[vinay_ss]

This thread, the photographs and the travelogue is simply inspirational. I had planned a Bangalore - Pench - Kanha trip last December, but had to drop due to road conditions in AP due to Telangana. The photographs and well written travelogue inspires me to do a summer trip - where chances of sightings are substantially increased, although the heat takes away some of the fun.

This is a great reference point and thanks again for such a wonderful storehouse of information.

Cheers
Vinay Sambaragimath

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by DKG

My goodness that is way too dangerously close !! I feel it reacts this way only because its taken by surprise and it resents your proximity

If you see that Vanghat Tigress video when a full grown Tiger starts to walk towards you, it can freeze you !!

Just this evening my uncle was relating a tale when he and a friend once were subjected to the full throated roar of a Tiger just a few feet away in bushes in the Adilabad jungles, and that although they both had weapons in hand he said "my knees almost buckled in terror, and my friend was frozen like a rock"

I once experienced the unbelievably magnetic gaze of a tiger in our zoo when we were allowed to go near it in its cage. It was a white tiger and it hissed as I kneeled down just a few feet away. I will never forget the lure of its eyes. What a intense gaze

What an amazing creation. Beautiful and yet deadly when provoked

I am told a full grown tiger needs a range of atleast 30 square kms

Deepak,

Good morning, Old Shikari's of Hyderabad have many tales to tell and since most of them are gone so have their tales too.

The roar and the steely cold gaze is the primary weapon provided by nature to the tiger, the tiger is very intelligent and uses it to maximum advantage

Within a few feet of its prey after very carefully stalking it, a tiger lets out a very loud blood curdling roar to freeze its prey.

This is what exactly happens, the prey goes into a high state of shock within moments, those very moments are what to tiger needs to finish the job.

The stare is again used to threaten any danger to itself. Not many dare to go further when they have a steely fierce gaze locked on to them.

A male tiger needs 100 square kilometers as territory, which includes hunting ground, waterhole, prey base, females.

However females are welcome to intrude in their territory unlike males.

Regards,

[fazalaliadil]

Vinay,
Thank you, and all for the very positive response, and I am very happy it rekindles the urge, desire in many members to visit the reserves and parks for tigers and wildlife sightings. We have a treasure of wildlife here in India more than anywhere else, the diversity is second to none including Africa.

Since we are talking about the tiger's steely stare. This is one I had shot at the Hyderabad zoo, when I acquired my new zoom lens and was testing its reach, The cold stare right into the camera was all I needed, to date it is one of my best tiger portrait.

[columbus]

Fazal

Beautifull images... and the zoo shot is simply a Wallhanger..

The 400mm lens ..is it the 400f5.6 L or is it the 100-400 L..?

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by columbus

Fazal
Beautifull images... and the zoo shot is simply a Wallhanger..
The 400mm lens ..is it the 400f5.6 L or is it the 100-400 L..?

Columbus,
Thank you.
It is not a prime lens, it is a zoom lens, EF 100-400mm e 1:4.5-5.6 L IS USM

[ampere]

Great snaps. Just saw them now. Very clear, vivid and candid shots of the cats in the wild and that of the flora & fauna!
Great going.

[DKG]

Fazal

Here are three pictures of the gaze i am talking about, lucky to find these off the internet

This was the look I got from the white tiger I came close to in its cage and I can never forget the effect of that look. Its mesmerising, just so powerful and electric. Freezes you. Its a manic look. Those eyes simply drill into you.

Enjoy

[fazalaliadil]

Deepak,
Do you know that when tigers go underwater they shut they nostrils, by grimacing their face which results in a extremely fierce expression.




Also notice the 2 1/2 inch canines, and visualize what they can do.



With me I have a similar photograph of the tiger in water snarling at Tadoba, photographed by a friend of Mr. Max Ali, I need his permission before posting it.

[maddy42]

Well as tiger talk is on just had a true story which is from my pov and not one of those folklores.

My uncle has a piggery with a 4 feet high wall. He was getting married in a month and had a pig weighing something close to 120 kgs in it. Close to a month before the marriage a tiger entered the enclosure and picked this pig up an dragged it across the 4 feet wall and crossed 2 barbed wire fences and ate like few kilos of meat from near the head around 2 kms away in a estate.

