Tadoba : On Tiger Trail
After the disappointment of Ranthambore I was eagerly looking for second chance and was fortunate to have it soon enough.One of my trek friends forwarded the email about Tadoba jungle camp by Atul Dhamankar. It was a golden opportunity not just tadoba but to spend time with one of the top tiger researches in the world Atul Dhamankar.
Tadoba -Andhari tiger reserve has highest density of tigers in Asia and lies in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra near chandrapur . The temperature in this region often sores upto 45 degrees , the deciduous nature of the forest makes these summer season best for tiger sighting.
Atul Dhamankar
Some 10-12 years back I came across a book written in marathi by a 18-19 year old tiger researcher , "Ranwata" ( The jungle routes) is one of the best jungle adventure book i have came across till date was written by then teenager Atul. The book was account of countless number of days and nights spend on the Machan , the name Atul Dhamankar has been itched in my memory since then and was the reason for instant confirmation of the camp.
Since last few years i had lost the track of books written by Atul and was honestly unaware of his whereabouts. Nonetheless was super excited to meet him in person.
Took us 20 hours by train from Mumbai to Chandrapur , Atul was there at the station dressed in simple tadoba tiger reserve shirt and trousers with a broad smile on his face , His simplicity struck the cord straight away.
We started our journey towards the tiger reserve in Moharli and the discussion instantly turned towards jungles.
Atul started answering our curious questions about tadoba , tiger and the jungle. Tadoba Tiger reserved was setup in 1950's and is one of the oldest in india and spans across 650 sq.kms . We were passing through the area of coal mines for which chandrapur is famous. Atul narrated us how corrupt bureaucrats once tried to convert major part of jungle area into coal mines. Long protests by Atul and the other natives and one sane minded MP Jairam Ramesh was able to avert the calamity. For once i thought congress MP has done something right. A spectacular difference between barren landscape of chandrapur and that of Tiger reserve is visible as soon as you cross the Tiger reserves gate , green color dominates the landscape even in 40 degrees heat and is soothing for the eyes. "You can spot tigers even on the main road at nights " Atul was telling. He must have seen it very often in last 23 years when he drives back to his home in chandrapur at night. Atul shared further information "Tadoba has three major water sources , to your left is the backwater of Iri Dam , Teriya Dam is towards your right ahead and Tadoba Lakes is at the heart of the jungle which you will visit shortly." The kingfishers , lapwings and herons were visible everywhere because of proximity of the water.
Atul explained us the difference between Core and Buffer forest and the misconception tourists have that Buffer means to tiger. Buffer is the area of forest which is used to satisfy human needs such as wood , medicines etc , buffer eases pressure on the core. Better the Buffer , better is the jungle . Tadoba buffer has about 70 tigers where as core has just 65. This terminology is just for forest management ease and has nothing to do with tigers presence
The MTDC resort in tadoba is surrounded by water from three sides and as always MTDC has managed to get the best seat in the house. The rooms were comfortable and most importantly air conditioned.
After a tasty lunch and some rest we were ready for our first safari.
Day 1:- Hide and Seek with the tiger
Atul advised us to cover our ears to protect from sunstroke and heat. With our faces covered by loin clothes we looked more like terrorists.
The best thing about tadoba safari is that there are no predefined routes unlike Ranthambore , Corbett and Many others. Once you cross the main gate you are free to drive your Gypsy anywhere you like , offcourse some areas have been prohibited for the tourists. The safari here is about 40-45 kms drive unlike 10-15 kms drive in other jungles. All the drivers and Guides obviously knew Atul very well. "I was involed in their training " Atul explained the reason "We choose locals from nearby villages or the villages which were once part of Tadoba but now have been moved outside , this way we ensure them job and this creates awareness for jungle. Once these guys start appreciating Tiger and the jungle , you know they will cause it no harm " .
