I would be remiss without introducing our best friend in India, that being Nature Safari India and its founder Sharad Vats. We were referred to them by friends who travel to Botswana with us; they used Sharad’s firm five years ago and were very pleased with their trip. The firm has been in the business of arranging safaris to 23 different national parks and some 20 birding areas in India. A primary focus of course is the introduction or international travelers and wildlife buffs to the amazing Bengal Tiger.

Sharad and his team arrange these trips with the help of a sizeable staff in Delhi. They are responsible for ensuring every detail of the trip is as close to perfect as possible. In our case the trip was monitored and managed by Abhishek Kumar. This staff is well complemented with a team of experienced onsite naturalists located at Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench and Corbett National parks and tiger reserves. Our experience with four of these individuals was outstanding!

We also had excellent guides in Agra and in Jaipur, both supplied by Nature Safari India. In addition the park guides at the leopard reserve were well qualified, and those assigned at the tiger parks to accompany us were generally helpful to our naturalists.

More detail on Sharad’s organization can be found at http://www.naturesafariindia.com. Please take some time to read through a well laid out and informative web site.

The images below include these naturalists in action, along with a few of our travel group.

As we have said, Kanha was one of the original nine designated tiger reserves because of its rich population of tigers and being one of the prime habitats for them. The park also has distinguished itself in saving the highly endangered ground Barasingha from extinction; for close to five decades it had the last worldwide population of this deer species. In recent years the barasingha (swamp deer) has been introduced in several other national parks.

The park is also home to many other species including deer (chital or spotted deer, barasingha, sambar and blackbuck), wild boar, sloth bears, langur monkeys, leopards, gaur, wild dogs and a wide variety of bird life. We were fortunate to see most of these including a few tigers. Some images follow.

Tigers

Deer

Jackals

Langaur Monkeys

Birds

Also known as Kanha Tiger Reserve, this park is a nature’s paradise, and for the longest time has been a prime forest area for nature lovers. conservationists, tourists and anyone else enthusiastic about nature and tigers. Located in Madhya Pradesh, the park is internationally renowned for its central Indian floral and faunal attributes.

The lush green forests are composed mainly of sal trees and other mixed forest trees. Kanha is one of the oldest protected areas of India, being declared a reserve forest in 1879 and a national park in 1955. It was also among the first nine Tiger Reserves of India when project Tiger started.

The reserve has an area of 2074 sq km and is comprised of two divisions, namely the national park of 940 sq km of the critical tiger habitat, or core area, and the buffer zone of 1135 sq km.

As a group we were enthralled with the park and thoroughly enjoyed just driving around the forests and grasslands for hours at a time. Most of the drive we were all snapping iPhone pictures of the scenery. A couple of days we encountered a fairly heavy mist, which made the forests even more enchanting. So let me show you a few images of the park’s environment.

This year has been quite a good year for wildflowers, since the rains of last fall have enhanced the germination of these beautiful things. Texas is famous for the bluebonnet.. The species were named the state flower of Texas in 1901. The name comes from the petal shape, which resembles the sunbonnets worn by pioneer women in the 1800’s. The genus is Lupinus, and includes the bluebonnet and the lupine.

The highways along many parts of Texas are lined with bluebonnets and other species of wildflowers thanks to a seeding program encouraged by Lady Bird Johnson after she left the White House. The collection includes the bluebonnet, Indian paintbrush, Indian blanket (gaillardia), verbena, primrose, sunflowers, winecup, prickly poppy and many others. Here is a number of images taken this spring around the Texas Hill Country within an hour or two of our residence.

And a collection of images showing extent of the coverage.

The wildlife of Bandhavgarh National Park is thruly the most glittering part of the whole forest. The park is known for the various species, and best known for the preservation of the astonishing tiger species. It is home to one of the largest populations of Bengal Tigers in the world, including the elusive white tiger.

There are three core zones in the park named Tala, Khitauli and Magadhi. These zones are equally popular for tiger sightings. Bandhavgarh is also home to a wide variety of animals, including chinkaras, nilgais and bison. The wildlife collection also includes 250 species of birds and 80 species of butterflies in addition to 37 species of mammals. Nature lovers around the world adore exploring these densely forested areas every year.

Our sightings included the following.

Tigers

Deer Species

Gaur (Indian bison)

Grey Langur Monkeys

Wild Boar

Birds

The national park is named after the legendary Bandhavgarh Fort, which is situated on a hillock at the Vindhya range. Once the capital of the region, it eventually became a royal hunting reserve. Each of the maharajas set out to kill tigers, and story has it that Maharaja Singh had killed 111 tigers by 1914.

In 1968 a 105 sq km area was first designated as a national park. Poaching was controlled and small dams built to provide refuge and relief for the animals.The park was enlarged to 448 sq km in 1982, and Bandhavgarh was included in 1993 as Project Tiger expanded.

The reserve varies in elevation, with 32 hills and the fort in the center. The terrain is broken, with rocky hill ranges, running roughly east-west, interspersed with grassy swamps and forested valleys. It now consists of a core area of 624 sq km and a buffer of 537 sq km. Tourists are restricted to 105 sq km divided into four zones. Vehicles are limited in each zone to 28 at a time. The density of tigers is quite high.

The foliage in the park is mostly of a deciduous type, and the area is quite rich in flora and fauna. The vegetation is specially filled with Sal forest in the valleys and bamboo stretches on the lower slopes. The forest also beholds the mixed species and high grasslands. Some perennial streams and rivulets flow at different crisscrossed zones of the park, creating scenic vistas.

