[HighwayHopper]

Originally Posted by Torque123

A teaser pic for now. Detailed safari update & images to continue in my next post (still processing images )
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The Sub adult male cub of a tigress named Choti Tara in his playground. I wish we too have such beautiful playgrounds for our kids. He is really big for sub adult tigers aged around 1.8 years standards. This shows his mother is taking very good care of him & his brother. The flip side is she will have to make a kill every 4 to 5 days to keep themselves well fed which is a very big task.

Cant wait more. Please post the pics. I am again travelling in January end (Republic day holidays) to Tadoba. Your teaser had kicked the interest in me to new levels. In my two trips to Tadoba, I have never seen Choti Tara, Matka Sur and Sonam and her kids though I have come across others.

[Torque123]

Sorry for not updating the thread guys. Was in Ranthambore last week & this week catching up at work. Hence did not find time to process images. However I have managed to process a few which I have posted below.

Okay, so our first safari from Moharli gate on 25th evening was a opener in terms of sighting. We straight headed to the territory of Choti Tara & her close to 2 years old sub adult cubs. Jamni chowk area in Tadoba is an overlapping territory for tigress Maya & Choti Tara.

No signs of Choti Tara or her cubs but as we headed to the area mentioned above we see Maya sleeping right in the middle of the track. No alarm calls what so ever. There were already 2 gypsies ahead of us & in no time around a dozen piled up. It was a chaos out there & we were not able to get out of it as we were stuck in the middle & we did not want to be there. I do have a couple of images as I hardly took any images of this sighting but will post it once I process them.

Finally madam Maya decides to to stop the road show & goes in the undergrowth. We took this opportunity to get out of that place & drove around the Tadoba lake, hill top area. Other than a couple of spotted deer there was no movement there & we did not find any pug marks either. So drove down further to Jamni talab & there we see a couple of Jeeps in which the guests were standing. We reach closer & see 1 of the sub adult cubs of Choti Tara sitting right on the track. They were being seen for quite sometime as there were few gypsies at the spot as majority of them were stuck we had initially got stuck.

Within a couple of minutes Choti Tara & the 2nd sub adult cub emerge from the bushes & all 3 start walking on the track for 150 meters or so & then they disappeared into the undergrowth.

We called it a day & headed back to the gate. Below is the image of one of the cubs of Choti Tara walking towards us.

[Torque123]

The next day (26th Nov) morning safari, we wanted to concentrate on getting a sighting of tigress Sonam & her 4 cubs as we knew all gypsies will head towards Choti Tara's territory due to the previous day's sighting. We reach the Teliya lake & see Sonam & her cubs pug marks. There were marks of her even sitting on the safari track. Things looked positive as there were intermittent alarm calls of spotted deers too. So kept waiting at Teliya & an occasional small drive to another waterhole close by. Around 8.30 Am 2 of her cubs were seen in bushes of few seconds but we missed it. Then around 9.15 AM Sonam emerged from the bushes & walked on the banks of Teliya & then went to the other side of Teliya. Her cubs did not follow her though. Again, have not yet processed images of this sighting yet. Will post it shortly.

The feeling of starting your safaris with good sightings eases a lot of things & gives lot of flexibility to try out other zones.

Our 3rd safari on (26th Nov evening) we did a quick check in Sonam's territory to find no movement or alarm calls. So we then headed towards Choti Tara's territory & there again was no movement or alarm calls. It was expected as usually the only time you will see tigers in afternoon is when they are relaxing in a waterhole else they will be taking a good nap in the undergrowth well away from safari tracks.

Around 4.45 PM we were near Jamni lake & 2 gypsies were waiting as they had heard a Sambar alarm call. We too joined at waited. May be after 30 minutes or so there was another alarm call. The thrill you get while waiting from the time you hear strong alarm calls till the moment you see the tiger is something which cannot be described in words. In a few minutes one of the sub adult cubs of Choti Tara crossed the safari track only to be accompanied by his brother in a few minutes. Later they played, stalked & chased each other (hunting practice) in Jamni lake. Below are a few images from this sighting. Finally it was time to end the safari & we left them with a very heavy heart.

In the next 2 safari's on 27th Nov we did not get any cat sightings. So in our last & 6th safari on 28th Nov we decided it will be done in Junona buffer if permit was available. We did get the permit & the plan did work to a certain extent as there was lot of movement of tigress Madhuri's sub adult female cub accompanied by alarm calls from deers & langurs. However the tigress was successful in evading us. Overall it was an awesome trip with good sightings & a much needed break.

Will process few more images from the trip & post it by the weekend.
Stay tuned for Ranthambore trip update. It was a cracker of a trip
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[abhishek_hch]

Hi Torque123, went through this thread & really in awe of your enthusiasm for wildlife & photos!

I am planning for a 3 day Safari to Tadoba in Feb with 5-6 Safaris.. Do you have an idea of where are sightings happening more these days - which gate & zone? Will book accordingly..

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by abhishek_hch

Hi Torque123, went through this thread & really in awe of your enthusiasm for wildlife & photos! I am planning for a 3 day Safari to Tadoba in Feb with 5-6 Safaris.. Do you have an idea of where are sightings happening more these days - which gate & zone? Will book accordingly..

Thank you Abhishek. Currently the buffer zones (Agarzhari, Junona, Devada, Madnapur) in Tadoba are rocking. The probability of sightings in these zones is much higher compared to the core zones (Mohurli, Kolara & Navegaon). Most of the tigresses in core zones have cubs & as there are new male tigers trying to establish their territory in the core zones the sightings had gone down. Experienced this myself as I was there in the first week of Dec'20 & did 6 nights with 13 safaris. In the last two to three weeks the sightings in core zones have improved.

