The Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Forests Reserve, India

MAHARASHTRA TO SEE TWO NEW "WORLD CLASS" ZOOS

2006-12-31T11:43:00.000-08:00

Zoos --> a safe haven for animals --> also means visitors and revenue, then make it 'world class' and attract international tourists -- more employment -- a win-win situation for all ?

I have never liked the concept of zoos except when they are used as 'transitional shelters' for rescued animals to be prepared for release back into the wild. I have seen the San Diego zoo, the Saint Louis Zoo and the Jijamata Zoo at Mumbai that is pitiable in comparison, but however 'world-class' a zoo maybe, they all happen at the cost of incarcerating animals where we keep telling ourselves that the animals are 'safe'.

Maharashtra government plans two zoos - at Goregaon in Mumbai and at Gorewara on the outskirts of Nagpur. Moreoever, private companies will be allowed to construct a seven star hotels, convention centres, shopping plazas and eateries out of the demarcated zoo area for recovering their investment into developing the zoo areas. Read more about it Here.

I would rather like to see more efforts and development around the existing vast tiger and other green reserves and make them into controlled tourist hot spots with spaced out forest guest houses like tigertrails at nagpur or like the beautiful log cabins at Smokey Mountains in Tennessee - without having to terribly delimit the freedom of the poor animals...

INDIAN TIGERS IN CHINESE HOMES ?

2006-09-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

Yeah - after they die - or rather, after they are brutally killed ! While it's simple business logic that poachers will continue to kill tigers until people that pay them exist, both Indian and Chinese governments either cannot see the logic or don't have the passionate zeal to act on it. Tiger skins continue to travel across the border in innovative ways to escape detection ..like sleeping bags !

The rich Chinese guys pay a handsome price for tiger skins to decorate their homes and even use it on a costume called "Chupa" - check out this dude wearing a tiger skin ..guess those dark glasses are blinding him from what damage he is causing..

I guess by the time goverments realize its too serious, they will succeed in catching that tiger skin..except that it just might be the last tiger from India - reminds me of those movies where cops always arrive 'at last'

Read more about it Here.

LUXURY TRAIN TO TADOBA FORESTS ?

2006-09-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

Not sure if I wanna be happy or sad about this. Tadoba-Andhari Reserve is to be a main attraction for Maharashtra's second luxury train that will run a short route between Nagpur and Nagbhid. This comes after the success of the first luxury train - the Deccan Odyssey. Click Here for some pictures of this luxury train - impressive :-) And to see the official site for routes and booking, Click here.

Good for tourism, but would mean an increased flurry of activity at the Tadoba Tiger forest - but then again, more attention and funding too .....hmmm, lets see

Read the official News Here.

Another Tiger Killed in Tadoba..

2006-06-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

A Sad day indeed - for the tiger, for all tiger lovers, for India, for nature and for the Tadoba Tiger Reserve. A tiger was found killed with its legs ripped apart in the Tadoba Forests. Apparently, the officials are projecting it as if it were NOT a poaching incident , to cover up their own incompetence. Back in 2002, I was told there were 42 Tigers in the forest ... am awaiting official reports on the latest census.

Here's an official story on the sad state affairs on poaching and the Killed Tiger.

Will this beautiful predator ever be safe anywhere on earth ?

:-(

Main Tiger Forest Areas in India...

2006-05-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh

Bandipur & Nagarhole National Parks, Karnataka

Corbett National Park, Uttar Pradesh

Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh

Kanha National Park

Manas Tiger Reserve, Assam

Melghat Tiger Reserve, Maharashtra

Nandankanan Zoo, Orissa

Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan

Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan

Sundarbans National Park, West Bengal

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Forests, Maharashtra

Tadoba Picture Moment : Tadoba Lake

2006-04-10T23:40:00.000-07:00

The soothing waters of the enormous Tadoba lake is bliss to the eyes. If you sit along the banks real quiet and let nature do the talking, the music of the birds, the breeze and soft lapping of the water give you an unforgettable souvenir moment to take home, that cannot be described in words...unless of course, if William Wordsworth had seen it :-) The serenity you experience at that moment is invaluable.

Back in 2003, while driving by a road that goes around the lake at some places, we saw a crocodile sun-basking on the banks. It lay still as a stone, yet watching every movement.

The Tadoba officials sure have some sense of humor - here's a photograph of the crocodile warning sign on the banks of Tadoba Lake...

