[Coooolcat21]

Originally Posted by sarmarishi

Great stuff.. Looking forward to the other posts. That Tiger certainly doesnt look to happy

Also, very happy to see that you have put all other animals as well on the thread and not just concentrated on the Tiger. People need to see the other fauna as well to appreciate the wilderness.

Thank You,
Its the jungle that needs to be appreciated by one and all, as i think if the jungle if protects, then so shall all the animals be protected too.
If one were to go to the national parks more for the forests, than just for the tiger ,then for sure the trip would definitely become memorable.

[Coooolcat21]

It was now to start our run again.

We looked around in silence trying to see as deep into the bushes as possible. Realised that it was our fear that was playing mind games on us and creating illusions that were yet to come true.

The driver and the guide left us in the gypsy saying that they shl walk up a distance looking for the cell phone range and call for help.
What they did not realise was thier shifty eyes and body language was instilling fear in us by ever passing moment.

We reminded ourselves of the swelling tiger population in bandhavgarh which always made us extremely happy, but for now we hoped to go back without any tiger sighting.

After 15 long mins they came back,by then my son was singing to all the wildlife around. The guide said that we had to walk up to vultures point frm where they hope to find help as it was not safe to be in the gypsy on that trail.

They also said that it was just a small walk.
While on foot in dense jungle even a full grown sambha deer can seem dangerous.

We hesitantly got of the gypsy , hubby and bro took care of mom and dad while I carried my son and ran as fast as i cld. it was an incline and almosy half a km distance.

My head was all so clouded by the knowledge collect from the NG channel abt hunting skills. The cats zeroing down on the weakest , so that wld be my son the youngest or my old parents.
I remember it has been the longest half KM of my life...........

[sarmarishi]

Its getting more and more interesting like this one time in Nagarhole where our jeep broke the accelerator cable and we were in the middle of nowhere. To top it all ,we had just crossed an elephant a mere 500 metres back. Looking forward to the next update.

[Coooolcat21]

We finally reached "Vultures point " and saw that we were on a cliff . WOW what better, than being almost on the edge of a cliff from right out of the jungle. But for then we all were happy to sit down and catch a breath. Once we recovered from our run we looked around and it was mind blowing with lots of vultures around. And the view from the cliff is amazing.
We waited..............
During then i thought that what if a wild animal was to run towards us it was either the animal or the vulture..........
But i guess both of the species hv different taste buds.
Someone very dear to me often quoted " A vulture is a patient bird" I was always at a loss of finding the right situation the saying applied to.
Here i was and understood it all so well...........................

[mallumowgli]

Nice story telling ability. The part about the silence in the jungle was very good - not only can u listen to the stillness you can literally feel in in your skin. Great read and amazing experiences

[manmohanmaan]

Hey All ! I am the 'brother' accompanying this team of wildlife enthusiasts to Bandhavgarh.

@Sarmarishi:The silent fear in our hearts was more than is portrayed by the write-up in the above post, we were in the fort area and this is off the usual track of other vehicles. The season was dry and the wind high, the rustling of the leaves above and the bushes on the ground was an scenario that was fit for anything to could come out of the surrounding foliage and of course we had Tigers on our minds..

I had a similar experience in Madhumalai while driving on my bike at about 7.30 pm a few years back, between Thepakadu and Bandipur, it was dark and the rear wheel went flat, in controlling the heavily wobbling bike I shifted into lower gear while braking and the headlamp fused, it was absolutely dark, in a panic flipped the hi/lo beam switch and the other filament went out immediately. We came to a stop to the edge of the road about 20-30 Mts from there when the luggage (bag on the petrol tank, there were no back-packs then) went tumbling on to the road. Thinking what more could go wrong than a bike with a flat tyre and no lights, we turned the bike around as Thepakadu was closer than Bandipur, were catching our breath and discussing what could be done when there was a rustling all around us, clueless we peered towards the edge of the road where the jungle surrounded us.,. we had come to a halt bang in the middle of a Gaur heard !! They too had stood still shocked at the impudence of the two puny humans on their puny bike right in their midst. That day gentlemen was the fastest 0 to whatever KMPH i may have hit on that dark curvy road without lights and being strangulated at the same time by my pillion hanging on for dear life to the collar of my jacket. I think the lack of oxygen may have had something to do with that charge into the darkness.