There is a legend – p[partially true – of Lapsi Shikari, who volunteered to help kill a ferocious tiger terrorizing the local people. The tiger was killing their cattle and eventually attacking people. Lapsi used several cattle as bait, unsuccessfully. Eventually his wife offered to help, and he tied her to a tree. The tiger attacked, Lapsi shot a rain of arrows at the beast, failing to kill the tiger which proceeded to then kill his wife. Enraged, Lapsi went after the tiger with a knife; a long and fierce battle took place. Eventually Lapsi succumbed. Monuments noting their burial place are an interesting sidelight to the touring.

India has done a great job over the past fifty years or so in establishing national reserves for wildlife, with a special focus on tigers. I think it is worthwhile for us to understand a little of the history so I am taking the liberty of copying sections of a release by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, July 23, 2023.

In 1973, the Government of India launched Project Tiger, an ambitious, holistic conservation project, aimed at safeguarding the nation’s tiger population and preserving biodiversity. Over the past fifty years, Project Tiger has achieved commendable success, making significant strides in tiger conservation. Initially covering nine tiger reserves spanning 18000 km2, the project has flourished into a remarkable accomplishment with 53 reserves spread across 75000 km2. India currently harbors 75% of the world’s wild tiger population.

Central India and the Shivalik Hills and Gangetic Plains witnessed a notable increase in tiger population, particularly in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uyyarakhand and Maharashtra. The largest population of 785 is in Madhya Pradesh, wich includes Bandhavgarh and Kanha reserves. Tiger population is highest in Corbett (260), followed by Bandipur (150), Nagahole (141), and Bandhavgarh (135). Kanha has 105, Pench 77. It is estimated that the total Indian tiger population in 2022 is 3167 tigers, up from 1411 in 2006. Estimates for the beginning of the 19th century were in the 40,000 range!

Various reserves have shown remarkable growth, while others face challenges. About 35% require enhanced protective measures, habitat restoration, ungulate augmentation and subsequent tiger reintroduction. Challenges like poaching are still a threat to tiger conservation.

Our tour included Bandhavgarh and Kanha, both in Madhya Pradesh. Kanha was one of the original nine reserves established in 1973. Both parks are large, beautiful, heavily forested in places, open plains in others. Entrance is well controlled, although the number of vehicles allowed is 28 per each park section. So a tiger sighting is a magnet for most of them even though the walky talky communications used in Africa are not allowed in India. But cell phones often work quite well!

In the next blog posts I will provide fairly extensive images of the reserves so you can appreciate the beauty and diversity of these nature parks. Then I will illustrate the diversity of wildlife at each reserve.

We were all fascinated with the scenes from our van as we traveled around the cities and countryside. India is highly populated, crowded in many places and bustling with all kinds of activities. The streets are full of cars and busses to be sure, but also motorbikes, bikes, tuk-tuks, people, cows, goats, dogs and whatever. Some images:

Spread in an area of 23 Sq.Km Jhalana is home to 30-35 leopards. Situated just outside Jaipur city, it opened in 2016. The leopard is the apex predator and has little competition. Once a forest reserve, Jhalana has always been home to leopards and other fauna including spotted deer, blue bulls, wild boars and loads of bird life. We spent two days touring Jhalana and an adjacent reserve Amagarh in search of the beautiful leopard, and succeeded in spotting several as well as an assortment of other fauna.

Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It has a population in excess of 3 million. Jaipur is also known as the Pink City due to the dominant color scheme of its buildings in the old city. It was founded in 1727 by Sawal Jai Singh. It is one of the earliest planned cities of modern India. Jaipur is a popular tourist destination in India. The city serves as a gateway to other popular destinations, and has two World Heritage sites of Amber Fort and Jantar Mantar. We visited Jaipur principally to partake in leopard safaris at parks near the city, but we did enjoy a full day of sightseeing.

Jantar Mantar

Located in the heart of Jaipur, Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observatory built by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh between 1728-1734.Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site , it is the largest among the other five similar ones built in northern India. It houses large stone instruments with striking combinations of geometric forms to view celestial bodies through naked eyes. The precision and accuracy of these instruments have been very alluring to scientists and historians.

The observatory also features the world’s largest sundial which calculates local time and manages to entice the interest of tourists. The instruments are most accurate at noon.

City Palace

Located in the heart of the old city, the City Palace comprises magnificent courtyards, gardens, cenotaphs and royal buildings. It was conceived and built by the founder of Jaipur, Rajput King Maharaja Sawaai Jai Singh II, and expanded by subsequent rulers. The most prominent sections of the palace are Mubarak Mahal, Chandra Mahal, Maharani’s Palace. Maharaja Singh museum and Bhaggi Khana. The museum contains a unique collection of royal costumes, weaponry dating to the 15th century along with prints and embroidery.

Amber Fort

Amer or Amber Fort is located about 11 km from Jaipur and is located high on a hill overlooking Maota Lake. The palace is a great example of Rajput architecture. Constructed of red sandstone and marble, the opulent palace is laid out on four levels each with a courtyard.The palace was the residence of the Rajput Maharajas and their families. This was begun by Raja Man Singh in 1592 and completed by Mirja Raja Jai Singh.

Jal Mahal

Jal Mahal was built in 1750 by Maharaja Madho Singh as a lodge and hunting retreat. It is a five story palace set in the middle of an artificial lake known as Man Sagar Lake.

Hawa Mahal

Hawa Mahal is a 200 year old monument in the city. Famous for its unique honeycomb design and Indo-Islamic architecture, the five storeyed palace has 953 lattice windows. It was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh as a summer palace. This is actually the back of the palace.

Street Scenes

Like many populated places in India, this city is a bustling beehive of activity. A few scenes: