Sick Tigers or Tourists

Last month I saw a foreigner women crying at the gate because she saw injured B2. This thing made so much fuss that forest department has to put all the elephants of Hardia to track him. We saw him and minutely scrutinised those photographs for his wound and our view was that wounds are not so serious.

Once we were talking to a very experienced vet from Britain who works mainly with cats, all big and small, and after seeing our cats her comment was that until a cat is eating no need to worry about their wound. This works with all cats.

B2s wounds were dry and healing. None of his wounds were weeping and none had any maggots but even than poor fellow got tranquilised and later given an antibiotic. Now Mahavat says he runs for miles after seeing an elephant. Good old B2.

I am so thankfull to all those women who saw Vijaya or Kankati and did not see her wound otherwise they would have cried more than for their h....... death.

Her injuries were far more serious than B2. Now they are almost healed and even she is pushing the Laxmi ,Limpy Lady.

Cats have amazing power to recover. Most important thing for them is constant supply of food. An old and injured Tiger dies only when he is unable to find the food for himself. Charger survived on scraps in his last lag of wild life. If he was not found that day by villagers he would have died of starvation and dehydration.

So Vijaya or Kankati is doing well in Chakradhara. In search of food she has to make rounds and rounds of her teritory around Chakradhara. She did made few attempts to come on main road but failed to grab any substantial food.

She has pushed Laxmi in such a small area of Judwani Jamunia that next few months will be very important for both of them to retain their teritory.

Tigers of Bandhavgarh.

Since last 40 days I am visiting park in the morning and as well in afternoon. Lots of tiger sightings. Few photographable and few simply superb.

I need to talk about different matters today, hope I remember them all.

First driving by different drivers in the park.

This year there are many new drivers are seen in the park. One of them I know was digging well on my land last year and this year he is driving. My driver tells me that there are ten more drivers like him. So what they know about the park and its animals.

Their total aim is to show the Tiger to their client from as close as possible to earn a better tip.

This is very good for other pro photographers because by this way drivers and guides comes in habit of driving it to close, even for photographers, and kills all the chances of photographing behaviour.

Same thing happened today. We saw B2 and we were asking the guide and driver to move on to give him some space to come on road so everyone gets a better chance of photography but Indian Tourists were happy by driving parallal to him. Little they knew that this Tiger dont look at vehicle but changes his course. And he did that.

Forest authorities never been able to control these drivers and guides.

Tourists needs to know What is a good picture?? A tiger walking parallal to jeep in woods or a tiger walking towards jeep from a distance??

Who will teach them?? Guides and Drivers can do this but they get carried away by the greed of Tips.

Thats why many times we dont see much of a behaviour of an animal in presence of jeeps.

Every one is talking about Kalua and Pyari chakradhara female with her 3 cubs missing from Tala zone. No one so far has found the right reason of them leaving the park area. All these people who are getting worried about Kalua and Pyari and cubs has to see the park again with wide open eyes. How much prey base is there in their area??

Is it suffiecient to hold a tiger??

I think if they will see the park again they will know the answer. They left the park only because of Food.

Things will g even worse in next few months.

Female cub from Rajbehra has found the chakradhara. She is becoming a mature tigress and she is pushing Laxmi out of Chorbehra.

Laxmi cant hunt independently / frequently and new female, known as Vijaya or Kankati is killing the remaining prey base from Chakradhara.

In Chakradhara I did not see more than 50 Spotted Deer yesterday. Which is not enough for a tigress. In search of food she is moving in surrounding areas of Chakradhara.

Similar things are happening in other areas of the park.

We need to keep an eye on this. How is prey base in Bandhavgarh?? Is it suffiecient for Carnivores to survive??

P10 aka Shashi

Yesterday everyone saw Lakshmi and her cubs. It was very early in the morning, people had some good portraits except me as I didn't took my camera to the jungle. I think I didnt miss anything as I already have similar or better close up of tigers.

Today we saw P10 AKA Shashi.

It was a fantastic sighting. We saw him late in the morning. Infact we were looking for a classic Spider web and he appeared. We followed him for more than an hour. No jeep in sight was another advantage. My two clients were using 500 and 600 mm Nikon lenses so we gave him enough space to do what he wanted to do. Lots and lots of behaviour shots. Spray, sniffing the tree, clawing the tree, climbing on the tree, licking the tree, chewing tree bark, eating bamboo leaves were the main pictures.

TIGERS

Since last one week I am visiting park almost everyday. Had some good sightings. Rajbehra Female cub and Lakshmi were the prominent sightings. Pyari with her three cubs is out again. She is vunerable. Is she going out of her area due to lack of prey base or she is trying to dump her cubs?? I think there is not enough prey base left in the park?? These many tigers cant survive on such a thin population of Deers.

Some very nice Spiders were seen.

Lakshmi was hungry and limping more than last June. She is a beauty.