Anyway that was some time back, Bandhavgarh is a different game altogether.

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

Actually I would hope all my fellow Bhpians are all ears to the story coming ahead.

Camera used is Canon 50D with 28-80mm and 100-400mm L sries lens.

Coooolcat21,
Yes, we all are eyes and ears to your unfolding travelogue.
Thanks for sharing, looking forward to more.
Regards,

[Coooolcat21]

Now lets get moving from vulture point.
After one hour another gypsy came and we all started our ride to the fort again with regained enthusiasm.
The fort is awesome , I wld suggest everyone who visits these jungles shld come and see the fort. We all were very tired by then. Wish we could have satyed longer.
We then started back and on the way back again saw many pug marks but no news frm the cat.
Now the eve safari had begun and we rushed and had a small bite and we started rushing back to the gate to come back into the jungle for an evening safari. But then the jungle was really quite this evening , we looked around still with a hangover of our adventure in the morning. So far
very few people had some sightings. After an eventfull day in its own way , we were tired and not dissappointed, as we had our share of adventure today
Posting the pics of the few animals we saw on our way back.
Seemed like they too understood our condition well..................

[abheekg]

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

Hello everyone,
I have been reading all the interesting travelogues here on Team Bhp since a while. The amazing travelogues on wildlife have inspired me to relive my experiences of having visited Kanha and Bandhavgarh for over a decade.
Visiting wildlife national parks have always topped my list of holidays.
I shall here try making my best efforts to walk you all with me, along the trails of "The Tigers Own Land"

As a child have been visiting Ooty almost every year from Bangalore. It is the closest and most beautiful hill station from Bangalore
Now why would I be mentioning a hill station in a travelogue I dedicate to wildlife.
Everyone who has been on the route of Bangalore to Ooty would have known by now.
I would always see huge heards of spotted deer right near the entrance of bandipur forests , and would insist on stopping there for long to watch them. Then be thoroughly thrilled to see wild elephants. I have even sighted a Bison by the road side once.
I think these childhood memories took me to the grand national parks of MP way back in 1996,it being my first visit to the Kanha National park.
Since then I have been visiting as often as possible and will always continue to .

Let me take you down memory lane starting with my Bandhavgarh trip in Feb 2010

Welcome to the forum coooolcat21.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

Thank you Sir,
The journey has just begun, hope you enjoy it.

Its a good strat. We will all hope to see lots of fantastic stuff from you.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

Actually I would hope all my fellow Bhpians are all ears to the story coming ahead.

Camera used is Canon 50D with 28-80mm and 100-400mm L sries lens.

A great kit you got there compiled.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

Thank You,
Its the jungle that needs to be appreciated by one and all, as i think if the jungle if protects, then so shall all the animals be protected too.
If one were to go to the national parks more for the forests, than just for the tiger ,then for sure the trip would definitely become memorable.

Thanks for saying that . As I always keep on telling everyone, there is more to the jungles than just the tigers.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

We finally reached "Vultures point " and saw that we were on a cliff . WOW what better, than being almost on the edge of a cliff from right out of the jungle. But for then we all were happy to sit down and catch a breath. Once we recovered from our run we looked around and it was mind blowing with lots of vultures around. And the view from the cliff is amazing.
We waited..............
During then i thought that what if a wild animal was to run towards us it was either the animal or the vulture..........
But i guess both of the species hv different taste buds.
Someone very dear to me often quoted " A vulture is a patient bird" I was always at a loss of finding the right situation the saying applied to.
Here i was and understood it all so well...........................

awesome vulture shots. I climbed the fort last month to get just these kind of shots but was not as lucky as you. As I see that you are from Nagpur, I qwill invite you to contribute some of these rare shots in the second edition of "Jungle Book: National level Wildlife photography competition and exhibition" that we will organise in May in Nagpur.
We must connect in Nagpur if we have not already.

