Satpura Tiger Reserve

Introduction

Day 1. Morning. May 26th.

Standing at the boating point at Madhai and looking across at the mountains looming up above the forests below never loses it’s zing of excitement. It was a bit surreal and different to see the reservoir that separated the buffer from the core like a sea in most parts of the season, to be literally devoid of water, and just a mini rift valley like zone between the two legal boundaries.The other difference was the temperature beatdown, which at this early hour itself was letting us know how hot the days ahead were going to be. Our excitement at what awaited us later that afternoon wiped out every thought of the temperature though.

We had arrived in Itarsi via the Rajdhani early in the morning, and so had cabbed across fairly empty roads to reach by 7:00 AM. Having seen the Madhai boating point and got a sense of our bearings with regards to the forest, we headed to our resting abode for the day in the lovely resort of Greenscape. Being just a 10 min drive from the boating point, with spacious and super comfy rooms, and with a humble staff and super service it already made for a great first stop, and something to look forward to when we returned to stay in Madhai. The Dining Area was in the open, so where Breakfast was comfortable, Lunch needed the desert coolers on full blast to counter the searing heat all round. The food and the hospitality more than made up for the being outside though, as it was on point.

Day 1. Afternoon. May 26th.

Our afternoon safari had an added layer of excitement, as we were transferring across to Churna Forest Rest House that lay 40 km deep inside the park, and in the heart of the wilderness. Over the last 5-6 years the Churna area had also had a successful Tiger rewilding program, and now held a very healthy ,successful and fairly regularly seen number of these magnificent big cats. On a personal account I had been coming to Satpura off and on since October 2000 and had seen almost every big mammal except the Tiger, and so was hoping to break the jinx as well.

First Tiger in Satpura

The sky was slightly overcast and offered up a bit of a drizzle in between the safari as well, and added a sheen to the green and gold of the rolling meadows left by the receding reservoir and the deciduous forests beyond. The fragrance added to the soil by the moisture just added to the olfactory senses that were already in bliss at the pure clean air of the wilderness. We drove slowly to take in the visual as best as we could, and got lucky with some fantastic close up sightings of adult Bull Gaur, Malabar Giant Squirrel, Sambar and Spotted Deer. We also found a fair number of Tiger and Leopard Tracks, with a highlight being the tracks of a Tigress accompanied by 3 six+ month old cubs, as well as the tracks of that of a male and female tiger seen separately later. It was however, in the last hour of the evening, where we crossed out across a meadow near a Forest Guard Camp and my eyes fell on the resting form of a Tiger in the grass 25m from us. Excitingly calling for a stop and reverse, we just gazed in the surreal disbelief that always finds us when seeing a big cat in the wilderness. The other great part about the sighting was the fact that the tiger was relaxed, and out on beautiful green grass, thus offering the ideal contrast of her gold against the green of the scape. A great way to break the jinx, and even happier to do with three guests who are wildlife aficionados. The setting sun also set in an urgency into our driver and guide, and broke us out of our besottment, as we still had a bit of ground to cover to reach the Forest

Rest House before the safari closing time. Always bittersweet to leave a big cat, but having had such a good view, we felt satiated for the evening, and so gathered ourselves and left her to rest.

Day 2. Morning. May 27th.

Awoke well before dawn, after a fairly comfortable night in the rest house room. Was good to hear the distant call of the Oriental Scops Owl and Brown Hawk Owl hooting their last before the false dawn broke, and them calling it a night. Their sounds were soon replaced by that of the musically gifted Oriental Magpie Robins. A Langur Alarm took center for a couple of minutes from the nearby stream, as it signaled the movement of a predator that had come down to drink, but the darkness and distance of the alarm prevented any hope of a sighting. The break of dawn brought in the cacophonic orchestra of the Central Indian Forest to the fore, with the rooster call of the Grey Junglefowl, the “Piaaoing” of the Peacocks, and the incredible musical vocabulary of the Greater Racket-tailed Drongos. It also brought with it the pre safari morning Chai and biscuits to best enjoy such an ambience before setting off to explore for the morning.