The first animal to greet us in Tadoba was a croc , peeking his snout out from the teriya dam reservoir. The reservoir and the grass lands formed due to it are happy hunting grounds for the Tiger. "This area belongs to tigress called Sonam , She has S shaped markings near her name" Atul added , he has named more than 40 tigers till date. How do you differentiate tigers from one another ? "Tigers straps are their UIDs , we usually take photographs of left and right flank to identify the tiger." . How are they names here in Tadoba then ? By numbers ? "No we have given them unique names which matches their appearance and characteristics for e.g Sonam has S mark , Madhuri the tigress is extremely graceful , Scarface the biggest male in Tadoba has a scar on his right eye" Atul added to the information. By then we were able to spot few deers , Sambhars and many birds and reached a pond called Vaghdoh ( Tigers pond). All the vehicles were already lined up there , we knew instantly that tiger was there. All the vehicles were lined up in disciplined manner , no engine rushing , no honking or shouting here in short no ranthambore market scene here. Everyone was waiting patiently. The pond has a small grassy island , tiger was resting behind that and was not visible, But by the reaction of monkeys, Deers , Wild boars and Sambhar's one could easily guess his presence, all of them looked so nervous and scared. They would suddenly give a loud warning call and run away for a moment and come back ...tiger must have moved his tail, that is sheer terror. They would still come to the pond to have a sip but would always have one eye and the ear on the tiger. As the gypsies were not allowed to deviate from the route we were not able to see the tiger and take a better viewing angle. Everyone was waiting for the tiger to get up , eyes fixed on the island , hands on huge lenses that they had bought , making as little movement as possible , Everyone was part of the jungle now. I was amazed by two locals who have come with their cycles though , I asked Atul and he pointed towards the Machan "They are part of forest crew , their job is to sit here on the machan and take note of tigers whereabouts". If these animals are so frightened why dont they just run away ? someone asked Atul "Their best chances of survival are when tiger is infront of their eyes , when tiger wants to hunt , its next to impossible to trace him even for these animals with hearing and smelling senses 50 times more powerful than ours , Tiger kills by ambush , if you can keep safe distance from him , you know you can outrun him."
Almost 2 hours had passed but tiger decided not to come out of his hideout. Sun has started to go down and we had to be out of the main gate before 6 . Everyone started moving towards the main gate disappointed.
"He should have atleast come out for seconds" our disappointment was visible , "You are very lucky to have witnessed this , watching tiger crossing the road is not exciting its just a 2 minutes affair , but you were able to experience the jungle today , how the scenario changes with tigers presence , You were not able to see him yet you experienced the tiger today and that is very rare " Atul's comments were an eye opener , truely whats the fun to spot the tiger while crossing the road. "Jungle is not to be seen , It is to be felt" Atul.
Later that night Atul shared with us few more of his mesmerizing experiences.
Day 2 : The Hide and Seek Continues
Early morning safari is a bliss , jungle probably looks the most beautiful in the hazy mornings. The usual animals , Deer , Sambhar greeted us. One the way to the Vaghdoh just to check if tiger is still resting there, we spotted a sloth bear , "Its rare to spot bear on the main road , usually they are very shy and secretive" Atul was overjoyed after seeing the bear. Bear looked like a black spot in the jungle and it was surprising how well camouflaged even the black colored bear in the jungle. It was a good start to the day.
Our driver was able to spot the tiger footprints. "Male , must be heading towards teriya or to deeper buffer forest" he said . After spending 23 years in the forest Atul know their usual traveled routes and their habits well.
Nothing much happened since then but , tigers decided to keep themselves hidden.
We saw a family of Wild Boars coming out to drink the water and a heard of Wild Dogs.
Evening safari also went without much luck and we decided to return back before its dark but suddenly Atul hear a warning call and asked the driver to stop. They agreed that it was the warning call and we just watched dumb faced as we had heard nothing. Suddenly we heard the loud cry from Spotted deer followed by another. "tiger is nearby" the cal traveled quickly to our right and grew louder , a Sambhar joined in with a sharp cry suddenly the jungle was awake. "tiger must be heading for the lake , turn the vehicle and lets wait" Atul. The warning calls continued for an hour thereafter but this time they did not travel. "Tiger must have made the kill , I guess he wont come out now until hes full " Atul.
The time again defeated us and we had to turn back after another fabulous jungle experience.
Is there a difference between the warning calls for tigers and leopards ? "Yes , you can make out from which animal is giving the call , Sambhar is tigers favorite pray but its sometimes too big for leopard . Spotted deer is his favorite. Also monkeys would be sitting as high as they could if its leopard" Atul's experience was speaking.
Later than night Atul showed us his award winning photographs and photos from his other jungles camps. the photos were simply outstanding and left us awestruck.
"With a great lens anyone can capture photos but you can tell story only if you have knowledge and experience" another inspiring thought by Atul "The youngsters today wants to become wild life photographer overnight , they are not willing to spend time in jungle"
"I took my first photo using a point and shoot camera , I wanted to capture a croc coming out of its hideout. 35mm camera means i had to get real close . I sat besides the crocs cave and asked pramod to drop dry leaves on me , thats how i won my first award in wild life photography " Atul's stories were mesmerizing.
"Its sad that our government and the institutes have very less regard for the researchers , They dont issue grants for research work , even Indian wildlife magazines like Sanctuary Asia pays 1000rs for front page photo and mere 250 rs for page photos. My lens costs 4L rs, its a huge investment for zero returns hence wild life photographers have black future in india" Atul shared his plight . Atul's experience remains unheeded in India but many societies in the west are willing to help . Hats Off to Atul !!!
Day 3 : Amazing Buffer and Good Bye
All the safaris of past 2 days were in Core forest area , Atul has deliberately kept this one in Buffer zone. As Atul said , buffer forest was just as beautiful in fact a tad more. Our friend sloth bear was the first one to say good morning followed by a wild boar who looked as if someone has just woke him up from deep sleep. The safari starts along the backwaters of ira dam hence many birds were basking in the morning glory. A village surrounded by electric fences would one day shifted elsewhere and jungle will happily take over as was the case with other villages we saw in previous safaris."The agriculture land makes the best grass land, last year a tiger pair was mating in the farm land besides the tractors and despite of the villagers presence. Villagers had to fend them off unfortunately " Atul explained .
This buffer area belongs to Madhuri , mother of 4 cubs now. "Its her second pregnancy , she had 4 cubes last year as well , its very difficult for a tigress to grow cubs " Atul spoke very highly of Madhuri.. We had seen the photographs of cubs clicked by Atul and they looked extremely adorable.
while we were having safaris in core in the past day regular sighting was observed in buffer, Atul knew the places frequently visited by the Male of the area , Scarface and Madhuri . He took us to a pond where scarface often rests. Spend patient hour waiting for scarface but no luck. Atul took us to another place where once he had spent 5 nights on a machan. A small piece of jungle land was surrounded by a canal from three sides and had formed an island . "Madhuri has choosen wisely" Atul said , this was the location of cubs."Plenty of water and hiding place , and easy hunt makes this place perfect to grow cubs " Atul explained further.
"We , me and pramod used to sit on this machan for 5 days and nights , we would cover the machan with leaves to escape the sight of animals , carry biscuits and fruits as food and observe the jungle. At night we would just listen to the sound and try to visualize the scene , we wouldnt use torch as that scares away animals. But would try and identify the animal from the noise it creates while walking. Tiger is the most difficult to guess because of his padded claws. Bears , Bison crack foliage around while walking because of their size and other animals like deer crack leaves while walking. We used to route water from the canal in a small sandy pond , sand acts as a natural filter. 15 minutes is max we would come down from Machan that's it . Once you become part of the jungle it shares its amazing sites with you . I have seen bears , tigers mating N number of times . Bears foreplay is extremely loud , leopard is like a ghost , extremely difficult to spot" Atul is an jungle encyclopedia.
We went back to scarface's pond and waited for an hour but the only movement was a keel back snake making his way to pond and the birds in the trees. Driver from another vehicle told Atul that villager saw Madhuri with his cubs a day before while crossing main road. "She goes their for hunting , near the dam backwaters" .
This was our last safari , yes once again the magnificent beast eluded us but we gained far valuable experience with Atul.
Atul is will be organizing camps to Corbett ( May) , Bharatpur ( January) ,Kaziranga ( Feb) and Sundarbans , which we will be attending for sure.
Atul's Blog link :- http://atulintadoba.blogspot.in/
Tadoba -Andhari tiger reserve has highest density of tigers in Asia and lies in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra near chandrapur . The temperature in this region often sores upto 45 degrees , the deciduous nature of the forest makes these summer season best for tiger sighting.
