A Jungle Safari in Pench Tiger Reserve: A Wild Photo Story!
A couple of weeks back, I was exploring the tiger reserves of Central India – Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra and Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. I was visiting Tadoba after 5 years and Pench after 16 years and boy did I have a ball of a time. Over the course of this week and the next, I will be sharing my experiences along with the many gorgeous photos and videos that I clicked at these stunning wildlife destinations of Central India. Let me begin with a wild photo story from Pench Tiger Reserve, the land of Mowgli, Bagheera, Baloo, Sher Khan and Kaa. During a safari in Pench National Park, you will feel as if the jungle is coming to life. That is how I felt as I got to see the many different flavours of wild Pench is just two days. This photo series aims to share those different flavours with you. Hope you like them and do stay tuned for more photos and videos from my wildlife holiday to Central India.
Above photo: I saw my first tiger within the first two hours of my first tiger safari in Pench. Meet Lakshmi, a gorgeous tigress who was out marking her territory after some overnight rains in Pench Tiger Reserve. Only 2 jeeps got to see her and she silently crept right behind our jeep. No wonder, stealth is their biggest weapon.
Above photo: This is the view of entering Pench tiger reserve from the Karmajhiri gate in the early hours of the morning. Teak, mahua, crocodile bark tree, tendu, flame of the forest and other species make up these dense woods.
Above photo: We saw this gorgeous male leopard within the first 30 minutes of entering the tiger reserve. He was quietly sitting on his rock throne and watching the world go by. After a lot of us jeeps noticed him sitting there, he moved on to the lake bed, thereby giving us unobstructed view of him for the next 30 minutes. A great and long leopard sighting.
Above photo: Spotted deer are one of the prettiest herbivores in the Indian jungle. This is a handsome male with large antlers and dark brown breeding colours. During the breeding season, spotted deer’s coat changes to dark brown or black and they grow antlers. Post the breeding season, their coat returns to their regular brown colour and they shed their antlers.
Above photo: This small monitor lizard seemed to enjoy feasting on the termites coming out from the termite hill. A great source of nutrition and protein for the monitor lizard.
Above photo: This massive male tiger called Swastik came to this watering hole with a full belly. He cooled himself in the pool, quenched his thirst and then gave us a long and really close sighting. He was also seen snarling at all the forest jeeps as we has blocked his path. I have a full video of this encounter. More on this in another blog post.
Above photo: Pench is an absolutely pretty forest. It’s dense woods, diverse landscapes and water bodies make you feel like you are in a different part of the jungle almost at every third turn.
Above photo: This is the Indian roller, a gorgeous bird that shows its multiple hues of blue when it flies. When it sits like this in the picture, you see more of its brown plumage. It is the state bird of Karnataka, Telangana and Odisha.
Above photo: This is the ghost tree or Sterculia Urens. It is one of those trees that requires very little water to grow, grows near rocky slopes and remains leafless for close to half a year. It’s main tree trunk and bark glistens in the night and that is what gives it its name as it is visible in the otherwise dark forest. It’s gum lets out a gum that is used as a laxative and a tablet binder in the medical world.
Above photo: A lot of us see these rhesus macaques in our Indian cities and we try to protect ourselves and our food from their mischievous nature. The ones in the forest are also equally naughty and social, but you hardly see such gorgeous coats and chiselled body on the urban monkeys.
Above photo: This is a crested serpent eagle, a medium to large species of eagle that is usually found on empty branches of trees looking for its prey. Personally, I find its yellow eyes really captivating.
Above photo: India’s national bird, the peacock, thrives inside Pench National Park. You can see and hear it almost in every nook and corner of Pench Tiger Reserve.
Above photo: Another gorgeous raptor bird, the changeable hawk eagle or the crested hawk eagle is a large eagle that is slightly larger in size when compared to the crested serpent eagle. It’s large crest gives it its beautiful form and name.
Above photo: This is the northern plains grey langur, another primate that is seen in large numbers at Pench National Park. The grey langur is a bit more shy when compared to the macaques, but they play a very vital role in the maintenance of the forest. They are usually seen alongside the spotted deer and form a symbiotic relationship when it comes to eating and alerting each other of the predators.
Above photo: This is the same male leopard that you had seen sitting on top a rock earlier. Here, it is walking along the boundary of a nearby water body and trying to find a place where it can peacefully quench its thirst.
Above photo: One can also see a lot of hornbills during a safari in Pench national park. This is the grey hornbill. Also, got to see the Malabar pied hornbills, but unfortunately, couldn’t click any good photos as they tend to stay in the top branches of most trees.
Above photo: This is a sub-adult nilgai or blue bull, a type of antelope found in India. As it matures into an adult, its coat will turn dark blue to black and it will have a sheen to it.
Above photo: Usually, I see a lot of wild dogs or dhole in the forests of Central India, but this time around, I couldn’t spot these pack hunters. Rather, spotted these golden jackals at multiple places. This is one such instance where they are exploring their territory and kept on criss crossing the jeep track in front of us.
Above photo: Indian gaurs are the largest bovine species to be found in India. They are very strong, muscular and can easily be spotted by the white coloured socks that they wear naturally on their legs. Here, you can see a large muscular male sitting with his female partner.
Above photo: Indian gaurs can be quite intimidating when you find them in the middle of your jeep track. These large creatures wearing more than a 1000 kilograms can overturn a forest jeep with their head. Usually, they are very calm, but they can become unpredictable especially when there is a young one in their herd.
Above photo: This is an alpha male Indian gaur. They are heavily muscular and can weigh anywhere between 2000 and 3000 kilograms. They look like a body builder and they usually have a short fuse. Which means, you should leave them alone if you find yourselves around a large male Indian gaur.
Above photo: Usually, the morning jungle safari at Pench Tiger Reserve starts at 5:30 AM and ends at 11:30 AM. This means that you get the opportunity to have a bush breakfast. There are lots of shielded enclosures within the jungle where you can have such a breakfast. This bush breakfast was arranged by Pench Tree Lodge, one of the top resorts in Pench. The driver and the naturalist help set this table in the forest and you can either have a quick and dirty breakfast in case you wish to explore more of the jungle or you can have a relaxed breakfast and share stories from your day so far.