I am rating this 5 stars for the fantastic vulture shots and great narration.

regards,
Dr. A Ghosh
09960332228

[Coooolcat21]

We finally arrived at the resort after our longest safari of 12 to 13 hours at a stretch.
Really tired and hungry we first stopped at the resturant for some hot tea and pakodas.
Then went to our rooms to freshen and sit back and go about the interesting experiences of the day. It felt real good letting our imagination wander more and think of the various things that could happen .
My son who was really tired was the first to claim his place for the night with an anticipation of more surprises for the next morning.

[mallumowgli]

@manmohanmaan : That was one hell of an experience

You brother sister duo have a knack of getting into trouble in forests eh?

Waiting for more

OT : Dr. Ghosh - you are leaving quite a few threads hanging, sir!!

[Coooolcat21]

@ Fazal Ali Sir,
Thank you so much.
@Dr.Abheek Gosh
Thank you so much. I ll be happy to give you the pictures.
Have been following your logs , I am sure they are great contribution towards awareness of wildlife which required.
I was in Nagpur when i became a member of Team BHP, Thanks for pointing out, I am placed in Bangalore and often travel to nagpur .I have made the changes in my profile.
I am really pleased that you would rate my travelogue with 5 stars . Thanks again.

Regards,

Originally Posted by mallumowgli

@manmohanmaan : That was one hell of an experience

You brother sister duo have a knack of getting into trouble in forests eh?

Waiting for more

OT : Dr. Ghosh - you are leaving quite a few threads hanging, sir!!

Hi,
Its the "trouble" factor that makes ones trips extremely memorable.
{Trouble (well in control)}
More to come.

Regards,

[Coooolcat21]

Its early in the morning, extremely chilll.
One little nudge and my son is all awake and ready to go for our third safari. We all leave to the gates and wait in hope to see the cat today as we had already seen enough of the jungle in its various hues yesterday.
We had only 2 safaris of the day left as we were leaving the next day morning
Just had to sight the great stripes today. The gates opened and all rushed in. The feeling to enter the jungle in the morning is so thrilling as one is desperately waiting to see the pictures in his mind turn to reality.
And if it does not happen, soon the sunshine wakes u up from your dreams and makes you hope for reality............
By now i am sure all would have guessed that the sunshine woke us all up and we were back again sipping some hot tea and pakodas.
We started again and spotted some deers , peacocks in conference.....

[Coooolcat21]

We headed back to our resort bit heart broken..........
Finally got to see our resort in bright day light. The cottages are beautiful and a perfect place for families with children.
We had booked the cottages facing the nala as we were told that there was a tigress called "langadi" who has been often sighted there.
She had 2 cubs who were soon getting weak as the tigress was unable to hunt and provide food to the cubs.
The the tigress for two consecutive nights had killed cattle in the village, and the villagers wld then drive her away . The bottom line being the tigress was left hungry, the villagers angry at the loss of thier cattle which supports thier livelihood.
There begins the human -- animal conflict!!!!!!
Action needs to be taken immediately by the authorities to avoid such situation.
By not healing the tigress , the ultimate loss wld be of 3 tigers in total ( tigress and her two cubs)
The condition is pitable for both the villagers and the tigers.
I dont know what happened to them.....hope they made it to health and happiness..
Being next to the nala did not help , she did not visit us....

[Coooolcat21]

After a hearty lunch we looked forward to seeing the tiger in this safari as we were leaving back to Nagpur the next morning.
So we put our best foot forward and started out into the jungle.