Atul Dhamankar
Some 10-12 years back I came across a book written in marathi by a 18-19 year old tiger researcher , "Ranwata" ( The jungle routes) is one of the best jungle adventure book i have came across till date was written by then teenager Atul. The book was account of countless number of days and nights spend on the Machan , the name Atul Dhamankar has been itched in my memory since then and was the reason for instant confirmation of the camp.
Since last few years i had lost the track of books written by Atul and was honestly unaware of his whereabouts. Nonetheless was super excited to meet him in person.
Took us 20 hours by train from Mumbai to Chandrapur , Atul was there at the station dressed in simple tadoba tiger reserve shirt and trousers with a broad smile on his face , His simplicity struck the cord straight away.
We started our journey towards the tiger reserve in Moharli and the discussion instantly turned towards jungles.
Atul started answering our curious questions about tadoba , tiger and the jungle. Tadoba Tiger reserved was setup in 1950's and is one of the oldest in india and spans across 650 sq.kms . We were passing through the area of coal mines for which chandrapur is famous. Atul narrated us how corrupt bureaucrats once tried to convert major part of jungle area into coal mines. Long protests by Atul and the other natives and one sane minded MP Jairam Ramesh was able to avert the calamity. For once i thought congress MP has done something right. A spectacular difference between barren landscape of chandrapur and that of Tiger reserve is visible as soon as you cross the Tiger reserves gate , green color dominates the landscape even in 40 degrees heat and is soothing for the eyes. "You can spot tigers even on the main road at nights " Atul was telling. He must have seen it very often in last 23 years when he drives back to his home in chandrapur at night. Atul shared further information "Tadoba has three major water sources , to your left is the backwater of Iri Dam , Teriya Dam is towards your right ahead and Tadoba Lakes is at the heart of the jungle which you will visit shortly." The kingfishers , lapwings and herons were visible everywhere because of proximity of the water.
Atul explained us the difference between Core and Buffer forest and the misconception tourists have that Buffer means to tiger. Buffer is the area of forest which is used to satisfy human needs such as wood , medicines etc , buffer eases pressure on the core. Better the Buffer , better is the jungle . Tadoba buffer has about 70 tigers where as core has just 65. This terminology is just for forest management ease and has nothing to do with tigers presence
The MTDC resort in tadoba is surrounded by water from three sides and as always MTDC has managed to get the best seat in the house. The rooms were comfortable and most importantly air conditioned.
After a tasty lunch and some rest we were ready for our first safari.
Day 1:- Hide and Seek with the tiger
Atul advised us to cover our ears to protect from sunstroke and heat. With our faces covered by loin clothes we looked more like terrorists.
The best thing about tadoba safari is that there are no predefined routes unlike Ranthambore , Corbett and Many others. Once you cross the main gate you are free to drive your Gypsy anywhere you like , offcourse some areas have been prohibited for the tourists. The safari here is about 40-45 kms drive unlike 10-15 kms drive in other jungles. All the drivers and Guides obviously knew Atul very well. "I was involed in their training " Atul explained the reason "We choose locals from nearby villages or the villages which were once part of Tadoba but now have been moved outside , this way we ensure them job and this creates awareness for jungle. Once these guys start appreciating Tiger and the jungle , you know they will cause it no harm " .
