow morning like always.

Dr. A Ghosh

[abheekg]

More coming soon.................................. Stay tuned.

Dr. A Ghosh

[C300]

Bad news coming from Tadoba. One tiger is dead and another injured by the traps set by professional trappers. A sad day.

Tiger dies in trap, another found trapped near Tadoba - The Times of India

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by C300

Bad news coming from Tadoba. One tiger is dead and another injured by the traps set by professional trappers. A sad day.

Tiger dies in trap, another found trapped near Tadoba - The Times of India

I think it needs some kind of para-military force or the army maybe to now deal with the poachers with an iron hand or folks suspected of providing aid to poaching. Unless their ilk is taught a thorough lesson and some of them do not die a gruesome death like the way they kill the tigers these lowlifes will not learn .

I simply wish the governments instead of kid-gloving this menace take stern action. But again all of this could be wishful thinking in the banana republic we live in nowadays.

[VedderTheFixer]

Originally Posted by C300

Bad news coming from Tadoba. One tiger is dead and another injured by the traps set by professional trappers. A sad day.

Tiger dies in trap, another found trapped near Tadoba - The Times of India

Ive been dismayed by this news. I have been to Tadoba twice this year - Feb & March.

Just after i had returned in Feb, a tigress was found dead with internal injuries. After the March trip came those fires and now this, poaching.

Was privileged to see the tigress and her 4 cubs, though not at the same time together. We also saw a female leopard which was amazing to say the least.

Wonder how poachers live with themselves after killing these beautiful animals. Dave Mustaine was right.

[abheekg]

Originally Posted by C300

Bad news coming from Tadoba. One tiger is dead and another injured by the traps set by professional trappers. A sad day.

Tiger dies in trap, another found trapped near Tadoba - The Times of India

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

I think it needs some kind of para-military force or the army maybe to now deal with the poachers with an iron hand or folks suspected of providing aid to poaching. Unless their ilk is taught a thorough lesson and some of them do not die a gruesome death like the way they kill the tigers these lowlifes will not learn .

I simply wish the governments instead of kid-gloving this menace take stern action. But again all of this could be wishful thinking in the banana republic we live in nowadays.

Originally Posted by VedderTheFixer

Ive been dismayed by this news. I have been to Tadoba twice this year - Feb & March.

Just after i had returned in Feb, a tigress was found dead with internal injuries. After the March trip came those fires and now this, poaching.

Was privileged to see the tigress and her 4 cubs, though not at the same time together. We also saw a female leopard which was amazing to say the least.

Wonder how poachers live with themselves after killing these beautiful animals. Dave Mustaine was right.

It has been established that this was the handiwork of Baheliya poachers visiting from outside Maharashtra.

Amidst all these bad news there is some good news too. Maharashtra Govt has announced macchan census for Tiger number estimation on the brightest full moon night of the year.

The best part is they are re-allowing interested individuals of various NGOs to take part.

After the govt had cold shouldered the NGOs last time and did not allow themto take part in the census http://articles.timesofindia.indiati...life-institute , this time they have allowed us to be a part of the exercise. The Times of India on Mobile

They have realized after the recent spate of Tiger killings what we were crying hoarse all this while. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION is must for effective patrolling and monitoring.

We will be conducting Tiger census next weekend (5-6 May) at some of our monitoring sites in central India. I look forward to members interested who can help us in this activity and in our field surveys and scat collection drives that we will continue conducting over the next 1 year.
Get in touch with me anybody who can come down and help us for any number of days. This is a once in a life time opportunity to help the big cat conservation.

Regards,
Dr. A Ghosh
www.facebook.com/abheekg
+918805788633
please mail me on dr.abheek @ gmail.com instead of calling. You can save my number for your reference.

We are also planning a similar exercise in Bandhavgad, Kanha and Pench Tiger reserves in May-June this year and see for ourselves the actual state of tiger conservation before these parks close down officially for the monsoons. After these parks close down in June, we will be continuing monitoring of the buffers. While Tadoba will remain open in the monsoons , we will continue monitoring the core too. I invite interested members to join us in these exercises. Send me an email if you want to a part of our groups visiting these parks.