Park and Durga

Very annoyed since he day this Durga Pooja started in this village. not a single minute of peace in day or night. Three loudspeakers are in competition of making noise. I have heard that Sarpanch Pati was slapped by a lady because of this. Later no police action butloudspeaker gone more louder than normal. I put a complaint on M.P.Samadhan but no avail. This thing has gone so bad in this village that every person fears. Police and district authorities doesnt take any notice of any complaint in this regard.
Majority of people involve with these Durga Pandals belongs to schedule cast society means you cant go and ask them to turn it down to permissible volume limit because next minute someone will complaint agaist you in the ploice that you abused them and they all will stand witness to it this is enough for a person to lend in jail.
One of my friend who a house in next village but since last few years lives in UK tells us everytime we speak to him that why dont we go back to UK or New Zealand. But is that an option? Wont it be a very coward act on my part that instead of fighting I run away from this battle? I complained this to each and every department including MPEB who are ignoring the illegal electricity connection. Has this country gone so corrupt that people wont untill some money is involved in the case?
What is the solution?
I will go to High Court with this case thats the only sollution I find.
Park is getting more and more support for Fencing. It has already turned in to a Glorified Safari National Park. People are very happy with the present situation so Jai Ho Bharat Mata ki.

Park Rules

A quick Short note on the park fee in M.P.
Govt of M.P. decided to revert back the hiked entry fee and Premium Zone for this season.
So now Indians has to pay Rs 1000/ per vehicle per trip for 6 pax and Foreigners Rs 2000/ per trip / vehicle for 6 Pax.
I will advice to keep visiting Magadhi zone in the morning for Tiger Show.
32 vehicles in Tala zone + 3 vehicles entry power with forest deptt makes it 35 vehicles.
Fort visit is again back on foot from Sheshshaiyya. But now we have to shell out more money for this.
For charges and all look at www.mponline.gov.in
Best wishes.
Satyendra

Park Rules.

Through these new park rules I think I wont be able to see many of my friends visiting this place again. They enjoyed visiting Bandhavgarh and helped a lot in getting it right kind of publicity in Europe. Iain Green wrote two books on Bandhavgarh but could not afford to visit since last 5 years. Ken Hawkins is the other friend who will think twice before coming here about the expenses. There are quite a few names like them to add in this list.

M.P.Govt decided to increase the park entry fee for Indians from 16th October 2010. Because none of the Tour operator or the travel agent or big lodge owners were going to affected by this so no one raise the voice against it and small lodge owners - jeep owners who are really going to affected doesnt have any plateform to raise their voice.

Yesterday I heard another rumour that Tala zone of Bandhavgarh is going to be declared as Premium Zone means Entry fee to this zone will be just double.

So Indians entry fee increased from Rs 500/ per trip to Rs 1000/ per trip in October 2010 and then again from Dec 2010 they have to pay Rs 2000/ per trip for Tala zone.

I remember one Chief Wildlife Warden of Madhya Pradesh saying that we need more and more teachers and families with kids to visit National Parks. This will help in spreading the conservation message to the future generation. Can they afford to visit National Parks now??

Lots of discussion is going on o diferent plateforms but will they raise the voice on this issue?

Once the vehicles allowed in a National Park are according to the carrying capacity of a park then what is the need of declaring it as a premium zone??

Where is the Experience of wildlife viewing in the park??

In order to please their guest with camera a driver can create havoc in the park.

This is what gave Bandhavgarh a very bad publicity.

Can situation improve??

How.

When a person spends this kind of money he wants some return. That creates the problem.

Thats the reason we dont accept day visitors at our place. Most of our clients stays with us minimum for five nights. Many of our photographer clients pack their camera gears by 8AM in winter and 0730 in the summer.

One photographer use to come with 5 film rolls on a 3 week stay with us. Once he had 40 sightings from jeep and more than half of the films were used on Baby Elephant.
That breed of Photographers is dyieng out fast.
How many Indian photographer can behave like Mr Nanak Dhingra??
Who comes just for a particular shot and for that one shot he will wait for weeks.
No pressure on anyone, neither on Driver and nor on Guide.
Let me come on Main subject.
So when vehicle nos are reduced according to the carrying capacity of the park than what is the need to declare it as a premium Zone??
Do they change their statics all the time??
Looks like.
Carrying capacity formula was created by NTCA and applied in all Indian National Parks.
This formula was created to control the vehicle numbers.
Later on NTCA, infact MOEF, asked all the State Govt. to regulate the tourism in Tiger Reserves.
In the name of regulisation this Premium Zone idea has come up. Off the record this is to generate the revenue??
Here comes another question.
Things of National importance such as National Parks, Archeological Monuments, Museums etc are run by Govt on tax payers money.
Each and every citizen have similar rights on them. In archeological monuments and Museums we pay a token money to enter. But in National Parks in M.P. we as partner / owner of the National Park as Tax Payers has to pay the cost to share the upkeep of the parks.
Is it justified?
Will it save the Tigers in long run?
Readers comments will help me in understanding the situation.