The first animal to greet us in Tadoba was a croc , peeking his snout out from the teriya dam reservoir. The reservoir and the grass lands formed due to it are happy hunting grounds for the Tiger. "This area belongs to tigress called Sonam , She has S shaped markings near her name" Atul added , he has named more than 40 tigers till date. How do you differentiate tigers from one another ? "Tigers straps are their UIDs , we usually take photographs of left and right flank to identify the tiger." . How are they names here in Tadoba then ? By numbers ? "No we have given them unique names which matches their appearance and characteristics for e.g Sonam has S mark , Madhuri the tigress is extremely graceful , Scarface the biggest male in Tadoba has a scar on his right eye" Atul added to the information. By then we were able to spot few deers , Sambhars and many birds and reached a pond called Vaghdoh ( Tigers pond). All the vehicles were already lined up there , we knew instantly that tiger was there. All the vehicles were lined up in disciplined manner , no engine rushing , no honking or shouting here in short no ranthambore market scene here. Everyone was waiting patiently. The pond has a small grassy island , tiger was resting behind that and was not visible, But by the reaction of monkeys, Deers , Wild boars and Sambhar's one could easily guess his presence, all of them looked so nervous and scared. They would suddenly give a loud warning call and run away for a moment and come back ...tiger must have moved his tail, that is sheer terror. They would still come to the pond to have a sip but would always have one eye and the ear on the tiger. As the gypsies were not allowed to deviate from the route we were not able to see the tiger and take a better viewing angle. Everyone was waiting for the tiger to get up , eyes fixed on the island , hands on huge lenses that they had bought , making as little movement as possible , Everyone was part of the jungle now. I was amazed by two locals who have come with their cycles though , I asked Atul and he pointed towards the Machan "They are part of forest crew , their job is to sit here on the machan and take note of tigers whereabouts". If these animals are so frightened why dont they just run away ? someone asked Atul "Their best chances of survival are when tiger is infront of their eyes , when tiger wants to hunt , its next to impossible to trace him even for these animals with hearing and smelling senses 50 times more powerful than ours , Tiger kills by ambush , if you can keep safe distance from him , you know you can outrun him."
Almost 2 hours had passed but tiger decided not to come out of his hideout. Sun has started to go down and we had to be out of the main gate before 6 . Everyone started moving towards the main gate disappointed.
"He should have atleast come out for seconds" our disappointment was visible , "You are very lucky to have witnessed this , watching tiger crossing the road is not exciting its just a 2 minutes affair , but you were able to experience the jungle today , how the scenario changes with tigers presence , You were not able to see him yet you experienced the tiger today and that is very rare " Atul's comments were an eye opener , truely whats the fun to spot the tiger while crossing the road. "Jungle is not to be seen , It is to be felt" Atul.
Later that night Atul shared with us few more of his mesmerizing experiences.
 |
| Spot the Croc |
 |
| Waiting .... |
 |
| Wild Dog |
Day 2 : The Hide and Seek Continues
Early morning safari is a bliss , jungle probably looks the most beautiful in the hazy mornings. The usual animals , Deer , Sambhar greeted us. One the way to the Vaghdoh just to check if tiger is still resting there, we spotted a sloth bear , "Its rare to spot bear on the main road , usually they are very shy and secretive" Atul was overjoyed after seeing the bear. Bear looked like a black spot in the jungle and it was surprising how well camouflaged even the black colored bear in the jungle. It was a good start to the day.
Our driver was able to spot the tiger footprints. "Male , must be heading towards teriya or to deeper buffer forest" he said . After spending 23 years in the forest Atul know their usual traveled routes and their habits well.
Nothing much happened since then but , tigers decided to keep themselves hidden.
We saw a family of Wild Boars coming out to drink the water and a heard of Wild Dogs.
Evening safari also went without much luck and we decided to return back before its dark but suddenly Atul hear a warning call and asked the driver to stop. They agreed that it was the warning call and we just watched dumb faced as we had heard nothing. Suddenly we heard the loud cry from Spotted deer followed by another. "tiger is nearby" the cal traveled quickly to our right and grew louder , a Sambhar joined in with a sharp cry suddenly the jungle was awake. "tiger must be heading for the lake , turn the vehicle and lets wait" Atul. The warning calls continued for an hour thereafter but this time they did not travel. "Tiger must have made the kill , I guess he wont come out now until hes full " Atul.
The time again defeated us and we had to turn back after another fabulous jungle experience.
Is there a difference between the warning calls for tigers and leopards ? "Yes , you can make out from which animal is giving the call , Sambhar is tigers favorite pray but its sometimes too big for leopard . Spotted deer is his favorite. Also monkeys would be sitting as high as they could if its leopard" Atul's experience was speaking.
Later than night Atul showed us his award winning photographs and photos from his other jungles camps. the photos were simply outstanding and left us awestruck.
"With a great lens anyone can capture photos but you can tell story only if you have knowledge and experience" another inspiring thought by Atul "The youngsters today wants to become wild life photographer overnight , they are not willing to spend time in jungle"
"I took my first photo using a point and shoot camera , I wanted to capture a croc coming out of its hideout. 35mm camera means i had to get real close . I sat besides the crocs cave and asked pramod to drop dry leaves on me , thats how i won my first award in wild life photography " Atul's stories were mesmerizing.
