Tadoba and surely a Tiger ?
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Monday 2 February - a five hour drive from Agra to Delhi and then we caught the two hour flight to Nagpur.
We stayed overnight in Nagpur and then the following morning travelled to Svasara Lodge near Tadoba.
Tuesday 3 February Finally it was hot ! Officially 28 degrees but we felt it was less, probably because we were defrosting form the north. We checked in had lunch and then familiarised ourselves with the reserve rules.
First off no mobile phones allowed inside the reserve. This applied not only to us but also the drivers and guides who had to put their own mobiles in a locked box. The driver was then given a mobile phone by the reserve staff which was only to be used in emergencies and could be tracked by the reserve to ensure they didn't exceed the 20km speed limit and were never stationary for more than 15 minutes. Finally we had to be out and back through the gate by 6pm.
I managed an hour round the lodge grounds before heading off on the drive and the first bird I saw was Tickell's Blue Flycatcher.
Greenish Warbler, Purple Sunbird, Common Fantail and Common Taylorbird were also seen before it was time to head to the jeeps and to experience our first game drive. We met our guide for our time here, Anushka.
Game Drive No 1 in the Buffer Zone: and we were off......
Our first drive was in the Buffer Zone of the park and one of our first birds here was Green Bee-eater.
Alongside the tracks we saw small numbers of India's biggest deer the sambar. Given they are predated by wild dogs, leopards and tigers they looked remarkably calm which possibly meant there were none of these predators in the vicinity.
We drove to a small pond where a tiger had been seen the day before and waited our allocated 15 minutes. No Tiger but this Asian Paradise Flycatcher soon became Sam's favourite bird of the trip.
Other birds included Black-naped Monarch, Rufous Treepie, Black-headed Oriole, White-naped Woodpecker and White-eyed Buzzard.
A pair of Grey Mongooses were playing close to the track and one decided to cross in front of the jeep.
We were several hours in, when our guide quickly stopped the Jeep as he thought he'd heard a deer barking, an alarm call which is often the sign of a nearby Tiger. We waited a while but to no avail.
A Crested Serpent Eagle sat quietly in a tree over hanging the road.
There were numerous groups of Chital or Spotted Deer which all looked very relaxed. Great for them of course but I was itching to see them suddenly prick up their ears and start running off! We left the park bang on 6pm having had a very satisfying first afternoon. A Tiger had been seen that morning but with some eight game drives to go I was confident we'd soon be seeing the magnificant Bengal Tiger. I mean with a further seven game drives to go it was surely on the cards.............
Wednesday 4 February Game Drive No 2 Core Zone am
Day 2 and we started in the dark after coffee and biscuits. It was a cold start but we took advantage of the Jeep blankets, although that still didn't stop Tom from pinching my coat so was then looking quite comfortable. Lots of Chital as previously seen and a few stops later the guide heard a deer barking.
Bird sightings so far included Red-nappped and Black-naped Ibis, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Alexandrine Parakeet, Indian Roller and many more.
Time was pressing and our curfew had almost begun so reluctantly we meadered back to the exit.
Game Drive No 3 Core Zone pm
Tom's big announcment this morning was that this would be the drive where we would see a tiger. It was a good day for other mammals with Ruddy Mongoose added to our list and as we drove one of the tracks I saw a black lump in the undergrowth. Sloth Bear! I shouted and the Jeep rapidly reversed and then I could just make out the shape of a Sloth Bear. It was hard to see but unmistakeable.
Our final mammal of the day was Wild Boar. NO TIGER! still!
There had been no sightings across the whole reserve of tiger during the day. Three drives in and had more to go but I was beginning to feel some unease.
Next up surely a tiger sighting and a near disasterous toilet break............
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