[Coooolcat21]

@Gd Sir,
Thank you. I have followed all your logs and remember seeing Munna. He now walks all the three ranges Kanha,Kisli and Sarhi.
Regards
@Sach,nanduchitnis sir,
thank you

@Fazal
Thank you for all your comments and shall keep your advice in mind.
Regarding the the picture of the misty woods,I have deliberatly taken in the parapet, its like a sit out in front of the jungle huts.
Lots more coming,keep reading.
Regards

@nilanjanray
Thank you so much. kanha log huts are very close to my heart. Since all the many years I have been visiting kanha,this is the only place I have stayed, and there can be no better location than this.
I have visited Kanha only once in the summers hoping for good sighting, but then this was the only visit that i missd the tiger.
Since then have always visited the jungles only in the month of Dec and Jan and always had sightings of the tiger so far.
regards.

After the elephant ride we drove to kanha for a some breakfast. The place was quite empty so there was no rush for the samosas and tea.
The clouds still did not give way for the sun to shine.
We started our drive again and on the way met the mahout who told us Munna was on the move.
Our Gypsy driver Salim is an highly experienced person so he took us straight to the road where he hoped the tiger would cross , and we were there just in time. The pictures will now tell you all what followed.





The park was fairly empty today with only 50gypsys. So we got lucky to be in front of the tiger with just another gypsy with us.
And the rest to follow the tiger





The First roar



The second roar































He did not like the call of the deers and the peacocks.



So he decided to sit for a while.
The skies roared now,and we prayed it should not rain now for a while.









Was time for him to start walking again for us.











I have completed the 30mark of uploading pictures in one post.
Lots more shall follow soon.

[DKG]

Beautiful pictures of the tiger. In one frame where some part of the Jeep is visible he almost seems like a few feet away. How close did he come to you? Unless the zoom is distorting the distance perception

[sach.sri]

wow - what pictures of the tiger. very very nice! My personal favourite -

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attach...al-park-43.jpg

How the hell do you guys manage to get such nice closeups! what is the lens that you are using? I am totally J!

On serious note - keep them coming

[Gadgetfreak]

Attachment 892624

Hi,

I have just been to two Tiger reserves till date (Corbet & Tadoba) and was able to just get a glimpse of a Tigress who had given birth to 4 cubs around our visit time in Tadoba. But my question is, In the above pic a person can be seen walking near the gypsy and as far as I know, is it not againt the protocol. When in jungle one should not get down from the vehicle, I remeber the incident in tadoba where we were waiting for the tigress with cubs to emerge out and at the same time my friend had climbed the roof of Sumo( We could not manage Gypsy due to some strike by gypsy drivers against RTO raids.) and we were forced to leave that place and there was a complaint lodged against the driver and us when we were leaving the gate of reserve.

[fazalaliadil]

Coooolcat,

Munna kept on walking, walking and walking into your lens the whole day ?

God ! maybe you shot a hundred plus frames of this majestic, beautiful male. Very nice low angle shots of his stride, frontal and the authoritative seated pose (before the yawn) on the road .

Waiting for more of the forest.
Regards,

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

Coooolcat,

Munna kept on walking, walking and walking into your lens the whole day ?

Well said Fazal bhai!!! Munna seems to love Cooolcat!!! All in the family!!

Amazing pictures of big cat. How lucky you all are. We also saw tiger in Kanha - again on elephant - last year. That was with a kill and very lazy!!

[gd1418]

Awesome, awesomer & awesomest.

Picture #:11 - the little bit I know about Tigers, Munna was on a hunt. Look at the protruding claws.

The purposeful walk, the stare, the stance and the sit down to re-assure the jungle residents, all points to a hunt.

The shrunken stomach indicates he hadn't eaten for the last 2 days.

You know Sachin, some of us have a divine connect with the Tigers. We just need to go into the forest, whistle softly. Then the Cat emerges and obeys all commands like walk, sit, yawn, roar, roll etc.

Originally Posted by sach.sri

How the hell do you guys manage to get such nice closeups!