"Its sad that our government and the institutes have very less regard for the researchers , They dont issue grants for research work , even Indian wildlife magazines like Sanctuary Asia pays 1000rs for front page photo and mere 250 rs for page photos. My lens costs 4L rs, its a huge investment for zero returns hence wild life photographers have black future in india" Atul shared his plight . Atul's experience remains unheeded in India but many societies in the west are willing to help . Hats Off to Atul !!!
 |
| Tiger of the trees ...Serpent Eagle |
 |
| Sloth Bear |
Day 3 : Amazing Buffer and Good Bye
All the safaris of past 2 days were in Core forest area , Atul has deliberately kept this one in Buffer zone. As Atul said , buffer forest was just as beautiful in fact a tad more. Our friend sloth bear was the first one to say good morning followed by a wild boar who looked as if someone has just woke him up from deep sleep. The safari starts along the backwaters of ira dam hence many birds were basking in the morning glory. A village surrounded by electric fences would one day shifted elsewhere and jungle will happily take over as was the case with other villages we saw in previous safaris."The agriculture land makes the best grass land, last year a tiger pair was mating in the farm land besides the tractors and despite of the villagers presence. Villagers had to fend them off unfortunately " Atul explained .
This buffer area belongs to Madhuri , mother of 4 cubs now. "Its her second pregnancy , she had 4 cubes last year as well , its very difficult for a tigress to grow cubs " Atul spoke very highly of Madhuri.. We had seen the photographs of cubs clicked by Atul and they looked extremely adorable.
while we were having safaris in core in the past day regular sighting was observed in buffer, Atul knew the places frequently visited by the Male of the area , Scarface and Madhuri . He took us to a pond where scarface often rests. Spend patient hour waiting for scarface but no luck. Atul took us to another place where once he had spent 5 nights on a machan. A small piece of jungle land was surrounded by a canal from three sides and had formed an island . "Madhuri has choosen wisely" Atul said , this was the location of cubs."Plenty of water and hiding place , and easy hunt makes this place perfect to grow cubs " Atul explained further.
"We , me and pramod used to sit on this machan for 5 days and nights , we would cover the machan with leaves to escape the sight of animals , carry biscuits and fruits as food and observe the jungle. At night we would just listen to the sound and try to visualize the scene , we wouldnt use torch as that scares away animals. But would try and identify the animal from the noise it creates while walking. Tiger is the most difficult to guess because of his padded claws. Bears , Bison crack foliage around while walking because of their size and other animals like deer crack leaves while walking. We used to route water from the canal in a small sandy pond , sand acts as a natural filter. 15 minutes is max we would come down from Machan that's it . Once you become part of the jungle it shares its amazing sites with you . I have seen bears , tigers mating N number of times . Bears foreplay is extremely loud , leopard is like a ghost , extremely difficult to spot" Atul is an jungle encyclopedia.
We went back to scarface's pond and waited for an hour but the only movement was a keel back snake making his way to pond and the birds in the trees. Driver from another vehicle told Atul that villager saw Madhuri with his cubs a day before while crossing main road. "She goes their for hunting , near the dam backwaters" .
This was our last safari , yes once again the magnificent beast eluded us but we gained far valuable experience with Atul.
Atul is will be organizing camps to Corbett ( May) , Bharatpur ( January) ,Kaziranga ( Feb) and Sundarbans , which we will be attending for sure.
Atul's Blog link :- http://atulintadoba.blogspot.in/
 |
| Atul Dhamankar |
Unfortunately you couldn't spot the beast... but you gained a lotsa experience with Atul... hats off to Atul once again... for his Massive Experience with TATR...
ReplyDeleteWell written Kedar... as usual awesome snaps captured... great...
thanks for sharing your experience..... felt like I was in the jungle :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing important information about Tadoba.
ReplyDeleteRahultipeshwar is among one of the list of top hotels in pandarkavada. It provides all the modern facilities to their customer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this post. I had also visited Tadoba natonal Park. I have visted in winter and I had great tiger sightng in jungle. including other animals in tadoba jungle. I have book resort near tadoba jungle so it did not taken long time to reach in jungle .
ReplyDelete