Sloth Bear Encounter

Our plan for the early part of the morning was to head back to where we had seen the tiger the previous evening, with the hope she might still be around there somewhere. The tiger spot from the previous evening was empty as more or less expected, but a dark shape crossing out onto the road 70-80m away suddenly found us a Sloth Bear. Sloth Bears are pretty active in the hotter parts of the Indian Summer as they forage for seasonal fruits, raid honey from bee hives, and every now and then leave an obliterated termite mound, which offers them their main source of nourishment. This one had probably gone for a drink to the reservoir channel nearby and was surprised by our presence on its way back to the forest. After the initial run to keep the distance between us at 70-80m on a consistent basis, it felt a bit more relaxed, and then ambled along, and even stood up to sniff a tree at one point. It would break into a light run each time it crossed a clearing, and then relax once again as it felt settled. It was fun observation over 10 min, with the only drawback being it was against the light as the sun shone into our faces, and so we needed to keep finding spots for the jeep where the glare was less, and observation easier. The Sloth Bear soon ambled away further into the forest, and we lost sight of it. We did run into it a few minutes later, as it crossed back out onto our side of the track, but got spooked by another jeep nearby and ran along into another side of the forest and tracked by the other jeep on the road parallel to it. Having seen the Sloth Bear fairly well already we decided to leave it in peace. The rest of our morning was spent exploring other parts of Churna range, and especially at a Waterhole which had two big crocodiles, and a couple of smaller ones as well. Another jeep had seen the Crocodiles with a fresh spotted deer kill in the early part of the morning, but we were unable to find it alongside them, or at any point along the water.

Black-winged Cuckooshrike sighting

We did get really good views of Spotted Deer and Langur coming to drink, Common Kingfisher catching a fish, a stunning Striated Heron standing pretty close to us, and a rare first time sighting of a Black- winged Cuckooshrike that stooped down to drink. The last bird was a surprise, as even though it has been recorded in Central India and Satpura, it is usually found more often in the North East of India, and hence was quite a catch to find.

Indian Pittas and Peninsular Rock Agamas colour up the forest

Plenty of Indian Pittas all throughout as they hopped on and off the tracks and gave out their signature melodius whistle constantly. Also seen were numerous pairs of Indian Rock Agamas with the males displaying their bright orange breeding colours and the signature agamid bobbing of the head as they postured in front of the females and sized up other males in the vicinity. Soon enough the morning heat rose to uncomfortable levels and so we decided to head back to the rest house.

Giant Squirrel with Young

A sudden surprise sighting of a pair of Indian Giant Squirrels on a low hanging branch of a tree nearby not only stated it was late in the morning, as they prefer to rest post their early morning forage well into the late afternoon, but also a sizeable difference between the individuals indicating they were most likely a mother with her young one. It was a first time for all of us seeing a Giant Squirrel with it’s young, and so a wonderful way to end the morning safari.

Day 2. Afternoon. May 27th.

Gaur, Blue-Bearded Bee Eater, and a Crested Hawk Eagle on it’s Nest

Our Afternoon today was heavy on Gaur sighting, and it started off with us getting privileged to watch a herd of 10 walking in the meadow like clearing between the woodland in front of the rest house. They were heading out from the direction of the stream that bordered the rest house, and had probably been drinking and cooling off there for a while before moving out like they did. We took the path along the stream from the other side of the rest house, and enjoyed moving through the beautiful dappled shade provided by the large Jamun and other deciduous trees that stretched along its banks. We found a fair number of Langurs and Sambar who kept coming down to drink, as well as a testing of the eyes in trying to locate a very vocal Blue-bearded Bee Eater. The Gaur heavy aspect started as we ran into two different herds of Gaur within a km of each other. The first one was the herd we had seen outside our rest house, as it was not far from where we had seen them heading. The second was a much larger herd of 18-20 that crossed out in front of us and then headed off into the forest beyond, foraging as they did so. The latter part of the afternoon also saw us find another three groups of Gaur as well as a couple of lone Bulls. A birding highlight not to be forgotten was the Crested Hawk Eagle that sat perched regally next to its newly made nest, and was an absolute treat for the eyes every time we crossed it.

Day 3. Morning. May 28th.

Male Tiger Hunting

Our final morning in Churna before we headed back into Madhai during the course of the morning turned out to be quite special. We saw two different tigers, with the first one being exclusively our sighting and experience, while the second turned out to be with just one other jeep. For the first tiger experience the real early part of the morning found us having followed up on a lone Sambar alarm and a distant Langur alarm for a completely different predator (we later found the tracks of a Leopard when we went down that road) onto the tracks of an adult Male Tiger, and a few seconds.

