• CONTACT US if you have any problems registering for the forums.

The Wonders of Middle India

This is a common person found in India.... he is the Rose Ringed Parakeet, distinguished by his pink/red collar. The second one we have only seen once in Middle India although he frequents that part of Asia. I believe him to be a Pied Falconet.
INDIA 2018 (MASTER) 262.jpgINDIA 2018 (MASTER) 390.jpg
 
Last edited:
This is one of my favourite tiger photos taken again in Bandhavgarh National Park in Middle India. It is probably the most prolific in terms of actual tiger sightings. There are many figures bandied around about tiger numbers in individual parks, but the real truth is you are, that is the general public, limited to just 20% of the total area of each park. Assuming that the tigers are evenly distributed that means out of a total of say 40 tigers, you are likely only to see a maximum of 8, if you were extremely lucky. However, whilst there is no guarantee of a tiger sighting, you would be unlucky not to see one over a two/three day period with say 4/5 games drives.
This particular tigress is quite young and not in the least afraid of humans; she suddenly appeared from behind the tree about 40 yards away and walked up quite close.... it was quite breathtaking.
INDIA 2018 (MASTER) 436.jpg
 
And this is an older tigress in Bandhavgarh, probably about 4-5 years old, in her prime. There was nobody else on this track, we were driving slowly and came upon her in the fading light. She was about 40-50 yds away. Our driver wanted to get closer, but we didn't want to disturb her, so we stayed where we were, turned off the engine, and just watched her for 10 minutes until she decided to move off....

INDIA 2018 (MASTER) 785.jpg
 
Last edited:
And while we are on tigers, this beautiful girl was seen by us over 4 years ago in the Tadoba Andari National Park in the state of Maharashtra. We had just entered the park quite early in the morning, when our driver /guide stopped the jeep and told us to look directly ahead in the long grass.... we could just about see two ears.! We waited while she got up and started to walk in the opposite direction... she was about 100 yds away. Then she decided to turn round and walk almost straight towards us. She was just being curious; she got to within 30 yds of us, stopped momentarily and stared at us, then veered off and back into the undergrowth.
We did see her again 2 years later with her three cubs but she was 300-400 yds away and there was a large crowd of noisy locals around ... she was not coming any closer this time. However, it was wonderful to see a young tigress of 2 years old develop into a mature female and breeding.
Hopefully she is still thriving at nearly 7 years old...........
India 2014 GB 329 (4).jpgIndia 2014 GB 324.JPG
 
In case you might be bored with tiger pictures, this is my favourite Indian bird, the Crested Serpent Eagle. We have seen many of them over the years; they are quite widespread, but this one was a little surprised to see us. They are normally sitting in trees either resting or watching for prey.... this one looked embarrassed as we had caught him having a paddle !
Serpent Eagle looking surprised.JPG
 
Last edited:
If I remember correctly Eleanor it was an extremely hot day, probably 42 + degrees, so you are nearer the truth.
 
Back in the days when we did a lot of walking, we used to find soaking our feet in a cold stream for 15 minutes a marvellous reviver - it would set us up for the next ten miles. Maybe your Crested Serpent Eagle finds the same thing....
 
Yes , that does make a lot of sense, and also bearing in mind what he does with his feet /claws it is likely that he is actually washing them.
 
Back to the furry end of the sprectrum..... you may ask the eternal question... why did the leopard cross the road ?.... and the answer is , because he was after his supper.
We were at the end of our drive in Tadoba National park one evening at dusk, we heard alarm calls from monkeys and peacocks, and then a few minutes later we saw a male peacock scuttling out of the dense bamboo at one side of the gravel track. We knew that there was a big cat somewhere close by, and our guide told us to watch out.... then the big male leopard suddenly appeared, and looked as surprised as we were. he was about 30 yds away, but in poor light. It was a great moment as you don't see leopards that close very often, if at all....
India 2014 GB 514.JPG
The postscript is that he didn't catch the peacock....
 
I had mentioned before about the Wild Dog, and here a few better shots of individuals in a pack of about half a dozen. They were just relaxing after a kill.......a large Samba deer we found out later.
India 2014 GB 424.JPGIndia 2014 GB 434.JPGIndia 2014 GB 428.JPG
 
Yes, he managed to get high enough in a tree. Leopards are agile and can climb trees very well; they sometimes just rest or take their kill up in a tree for safe keeping. A tiger or the wild dogs would move in otherwise.
Tigers will use trees to mark their territory. Ocassionally you will see deep claw marks ground in to the hard bark of a tree about 8 -10' off the ground.... it makes you shudder.
 
Looking at your pictures of the wild dogs - I'm sure their young brother was on the bus with me this morning.... He was being taken to the vet for his jabs and wasn't at all happy about the experience. He looked just like them.
 
I don't think I would like to be there when a vet tries to give a jab to a wild dog...... they do look quite cute but they are quite unpredictable and so more dangerous than most.
 
There are many species of deer in India.
Here are two... the first is the more common Barking Deer, very similar to our own Muntjac. The second is a family of Barasingha or Swamp Deer, found in very few places now. These were seen at a great distance in the beautiful Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, one of the states in Middle India where a number of the best national parks are. They are about the same size as our Roe Deer.
India 2014 GB 756.JPGBarasinga Family at Kanha 201.jpg
 
This another of the common deer, this time seen in Panna National Park... he is a Samba Deer, one of the largest, probably the size of our Red Deer. Note how his colouring blends in to the general background, so although he is a large person, he can be difficult to spot when he stands still. He was about 30 yds away at the time.
Panna 9.jpg
 
Last edited:
And this is the most common Indian deer of all..... he is a Chital or Spotted Deer, one of the tiger's favourites.
Panna chital 7.jpg
 

How to Find Information

Search using the search button in the upper right. Search all forums or current forum by keyword or member. Advanced search gives you more options.

Filter forum threads using the filter pulldown above the threads. Filter by prefix, member, date. Or click on a thread title prefix to see all threads with that prefix.

Sponsors

Booking.com Hotels in Europe
AutoEurope.com Car Rentals

Recommended Guides, Apps and Books

52 Things to See and Do in Basilicata by Valerie Fortney
Italian Food & Life Rules by Ann Reavis
Italian Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
French Food Decoder App by Dana Facaros, Michael Pauls
She Left No Note, Lake Iseo Italy Mystery 1 by J L Crellina

Share this page

Back
Top