Bandhavgarh National Park

The next three days fell in to a rhythm with pre dawn cup of tea then leaving the lodge in the dark to arrive at the park entrance for six for our first game drive. Back to the lodge for late breakfast around 10.30. We would then relax before lunch then our second game drive returning at dusk for a beautiful dinner and chat by the fire, perfect!

Each game drive brought new wildlife as we explored various parts of the Bandhavgarh National Park. Ajeet was great company and we learnt a lot from him about the conservation efforts here and how work was being done to involve the local communities in the protection of this wonderful area. There is still a huge amount of work to be done if the Tigers and other wildlife are to have a safe long term future here. We saw locals climbing the park fence to gather fire-wood and Tigers that wander from the park are still at risk from attack and poisoning by farmers whose cattle the Tigers kill. A complex situation and made more complicated by the fact that Tigers are seen as cash cows by many and much misinformation is rife about the numbers of animals that remain and what the future holds for these iconic beasts. Surely given the high profile of Tigers and their fragile future money can be found to put real conservation measures in place that not only conserves the vital habitat but involves the local communities that border the park? A buffer zone around the park where any cattle killed are compensated by the park authorities and farmers are paid a guaranteed wage so they do not rely on their cattle for income should be possible to set up? Villagers could also be paid to replant forest so extending the habitat and putting money in to the local communities? At present it seems the local people benefit little from having Tigers as neighbours. It was so good to see work being done by Monsoon Forest lodge to make this happen but it is a huge job! We wish them good luck with their community projects and tree nursery.



Tiger at Bandhavgarh photo by Hannu Jannes

Back to the wildlife! After a few Tigerless drives we came around a corner to see two jeeps reversing towards us and their passengers in a high state of excitement! A huge female Tiger was walking through the trees on the left of the track! Wow! A fantastic sight to see this awesome animal so close it really did take your breath away and make the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end! A totally amazing experience! The Tiger was moving pretty quick so it was a total panic to keep it in view as she strode through the woodland. All too soon she melted out of sight leaving us wanting more. We tried our best to guess where the Tiger might re-appear but sadly we did not see the beautiful beast again. It was Ruth’s first ever Tiger and she was shocked at just how emotional the experience was, it really is one of the best things we have ever seen, a wild Tiger.



Another shot taken at Bandhavgarh by Hannu Jannes

We were very lucky over the next couple of days had four further sightings of Tigers, just brilliant. Sadly they always managed to melt away before we could capture any good photos or video so we will have to return and try again – we would love to!