later a glimpse of him slowly walking into the forest next to a Waterhole. We thought he would come out next to the waterhole, but when he didn’t a few minutes later, we decided to take a perpendicular road to cut across the direction he was headed in and hopefully find him there. There was a herd of Gaur near the waterhole, but their silence over the next 10-15 minutes deemed that they hadn’t crossed paths with him. We went and parked ahead of a nullah where we thought he would come out. The minutes passed and we were greeted only with silence and regular bird calls, and an inner voice wondering if we had miscalculated his movement altogether. Our guide Vinod decided on going further ahead, and see if he had possibly walked out there towards the other waterholes. We did so, and a few hundred metres down the road one suddenly saw the large shape scent marking and scraping the grass by the side of the road before walking out in front of us. Thrilled at having found him, we were even more surprised when he took no notice of us, without so much as a backward glance in our direction as we followed him just 20m behind. He kept scent marking various shrubs and covering ground with a relaxed and easy demeanor letting everyone know he ruled this territory. It was when we came up on a curve before a bend as the road went from the dry bamboo into a patch of forest, that he suddenly paused and looked alertly at something up ahead. He then treaded purposefully for a few more metres without letting his gaze move from what he had noticed and planted down on his belly to watch and listen. Being parked only 10m behind him now, we could see his ears direct his head movement ever so subtly as he listened to sounds that we were still unable to pick up apart from a whisker of a leaf crackle every now and then. His light tail wag at certain intervals told us, that whatever it was, was certainly exciting him, as cats wag their tails when excited or wanting to charge at something. So it came as a bit of a surprise to us, when a minute later he just let himself relax, and went from the crouch to hind legs turned to the side and head turned sideways to us as if all his interest in what was there had suddenly vanished. We weren’t disappointed at the change at all though, since his looking to the side, offered us a beautiful view of his magnificent head and face in all it’s glory. We kept enjoying this for a couple of minutes, when suddenly he went back into alert mode and focused on the bushes directly ahead of him. He then got up and began treading ever so carefully off the path and onto the leaf litter laden forest floor ahead, placing each paw with precise pressure so as not to make a sound. He would pause every now and then and raise his head higher to listen and use his sharp hearing to lock onto the source better, since it was obvious he still didn’t have a visual. The bushes and bamboo he was treading into faced a drop into a nallah in front, and so it was obvious that what he was after still hadn’t seen nor smelt him. We were now 20m behind and away from him again, but could clearly hear the multiple crackles of leaves from the nallah area a couple of metres ahead of him. A few seconds later he treaded down and out of sight. We wondered what to do, in terms of staying parked or moving a bit further to get a better window into where he might be. However, we decided that since he was clearly hunting something, we would stay parked and thus minimize the disturbance to the scene. A few seconds later a Spotted Deer alarm from the nallah below alerted us to it’s presence and to the possibility that it had noticed or sensed the tiger nearby. Another call from the same was soon followed by a huge crashing sound in the bushes just above and slightly further away from where he had disappeared from view a bit earlier. Three tawny coloured Nilgai suddenly appeared as they sprinted one behind the otherwith the Tiger coming into view a second later in a quickly slowing down charge, as he realized he had missed. He stood there for a few seconds despondent at having missed, and now having a pandemonium of Nilgai, Langur and Spotted Deer Alarms all round him. One would usually think a Tiger would give up and move on much farther ahead after having missed such a chance and having all the prey alert in that particular area. However, he was hungry, and not willing to give up just yet, and so he turned back and started stalking toward the nallah again. We crossed out ahead into the open now to get a better viewof the zone he had been targeting. He then trotted out into the open in our direction, with something none of us could see having caught his attention there. He stood for a couple of seconds, and then turned again to face the direction he had been stalking earlier. There was a lone Nilgai and a Langur alarm coming from the direction he had honed in on, and had been calling from about 60-70m further in and a couple of shallow ridges away. He was certainly aware, that those calling couldn’t see him, and so he started moving with a renewed but faster stalk into that direction. We glimpsed him a couple of times 50m away as he moved along the dry sand of the nallah to find a favourable cross into the first shallow ridge in the direction of the calling Nilgai, and then were unable to see him again.