As you are staying for 3 days, I assume that you are going to do a minimum of 5 safaris. I suggest staying in and around the Mohurli gate and doing 3 safaris in buffer (Agarzhari/Junona/Devada) & 2 core safaris (from Mohurli gate).

[abhishek_hch]

Thank you so much.

I am planning to stay in the Moharli gate MTDC resort, I had a couple of more questions.

1. I have been to Pench before. There only the safari coupons are booked online, the other payments are done in cash to driver & guide. Here in Tadoba I see everything needs to be paid upfront. In Pench, the resort people call for the gypsy which picks you up from the resort and takes you to the Touria gate. How does it work in Tadoba?

2. An allied question is - If I stay near Moharli gate and book a Safari from Agarzari 11 km away, will the safari gypsy come & pick me up or will I have to make own arrangements to travel to Agarzari?

3. For 5 safaris you reccomend a 3-2 split between buffer & core. For 6 safaris what would your suggestion be, 4-2 or 3-3?

Thanks in advance.

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by abhishek_hch

Thank you so much.

I am planning to stay in the Moharli gate MTDC resort, I had a couple of more questions.

1. I have been to Pench before. There only the safari coupons are booked online, the other payments are done in cash to driver & guide. Here in Tadoba I see everything needs to be paid upfront. In Pench, the resort people call for the gypsy which picks you up from the resort and takes you to the Touria gate. How does it work in Tadoba?

2. An allied question is - If I stay near Moharli gate and book a Safari from Agarzari 11 km away, will the safari gypsy come & pick me up or will I have to make own arrangements to travel to Agarzari?

3. For 5 safaris you reccomend a 3-2 split between buffer & core. For 6 safaris what would your suggestion be, 4-2 or 3-3?

Thanks in advance.

1. In Tadoba the permit, gypsy & guide fee has to be paid upfront. This is a new rule which I assume was implemented in Oct'20. Prior to Oct'20 it was the same procedure in Tadoba that you followed in Pench. Try to have 1 driver for all your safaris in core & 1 driver for all your safaris in buffer. This you can do by discussing with the drivers on your first safari. If you inform the respective drivers to pick you up from MTDC they will do the same & drop you back too for an additional fee of INR 500. We always have a fixed/same driver for all our trips as we have built a personal rapport with a particular driver.

2. Same reply as point#1

3. This is a tough question If you are doing 6 safaris then I would suggest doing 3 in buffer & 3 in core.

[rk_sans]

Originally Posted by abhishek_hch

Hi Torque123, went through this thread & really in awe of your enthusiasm for wildlife & photos!

I am planning for a 3 day Safari to Tadoba in Feb with 5-6 Safaris.. Do you have an idea of where are sightings happening more these days - which gate & zone? Will book accordingly..

We were there on 20th and 21st dec and had sighting in Agarzari and Moharli. MTDC is good for staying and even food is very good. Only thing, they had limited staff and there was lot of tourists during that time.

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by rk_sans

We were there on 20th and 21st dec and had sighting in Agarzari and Moharli. MTDC is good for staying and even food is very good. Only thing, they had limited staff and there was lot of tourists during that time.

I have booked one safari each from Agarzari & Moharli, fingers crossed.

Originally Posted by Torque123

Thank you Abhishek. Currently the buffer zones (Agarzhari, Junona, Devada, Madnapur) in Tadoba are rocking. The probability of sightings in these zones is much higher compared to the core zones (Mohurli, Kolara & Navegaon). Most of the tigresses in core zones have cubs & as there are new male tigers trying to establish their territory in the core zones the sightings had gone down. Experienced this myself as I was there in the first week of Dec'20 & did 6 nights with 13 safaris. In the last two to three weeks the sightings in core zones have improved.

As you are staying for 3 days, I assume that you are going to do a minimum of 5 safaris. I suggest staying in and around the Mohurli gate and doing 3 safaris in buffer (Agarzhari/Junona/Devada) & 2 core safaris (from Mohurli gate).

I was ultimately able to plan for 5 safaris over three days in February - 1 each from Moharli, Khutwanda & Agarzari gates & 2 from Junona gate. For 2 core safaris, I got only one slot frombMoharli, rest were all booked thus booked one from Khutwanda. Queries with local homestays tell me that both Moharli & Khutwanda have same routes. Is it true or Moharli has more sightings? They also were reccomending a night Safari, will you advise one?

Lastly, could you please send me the number of your driver, I will call him with your reference in advance & try as many safaris as possible with him

[abhishek_hch]

I was able to complete the visit as planned. In this trip encompassing 5 day & 1 night Safari sighted 8 tigers, 2 leopards, 2 sloth bears & 1 wild dog. We stayed at MTDC Moharli & as pointed out by rk_sans the food was excellent.
The resort is also very good with excellent views & big functional rooms. I would highly reccomend the place. Also if you are a fish lover, ask the resort people to arrange fresh fish for you, with a huge lake nearby the fish will be as fresh as you can get.

Also realised that if you book tickets from Junona/Devada gate or Moharli/Khutwanda gate, you roam in the same areas in the forest. Agarzari is a separate zone which incidentally is low on sightings currently. Junona & Devada gates are doing the best, followed by the two core gates.

I plan to write a detailed travelogue about this soon. Meanwhile thank you Torque123 & rk_sans for all your guidance and support.