Searching for Tigers - Part One - Bandhavgarh

On the way to our first safari

Searching for tigers in the wild is tough business. A tigers stripes and color patterns make it one of the most perfectly camouflaged animals on the planet. Have you ever visited a tiger cage at a zoo and had a hard time spotting the tiger right away, even if you were standing still for a minute? A tiger can blend in so well with its surroundings, even in a zoo enclosure, that spotting them can be really hard. Searching for wild tigers here in India is kinda like that, except the tiger can be anywhere through a dense jungle and you’re sitting on the back of a jeep going 10 to 20 kilometers an hour.

So very hectic waiting to get into the park

We started our quest for tigers at the Bandhavgarh National Park in the Indian state of Manesh Pradesh. Bandhavgarh park is said to have the highest population density of wild tigers in the world and therefore the best place in the world to spot them. The main area of the park is 106 square kilometers and per park rangers (and some fact checking) is said to contain 23 tigers. This is approximately one tiger per every 5 square kilometers, really-really good numbers.

Sunset from the back of our jeep

Our first of three jeep safaris picked us up at our resort at 2:30pm on a Monday afternoon. The jeeps hold up to six guests and have spots for a driver and guide. From the resort you drive to the park entrance, fill out some paperwork, pick up an official ranger/guide, and you’re on your way. This process can take up to an hour so as with anything in India, bring your patience. After the formalities are done you’re on your way through the park with eyes wide open hoping to spot the elusive tiger. While searching for the tiger you’ll come along all sorts of deer, monkeys, wild boar and birds. It’s nice to stop and take a couple photos of the deer but in the end you’re here for tigers so you don’t stop for long.

One of the many Spotted Deer you'll see in the park.

One of the many Langur Monkeys, Two of our jeepmates got urinated on by one of these from a tree.

Next thing you know you’re whizzing along in the jeep and the guide will suddenly tell the driver to stop. It’s a tiger track, and a fresh one at that! We sit for several minutes and listen to the langur monkeys shout their alarm calls (meaning a tiger is moving nearby) and we wait. Our pulse is on the rise, maybe the hair on the back of your neck is standing-up and we’re so excited because we think we’re about to see one of the most endangered big cats on the planet. Five minutes of excitement turn into 10 minutes of disappointment when your guide tells the driver to continue on. The monkeys have stopped alarming and the tiger is gone.

Hoping to see tigers.

We left the official park disappointed after our first jeep safari, all feeling a bit down from not spotting a tiger. As we’re driving down the main road towards the town we see a large commotion ahead. Many jeeps are parked along the road and staring at something in the trees to the left. Our driver slams on the gas and races up to the commotion, nearly colliding with other jeeps to get the best vantage point. We look to our left and there he is, the elusive Bengal Tiger!! We found one and are so very excited, the whole reason we’ve come to India is to spot the tiger and we’ve done it!! Unfortunately the tiger, a big male, is so well camouflaged that we can just make out his head and body behind some bushes and trees at a distance of 25 meters. Still our cameras are snapping, people are yelling, jeeps are posturing for position, and more and more people are coming to watch. Even the locals driving by stop to have a look. After about 5 minutes the tiger decided he had enough of the commotion, got up (boy he was massive) and walked back into the thicker jungle. He was gone in second, the elusive Bengal Tiger!! Unfortunately the visibility was too poor for any of the photos to come out but we did manage to get the tiger on video which we’ll be able to publish in time for part two of this article.

We took two more jeep safaris at the Bandhavgarh park, one early AM safari, leaving the hotel at 5:30am and one more afternoon safari. Unfortunately neither of the safaris turned out a tiger sighting, we got close to a couple of tigers but never laid eyes on them. The lack of a sighting on these safaris was a bit disappointing, I even tried the old rally cap method but even that didn’t work. We were fortunate enough to see one wild tiger while at the park and that’s more than most people will ever see in their lives.

This is the sign you see as you're leaving the park. Very fitting.

Getting to Bandhavgarh
It’s not easy, not easy at all. From Delhi we boarded an overnight train to the city of Katni. The train left Delhi at 3:30pm and arrived in Katni 14 hours later at 5:30am. Overnight on the train we slept in 3^rd class A/C cabins on three tier bunks, Pamela in the middle bunk and me (DW) on the top bunk. If doing it again we would definately pay for a more expensive train ticket and go at least 2^nd class. We didn’t feel all that safe in our carriage and had to sleep on our backpacks to ensure their safety. From Katni we took a jeep for three hours, some over a very very bumpy road, to the park area. Our older model 4WD car’s suspension didn’t make the bumps any easier either!

While in Bandhavgarh we stayed at Mogli’s Jungle Resort. The resort was really nice, staff very friendly, cabins were cozy, food was really good, but there was no hot water. The second night we used an electric water heater and basically showered using the bucket method. I poured warm water over Pamela while she washed and vice versa, it was pretty funny. We found out later that the hot water wasn’t working because the resort had just opened for the season and the boiler was in need of repair. In any case we’d recommend the resort for anyone coming to the Bandhavgarh area.

Wrapping this long article up…It was a bit disappointing that we only saw one tiger in Bandhavgarh but then we could have just as easily seen no tigers so in the end we are very grateful for the experience. Stay tuned for part two of this article where we travel to Ranthambore National Park in the hopes of spotting even more tigers.

Cheers for Now -

Pamela and Dave