Alarm Calls for Leopard

Hoping he would cross out further up on the road at some point we decided to move in that direction. The added bonus was that there was very good Langur alarm coming from this road we had taken and was parallel to where we thought he was headed. Aware that it wasn’t for him, owing to the distance we zeroed in on it. The call kept coming but was 50-60m inside, and no amount of scanning revealed anything. We headed further on and now noticed the fresh tracks of a Leopard headed in our direction, and thus knew the reason for this Langur Alarm. We kept going ahead, and realized the Leopard had walked quite a way. We kept going further with the hope of finding the Tiger crossing back out again. 20 min later, we realized it was futile though, as he would take time and in case he failed would probably rest again for a bit. We turned back and decided to go back to the Nallah we had lost sight of him, with a vague hope of maybe seeing him again, or even finding the Leopard. The area of the track where we had last seen him from was also a trijunction, and as we had covered two stretches of it, decided to cover the final one that went along the forest back in the direction of the Forest Rest House. A few metres down this track we found the tracks of another Leopard who had walked toward the intersection we had left. Both Leopard Tracks we had found were fairly fresh, and they had probably joined up together, before the pandemonium caused by the Tiger hunting had got them to move off further in. The scenario was bittersweet, cause it would have been incredible to see even one of them after having been in the experience with the tiger earlier.

Mottled Wood Owl Sighting

The area had gone more or less quiet now, and so we decided to head toward the road we had heard the distant Langur alarm when we had found the tiger the first time. The crossing onto it revealed the fresh tracks of a female Leopard who had walked on and off the track for a good 2-3 km. It was the reason the Langur had been insistently calling at that time over an hour earlier. We kept going further ahead, and suddenly had Hema notice a pair of Mottled Wood Owls on a tree next to us beside the road. They however flew off further in as we stopped near them, and were a real challenge to find and see with a slightly strong breeze swaying the trees they were on, in spite of having Jungle Babblers and Treepies alarming all round them. Finally got a bit of a view, and a record shot that makes one proud, because of the tiny window available 40m away to get a relatively clear shot as well as the swaying vegetation in front.

Common Palm Civet Sighting

A few minutes down the road, as we watched a pair of Scarlet Minivets our guide Vinod drew our attention to a tree hollow 20m away and 10m off the ground, stating there was a Giant Flying Squirrel that could be seen within. Amazed at the spotting, as Flying Squirrels are nocturnal, and usually only appear during the day if disturbed, we looked through our binoculars to see it as well. The binoculars revealed the greyish body connected to the face of a nocturnal animal all right, but it wasn’t a flying squirrel as thought earlier, but a Common Palm Civet staring back at us. Tried to take a record shot, but getting focus onto the face seemed tricky, and soon enough the Civet turned its face away and turned to a dark patch within a darker hollow.

Adult Female Tiger Sighting. Second Tiger of the morning.

We drove further up and soon got onto a crossing where we found the fresh tracks of an adult female Tiger. As we went further up, we saw them vanish into the forest. Driving further, we turned onto a track going left when Vinod said “Oh here’s the Tiger”. Amazingly just a few metres away and as plain as day stood a an adult female tiger staring back at us. She then crossed the track slowly a few metres behind us before being hidden by the lantana bushes again. Our guide was of the view that she would cross out onto either a waterhole further up, or head to one inside where the jeep had no access. We met another jeep a minute later who hadn’t seen the tiger, and told them off her possible movement. The track looped around at a point and so they decided to go check from the opposite direction to us and try and find her crossing out around that track loop. We first waited for a bit to hear if they were any alarm calls signaling her presence coming out to where we might be. A few minutes later, and enough silence heard we decided to go further and catch the same loop on the track and perhaps catch her crossing in case she hadn’t settled into the Waterhole inside. Luck was on our side today, and as we got near that track loop we noticed the other jeep beckoning us with signals and pointing toward the forest. It took a few seconds and then we noticed her walking shape 100m away as she walked out of the Lantana and into the more open woodland toward us. She walked with a calm gait and demeanor associated with one who has seen many a person and tourist. She had recently brought up four cubs to adulthood and parted ways with them only a month ago, and so was now looking at some well earned rest. The heat of the morning was starting to tell as well, and we were then told she was heading in the direction of another waterhole deep in the woodland across the track, which had been used by the family while they were growing up and had plenty of shade and constant water all year round. She soon crossed the track between the jeeps and went onto a slight rocky ridge before sitting down and resting there. A few minutes later, having gotten her breath back, and wanting to get to the cool of the waterhole beyond the other stretch of lantana and the existing jeep tracks she crossed over and blended out of view.

An incredible morning, we then had our packed breakfast nearby, before heading on back to Madhai and continuing the trip over the next two nights on that side of the reserve.

Day 3. Evening. May 28th.