AFAIK Sachin, Coooolcat uses a 100~400L

Originally Posted by sach.sri

How the hell do you guys manage to get such nice closeups! what is the lens that you are using?

You don't have to. You too now own one.

Originally Posted by sach.sri

I am totally J!

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by Fauji

Well said Fazal bhai!!! Munna seems to love Cooolcat!!! All in the family!!

Fauji,

That makes two Coooolcats, right?
Wish that was my handle...sigh * (Gets great results).

Originally Posted by gd1418

Picture #:11 - the little bit I know about Tigers, Munna was on a hunt. Look at the protruding claws.

We just need to go into the forest, whistle softly.

AFAIK Sachin, Coooolcat uses a 100~400L

GD Sahab,

Coooolcat uses a 100-400 C A N O N

Munna was definitely on the prowl !
The upward head tilt with nose sniffing and side ways glances are the very first indicators.

But retractable claws protruding when not required? Kindly elaborate, enlighten.

Zara mujhe bhi kuch whistling techniques sikhao Janab...Kutte (dogs) bhi opposite oar dekhte mere whistle par.
Regards,

[manmohanmaan]

Hey All!! let me butt into this smooth flowing narration and adulation of wildlife that this log seems to have become. If you are arching your eyebrows and wondering ' now who is this?' I am at the last count 1/4 of the travelling group that participated in this action filled holiday in the jungles of Pench and Kanha. You know cooolcat the narrator, have seen my nephew pictured in most logs, my brother-in-law's of the strong and silent type so i guess you may never hear from him, i am the fourth partner.
So now that your brows are no more arched and you are nodding in understanding let me get down to thanking you all.
I am personally amazed at the passionate scrutiny that goes into each post and picture, Fazal Ali, GD, DKG, Fauji, Sach Sri, Gadget Freak and everyone else Thank you cos some of the snaps put up here are mine so Thank You.
As Fazal Ji and GD Ji have pointed out the lens is a 100-400 Canon. In some of the bird snaps in Pench I did also use a 2X Extender, not very successfully as auto-focus was disabled and its more difficult than you can imagine to perfectly focus on a small bird in a far off tree with the lens fully extended and a gypsy full of frisky 5 year olds..
In the first few snaps of the Tiger walking on grass, Munna was first sighted by us coming down the hills on to the Meadows of Cellar Heights along the fire-line, correctly guessed at by our favourite driver/guide Mr.Salim, as the point where he would come out of the jungle he is always wonderfully good at this and has never let us down over the years. The weather was overcast and dull. The Tiger walked between the waiting Gypsies, across the path and onto the Meadows.
We caught him again cutting across the path on the other side of Cellar Heights where last year we had sighted the four Tiger Cubs (Munna's progeny) and had seen Munna lounging on a rock deep in the shadows barely visible only through binoculars. This was again only because we had him pointed out to us never imagining that we would meet him from so close in just under a year's time.
Munna decided to walk along the path, We had him with us for a total of about 40 Mins.
I would now like to relate an extraordinary incidence that took place at that time.
We were three Gypsies lucky enough to be in front of him, there were about 5-6 following him. At no time did we get closer than, what I would guess, 10-12 Mts. The following Gypsies maintained about the same distance. That was until a forest department jeep plonked itself in front of the tourist gypsies, cutting off the line of vision of the following gypsies frustrating them no end. As the Department has godly powers over the drivers and guides i would guess that if he wanted to maintain a greater distance between the animal and the tourist vehicles all he need have done was say so, I have seen over the years that all follow departmental instructions without any argument as the punishment is to simply ban the driver/guide for a period of time from the park in case of disobedience.
But at that time no instructions of any kind were given and from past experience I can say we were no nearer than we have been on many occasions to wild animals.
From what I could tell the Departmental jeep visually blocking had agitated the following gypsies as none could have a clear visual of this magnificent show being out up by Munna, there was lot of juxtaposing going on to see around the departmental jeep.
And so the caravan rolled on, happy tourists in front with a lot of teeth gnashing and hair pulling going on behind Munna.
This can be seen in one of the pictures above, one of the officials even got out casually from the jeep to get a better look.
After about 15 mins the Officer shouted at us to increase the gap between us an the animal, which we did at just about the time Munna sat down, the gypsies behind too stay put at this point the gap on both sides of the animal was about 200-300 Mts.
Munna got up again and after a false start towards the meadows stayed back on the path, once again we moved on as the animal neared and once again maintained a decent gap of more that 20-25 Mts.
DKG the picture you are referring to is of Munna caught on a fully extended lens. The hazy foreground is of some-ones arm from our Gypsy.
As time was running out we had to say our good-byes to Munna and leave the Park. However we were soon overtaken by the Department Jeep and flagged down.
The Officer had a shocking conversation with our driver and guide. It appeared that two british journalists/writers who were in one of the gypsies following Munna had threatened to report to the Chief Ranger that our Gypsies that were in front of Munna had got too close to the Tiger. They had additionally stated that either the Forest Officer formally lodged a complaint against our gypsy and one another gypsy, or they would do the same and at the same time make the Officer culpable in this matter.
The Officer himself appeared to be caught in this situation and helpless.
We were shocked. We love the wild and its inhabitants, we would never ever allow our vehicle to in any manner to break the simple rules in a national park, for that matter I am sure nor would our Driver and Guide.
The authority of these people it would seem arose from the following facts.
They were foreign.
They were from the press.
They were in the park for professional reasons.
They had booked 70 safaris in bulk for the season.
I personally think they were just pissed that Munna intersected the path between our gypsy and theirs thus effectively putting us in front of him and allowing them only the sight of his swinging behind. And only 69 Safaris to go!!!
The net result our Driver got banned for a month the Guide for a week and was fined Rs. 500.
Despite all our offers to go talk to the officials we were dissuaded by all as it was felt our intervention might worsen the situation.
It was a sweet day that ended with frustration.
Finally, yes Munna was out hunting as you have all perceived so clearly.
Manmohan.

[joe1980]

Awesome pictures. Looks as if Munna had come to your Photo Studio and took some cool looking pictures. How did you get those shots? I loved your pictures.

[gd1418]

I missed reaqding this earlier. Does this mean that he has finally overthrown Nakkataa or Nakkata is no more...

And I hope by the range Kanha you meant Mukki. Nakkata used to roam in Mukki.

Originally Posted by Coooolcat21

@Gd Sir,

Thank you. I have followed all your logs and remember seeing Munna. He now walks all the three ranges Kanha,Kisli and Sarhi.

Sir, I did mention 100~400L and this comes only in Canon. Highlighting this "pointedly" would re-ignite the 'mera waala pink' debate... Lol

Sir if you watch quite closely the picture that I mentioned, the claws are just out only that much and appears to have recently been sharpened. This is so to just get them out fully at the time of final assault in a snap. Big cats always do so just before the commencement of a hunt. When not required, the claws are fully retracted inside the sheath.

Aur Saar, lagta hai college mein whistle nahi maara. Dekhiye yeh zara gender maamla hai. Aapne ek baar mere post par kaha tha - Alpha male aas-paas ho to tigress khud-ba-khud aayegi. Jaise Collarwaali, Badi Maa, Umarpaani Tigress aur ST 2.

Coooolcat ke whistle par Tiger hi to bahar aayega aur jab main seeti bajata hoon to Tigress. Ab aap (kutte) same gender ko seeti bajayenge to....

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

GD Sahab,

Coooolcat uses a 100-400 C A N O N

Munna was definitely on the prowl !

The upward head tilt with nose sniffing and side ways glances are the very first indicators.

But retractable claws protruding when not required? Kindly elaborate, enlighten.

Zara mujhe bhi kuch whistling techniques sikhao Janab...Kutte (dogs) bhi opposite oar dekhte mere whistle par.
Regards,

Thank you Manmohan for the kind words.

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

I am personally amazed at the passionate scrutiny that goes into each post and picture, Fazal Ali, GD, DKG, Fauji, Sach Sri, Gadget Freak and everyone else.