There was no noise which was heard when all this happened and uncle had to follow the blood trail to find the animal.

This was when i was amazed by this beautiful animal and the pictures marvels me.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Deepak,
Do you know that when tigers go underwater they shut they nostrils, by grimacing their face which results in a extremely fierce expression.

Amazing pictures. The animal clearly loves water. I remember the second tiger we saw in Corbett came down at dusk to the Ramganga only to lie in water to cool himself. With the setting sun reflecting off his golden coat that sight was divine. He seemed on fire.

Fazal we really need to mobilise support for a citizen effort in saving the Tigers at Srisailam. The geography of the reserve at Srisailam is such that very large tracts of forest can remain cordoned off from human intervention. Especially the areas abutting the river. We really need to lobby to creating zones within the forest where a serious closely monitored effort at tiger sustenance takes place.

One area I have in mind is around a village called Palutla, there's an ancient temple called Palanka there. Gundla Brahmeshwaram too is another zone. The area behind Malleelathirtham is also another zone. So atleast three large zones of several hundred square kms can be easily declared high priority tiger habitat zones.

The fringe areas and buffer zones can be developed into wildlife national parks where eco tourismm projects can thrive providing livelihood to the many resident tribals

We need to act now !!

[highwaylover]

fazal saab, a small query from a novice in terms of experience but sharing the same passion for tigers as you guys.

What is the most pessimistic estimate for number of tigers in Srisailam reserve? one of my friends said, there are some chenchus who can take us in to the forest and camp at one of the water holes in the night, and if we are lucky we can spot a tiger. Even if we can't spot one we can definitely see a lot of animals that come there for water. How safe is this?

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by DKG

We need to act now !!

I am 100% at your disposal. ANy news about today's meet?

[DKG]

Will call you soon Fazal

Originally Posted by maddy42

There was no noise which was heard when all this happened

This reminds me of a tale my friend told me when they were at their village in Khammam. Apparently there was a dog in the house which slept under their beds. The house had a compound wall about 5-6 feet. He recalls vaguely hearing a short yelp, not too loud, in the night but made nothing of it. In the morning they discovered blood stains from under their bed, across the yard, over the wall diassapearing into the wilderness. They lost their dog to a leopard.

Given the ultra lithe and compact body of the leopard it has to be the king of stealth.

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by maddy42

Well as tiger talk is on just had a true story which is from my pov and not one of those folklores.
This was when i was amazed by this beautiful animal and the pictures marvels me.

Maddy,
I come from a family of very well renowned Shikari's of Hyderabad, who later turned to conservationist.

What I am narrating is a true story:

300 kilometers from Hyderabad in Adilabad. It was summer of 1957, a stream had dried up near a local village. Buffaloes were there drinking up the last remnants of water, one buffalo went a bit deeper and got stuck in the slush and her struggle took her further deeper.

As dusk was an hour away all help was mobilized and villagers gathered and about 12 men tried their best to pull out the stuck buffalo with ropes, but the vacuum created under her was like she was stuck by glue.

All attempts made and failed, they abandoned it. My father and uncle were there too with their hunting rifles, they had anticipated a tiger to come attracted by the buffalo's loud bellowing.

Just a few moments before total dusk, one huge male did arrive, assessed the situation from the fringe of the dried up stream which was about 12 feet wide... after a bit of prancing it leapt on the stuck buffalo in the middle part of the dried up stream, lodged its teeth and nails into it and used his own weight to pull the buffalo out and within seconds he propelled himself and the buffalo and was on the other side with the buffalo hanging below him.

My father and uncle were to engrossed and shocked to see this feat and later realized they did not even remember that they were carrying loaded and cocked rifles.

There is nothing that can match the combined strength, intelligence and beauty of the Royal Bengal Tiger.

[COUGAR]

i remember reading stories and seeing paintings showing tigers carrying buffalo kills for miles by carrying them thrown across their backs. Kenneth Anderson in particular writes about this in detail.

Personally i have seen an approx 4 year old tiger struggling to drag the rotting remains of a bison at Khatoda. I guess experience of the animal also matters.