Picture published with permission from my pal, Siddhartha Edake

About the lake: Tadoba Lake remains the largest source of water in the Indian Tadoba forests. The local tribals consider it holy water, since the tree-shrine of the Tadoba god is located right on it's banks. In fact, the tribals sprinkle some water from the lake onto their crops as a good-luck charm for a good reaping season. 110-120 hectares in Area, it's like a large blue fresh-cut diamond right in the heart of a deep green forest....

The Different Types of Tigers ?

2006-02-11T10:40:00.000-08:00

Five types (subspecies) of tigers are believed to exist, besides three other types that are now considered extinct:

1. The Royal Bengal tiger (P.t. tigris)
2. Siberian or Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica)
3. Indo-Chinese tiger (P.t. corbetti)
4. Sumatran tiger (P.t. sumatrae)
5. South China tiger (P.t. amoyensis)

The unfortunate ones considered extinct are:

1. Javan tiger (P.t. sondaica)
2. Bali tiger (P.t. balica)
3. Caspian tiger (P.t. virgata)

DNA studies have led scientists to believe that all tigers in mainland Asia — Siberian, South China, Indo-Chinese and Bengal — are in fact one subspecies (P.t. tigris), with the Sumatran tiger (P.t. sumatrae) are another subspecies. The Sumatran tiger was separated from other Asian tigers about 01. Million Years years ago due to incoming water from the sea.

I SAW A TIGER !!

2005-11-12T15:04:00.000-08:00

In an Indian Monsoon Forest, summers are the best time to go sight seeing for tigers, because that's the time they are forced to come out to the larger water spots like lakes to quench their thirsts. During the rainy and winter seasons the multiple small pockets of water that form in the deep forests are enough for these cats to survive - and so they do not need to come out in the open to the lakes.

In the summer of 2003, I finally got lucky to spot a tiger in the wild - rather a tigress with two cubs in tow. They were seen chilling out in one of the many road-side shallow wells or 'water holes' that have been constructed at many places in the forest. These holes are periodically filled with water during the summers for the animals...

Yes ! I did take a quick picture people ! - To see the tigress picture I shot with my Fuji digitalcam - Click here. You can clearly see her head while she sits in the water hole.

In the whole excitement , our driver tried to bend forward for a better look and unfortunately set off a loud van honk in the process - which resulted in our tigress springing off into the jungle with her cubs...:-( But it was one of the most valuable minutes of my lifetime !

My First Tadoba Visit...

2005-11-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

My first visit dates back to the time when I was about 8-9 years old. We were a big group of 20 people and had hired a big shuttle ('Matador') for the trip. My brains shivered with excitement and fear of the unknown - This was the first time I was gonna watch wild animals free in the open jungles. My childhood mind was so colored by the man-eating tiger stories from the movies that me and my little cousins had managed to smuggle a few hand-made toy bows and arrows into the shuttle ..just in case, we had to rescue people from maneaters. ( ha ha..I miss those pristine childhood thought processes..)

We started off from my Grandfather's house at Chandrapur late in the afternoon. The journey through the forest-villages was breathtaking even to a kid....watching mud-houses with grass-like roofs, simple people toiling in the fields and naked kids running around in circles...

The greenery gradually got greener and more dense as we reached the tiger reserve forest in about an hours time. After an official permission was taken from the officials at the gate, we set off on our journey into the forests. My heart now beat a little faster as everyone in the shuttle grew silent , gazing out into the thick green woods with eyes full of anticipation.

The driver slowed down the vehicle and joined us in shooting glances in all directions to look for the slightest movements amongst those thick overgrown grass shafts, the tall trees and the vines. In thick greenery, it's too easy to imagine animals at the slightest shift of a leaf - and that only makes the suspense more fun !

And we saw the first animal - a bison ! Click here to on a picture from Tadoba, taken by my friend Siddhartha, to know what a Bison (Wild Buffalo) looks like..

[More coming up soon...]

Why is Tadoba called "Tadoba" ?

2005-11-08T23:24:00.000-08:00

The local forest guide told me a cool story. The forest gets its name from the local God, "Taru". The legend is that the village chief "Taru" was killed in a great fight with a tiger. He is worshipped by all the local villagers as the deity of "Tadoba".

The guide took us to the tadoba lake where we saw the stone idols representing Tadoba god. I loved the setting - the idols are placed below a large tree on the banks of the large tadoba lake. The guide warned us of the crocodiles in the lake - the fear-factor made the whole thing even more exciting !!