As Fazal Ji and GD Ji have pointed out the lens is a 100-400 Canon.

When will we ever come out of this slave mentality? Why do we go overboard when we see a white skin?

A similar incident happened in Ranthambhore when some band player called Russell Brand and hotel singer Perry thought of getting married in India and visit Ranthambhore afterwards. Their bodyguards got down from the gypsy in the middle of the forest & assaulted other tourists for following them, threatened with fire-arms (how the hell it was allowed in the first place?). This was widely reported in the press and that's all. No action was taken. I wish I was the FD of Ranthambhore. Would've put them in a cage and plonked them in the middle of the forest for a whole night.

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

However we were soon overtaken by the Department Jeep and flagged down. The Officer had a shocking conversation with our driver and guide. It appeared that two british journalists/writers who were in one of the gypsies following Munna had threatened to report to the Chief Ranger that our Gypsies that were in front of Munna had got too close to the Tiger.

They were foreign. They were from the press. They were in the park for professional reasons. They had booked 70 safaris in bulk for the season.

The net result our Driver got banned for a month the Guide for a week and was fined Rs. 500. Despite all our offers to go talk to the officials we were dissuaded by all as it was felt our intervention might worsen the situation.

My surmise seeing the circumstancial evidence was correct then...

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

Finally, yes Munna was out hunting as you have all perceived so clearly.
Manmohan.

Fazalbhai, even gd1418 gets some good results. I'm willing to trade this handle with you for a certain recently restored 4x4 wheels standing in your stable.

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

That makes two Coooolcats, right?
Wish that was my handle...sigh * (Gets great results).

[DKG]

While I am a strong votary of ecotourism enabling citizens access to forests and wildlife viewing I do feel that in the MP parks this whole business of tiger viewing is reaching dangerous levels. While its heartening to know that we are not on the animal's priority food chain list we seem to be pushing our luck a bit too much. And as people's livelihood depends on getting their tourists to view tigers up close we are waiting for a disaster to happen, with visitors venturing way too close. One of the problems with this whole business of tiger safaris is that the animal seems to have gotten completely comfortable with human presence. This is worrying as it will venture closer to villages when it grows older and cannot hunt effectively. Right now you have a tiger holed up in a campus close to Lucknow and people desperately trying to tranquilise it (kill it possibly).

Any activity that eventually endangers the preservation of wildlife must be scrutinised and managed carefully. I have seen tigers in the wild but am not interested in chasing more and getting into their face. I want these tigers to have their home, I love it when animals remain elusive with a natural fear of humans. The forest environment has a different charm when humans don't interfere with their sustained presence.

I now strongly feel that core areas should be shut off for tourism except for research and study. This kind of tourism should be allowed on a limited scale only in buffer zones. The tragic aspect to this perspective is any shutting off of areas simply opens the door for active poaching as corrupt forest officials exploit the jungle for personal gain.

A tiger in the wild should remain a tiger in the wild. Not be turned into a tiger in a safari park.

I don't mean to offend anyone with this view, just that I find this excessive exposure of the animal to humans really disturbing.

[fazalaliadil]

Manmohan,

Now it is confirmed that the narration skills you and Coooolcat possess are of the genetic order !

Yes Sir, that is the way our forest officials are and will be. Atleast the officers there deserve an applaud for the successful forest and wild life management/ conservation. Here in A.P., it is a very sad story as forest cover is being lost by the day, forest lands encroached, teak, red sander being cut indiscriminately, poaching rampant,,oh I can go on.

When the forest cover is lost where does the prey base go? What will sustain the Tiger? Habitat loss starts a chain reaction of possible extinction of one or all species.

It is sad story here indeed but our officers are still "Lords of the Jungle".

Your techniques in photography have improved in leaps and bounds since the initial threads. One of the best males (Munna) in India has given you a great photo-op, his prime and size is all evident in "He did not like the call of the deers and the peacocks." see the head size, solid forearms and paws.

It is great to have you on the forum but we hope you are not taking over from Coooolcat as we all are so used to her presence. GD Sahab, your inputs on this please . Thanks for your kind appreciation and words.


