Mr Ramanan visited Tadoba in April this year, and the temperatures of 49 degrees Celsius thankfully did not affect his photography! The TATR - Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve - is in the centre of India, in Maharashtra, and a reserve that I have not visited.
The forest awaited the monsoons, the teak trees were bare and all creatures big and small looked for shade.
The forest awaited the monsoons, the teak trees were bare and all creatures big and small looked for shade.
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| This Brown fish owl (Ketupa zeylonensis) was spending its days in the shade, probably close to a water body.At night, it would be out to hunt. |
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| Orange headed Rock Thrush on the dry teak leaves of the forest floor. Tadoba is predominantly teak forests. But is that a largestromia flower peeking at us? |
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| A Crested Serpent Eagle surveys the forest floor for prey |
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| Oriental Honey Buzzard - at the lake. The sanctuary has the Andhari river running through it, and the Tadoba lake. The lake is a great place for sightings. |
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| Chousingha (Tetracerus quadricornis), a small four-horned antelope, solitary by nature, and whose numbers are dwindling, as forests have become isolated. Tadoba is one the few refuges left for this herbivore. A dove walks by in the background. |
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| A barking deer, moving close to a bamboo grove, probably looking for some shade. No antlers as yet for this one. |
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| A massive gaur also at the watering hole. Their numbers have swelled and they are now a common site in plantation towns in the hills. |
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| The sloth bear on the other hand is an uncommon sighting in the wild I have not seen one as yet. Whenever I see pictures of them, I feel that they desperately need a grooming! |
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| As Thyaga remarked, what is it that you didn't see, Mr Ramanan?! The summer heat meant that all animals looked to minimise their movements. In a way its arguably the best time to visit a sanctuary, if you are interested in sightings. Physically uncomfortable, but great sightings! I personally love to visit when forests are green, and so usually end up not seeing very much beyond the lovely magnificent trees. The trees are wonderful in themselves, and I do not regret the lack of sightings. |
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| There were a spate of killings by leopards of villagers around Tadoba in 2013, and there was a move to radio collar some of them. This one obviously not one of them. |
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| And just when I thought, ok he did not spot a tiger, I saw these pictures! |
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| A summer snooze for the top carnivore. |
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| This is the cub of the tigress named Rani |
There are a 100 + tigers in the 650 odd sq kms of the TATR. Tadoba, Pench, Kanha... one contiguous forest not so long ago, but now islands separated by human habitation.
And as I write this, the forests have been further decimated as the Pench-Kanha corridor is witnessing the development of an elevated highway. The elevated sections are supposed to mitigate the effect on wildlife by allowing them to cross underneath.
Is this realistic and what about the interim displacement and habitat loss? Could not the highway skirt this corridor?
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