GD Sahab, GD Sahab,

Why were we separated at birth???

That bold underline was intended to rub you on the wrong side and get the "mere wala pink reaction". Lol.

That's the problem...in school and college days too the opposite gender never responded at my desperate whistles though my mouth went dry, trying.

We are and will be white skin obsessed especially the govt. depts.

That's good learning for me re. the claws, thanks. I will try the seethi on the opposite gender. Learning never stops.

Regards,

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

I am personally amazed at the passionate scrutiny that goes into each post and picture, Fazal Ali, GD, DKG, Fauji, Sach Sri, Gadget Freak and everyone else Thank you cos some of the snaps put up here are mine so Thank You.

Thanks mate. It helps if wildlife photography and jungles in general are a passion! This is when one latches onto any and every wildlife threads and wistfully looks at the pictures.

Originally Posted by manmohanmaan

The Officer had a shocking conversation with our driver and guide. It appeared that two british journalists/writers who were in one of the gypsies following Munna had threatened to report to the Chief Ranger that our Gypsies that were in front of Munna had got too close to the Tiger.

The authority of these people it would seem arose from the following facts.
They were foreign.
They were from the press.
They were in the park for professional reasons.
They had booked 70 safaris in bulk for the season.

Manmohan.

I would rather give benfit of doubt to the deptt. In my opinion - the behaviour could very well have been prompted by the fact that they were from press, on professional business and booked 70 safaris in advance, rather than white skin.

I have myself made this mistake of assuming discrimination (elsewhere), to find out a perfectly normal explanation of the said behaviour.

Originally Posted by gd1418

Awesome, awesomer & awesomest.

You know Sachin, some of us have a divine connect with the Tigers. We just need to go into the forest, whistle softly. Then the Cat emerges and obeys all commands like walk, sit, yawn, roar, roll etc.

You too now own one.

bilkul sir, lagao aur namak lagao jale pe. aap kahin Narad muni ke rishtedaar to nahin?

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

[b]
GD Sahab,

Coooolcat uses a 100-400 C A N O N

. Love it fazal bhai!

Originally Posted by DKG

One of the problems with this whole business of tiger safaris is that the animal seems to have gotten completely comfortable with human presence. I now strongly feel that core areas should be shut off for tourism except for research and study. This kind of tourism should be allowed on a limited scale only in buffer zones. The tragic aspect to this perspective is any shutting off of areas simply opens the door for active poaching as corrupt forest officials exploit the jungle for personal gain.

A tiger in the wild should remain a tiger in the wild. Not be turned into a tiger in a safari park.

DKG - you have yourself hit the nail on the head. It is a proven fact that increased tourism provides better protection to the animals and is quite helpful in maintaining the species.
So i dont think it is necessarily a bad thing - only one should practice responsible tourism.

However, if you look at africa safaris, you will see that their rules are much more tolerant than ours and still life goes on normally.

[gd1418]

I totally agree. While the Bamera male of B'garh is big, Munna is huge. Almost resembles the late B 2 in size and sheer presence.

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

One of the best males (Munna) in India has given you a great photo-op, his prime and size is all evident in "He did not like the call of the deers and the peacocks." see the head size, solid forearms and paws.

I concur. We are very used to Coooolcat's prowl around here. You can certainly mark a different territory here for yourself Manmohan without encroaching..

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

It is great to have you on the forum but we hope you are not taking over from Coooolcat as we all are so used to her presence. GD Sahab, your inputs on this please.

I'm no expert Sir. Just learnt this from various guides & drivers on my travels. Sir, whistling at the opposite gender other than your 'bitter' half at this age shall invite wrath and brand you as a pervert. And while learning never stops, pitfalls are surely there.

Originally Posted by fazalaliadil

That's good learning for me re. the claws, thanks. I will try the seethi on the opposite gender. Learning never stops.

Will have to check the genealogy to see if any relation exists.

Originally Posted by sach.sri

bilkul sir, lagao aur namak lagao jale pe. aap kahin Narad muni ke rishtedaar to nahin?