Night Safari in Buffer Zone

That evening we had decided on a night drive to get a different experience of the forest. There were currently two zones for night drives used in the buffer, being Sehra and the more popular Parsapani. Parsapani had rocked through consistent sightings of tigers over the past month and so was being targeted by everyone. It being a weekend, our guide told us of the traffic that might be there, and asked us to consider the less used Sehra area for a more exclusive experience. It turned out to be the right call, as we were the only vehicle in the zone as the evening hit and though we didn’t see any big or small cats, enjoyed a host of other highlights that one might usually pass by when zoned in on just finding big game. Watching a pair of Indian Thicknees with their two young chicks strike out at an annoying Rufous Treepie whenever it tried its luck at a close dive bomb was a treat to watch. Dusk was approaching as the sun dropped further below the horizon, and our shift to another waterhole saw us a pair of Malabar Pied Hornbills perched nearby for a bit, before flying further away to their roosting tree for the oncoming night. The last part of dusk found us observing a lone Wild Boar at another waterhole, and his dilemma at approaching the water to wallow and drink, while all the while keeping an ear and nose out for predatory threats, as well as the unfamiliar humans in us. Darkness soon fell, andthis was followed by multiple sightings of Indian Nightjars perched on the track as well as catching insects in flight. The latter part of the night found us moving into the cool dried reservoir bed of the Denwa bordering the National Park. However, apart from a distant herd of Spotted Deer and a couple of individual Indian Thicknees it remained uneventful, just feeling submerged in the darkness made one feel the sounds of silence and whispers of wind that ethereate through the jungle night.

Day 4. Morning. May 29th.

Insectivorous Plants Viewing. Large Gaur Herd. Wooly-necked Stork with Young.

The following morning had us move into the higher mountain areas of Madhai Range where the streams flowing out from the rocks were the habitat of the Insectivorous Sundew or Drosera Sp. And were in various stages of their life cycle, from the young green algae like saplings, to the the maroonish-yellow mix of adults. Had seen them with insect catches in earlier trips, but was unable to notice one in the small patch we observed this time out. Other major highlights of the morning included a massive gaur herd 34 strong, with 4 adult bulls holding fort, and a wonderful observation of a Wooly-necked Stork on a nest with two hatchlings.

Day 4. Afternoon. May 29th.

Walking Safari in the Madhai Core Zone

The afternoon had us step out of the jeep and put our feet on mother earth to tread on one of the two walking trails in the core zone of the park. Satpura National Park is currently the only one in India that allows guided walks for small groups in its core zone, and having done these over the years can certainly say they offer a superb and unique way of experiencing the forest in themselves. With the reservoir waters being at a seasonal low, we were walking in the bed for the most part. Small Pratincole, Black- winged Stilit, Little-ringed Plover, River Terns, Little Terns, Crested Larks, Red-wattled and River Lapwings and a distant raft of Knob-billed or Comb Ducks occupied our visuals as well as auditories with their constant alarm at our presence. The Jackal was the only predator of sorts we saw trotting on the opposing bank trying to look for the weak, young and/or inattentive, but it was us who spooked not just a collective of Nightjars from a patch of shrub in the latter part of the evening, but also a small group of Sambar and a distant Langur that barked out an alarm at the edge of the forest. Our dinner that night was a wonderful treat at the Denwa Backwater Escape and mentioned in the acknowledgements below.

Day 5. Morning. May 30th.

Leopard Deception

The Final morning safari saw us head back over to the JhinJhin Mahal area. There had been news of a Tiger on a Wild Boar Kill in that stretch from the day before, and so we were hoping we might find some signs of the same. No such luck, but we did get tricked by a Leopard, that had walked on the track in our direction after which its tracks had stepped away to the side and vanished into the forest. The tracks had appeared pretty fresh, but at certain points it seemed as if they had been edged by a previous vehicle’s tyre marks, giving us the impression they had been made slightly earlier prior to the previous vehicle heading to Churna that morning. Mildly disappointed, we went down to the temple and had breakfast. At the end of our breakfast we were treated to some good Langur and a solitary Sambar alarm in the waterhole area just next to the temple, but were unable to see anything. It was exciting to feel that close to a predator moving in the area nonetheless. We decided to head back after, and retraced our path along which we had come down to the temple. It was around 45 min later we found the tracks of the Leopard we had missed that morning. A hundred metres further down the track was where the bittersweet surprise of the morning awaited us. The tracks of the Male Leopard were on the path in front of us, and heading in the same direction as us, and this time were all over our jeep tracks. He had probably been lying in wait close to the road after having cut away from it at the sound of our approaching vehicle. After hearing us ebb away further out, had come back on the track and continued for a further 200m before cutting back into the forest, and vanishing like the phantom he was. Such are the scenarios that take place in the forest at times, and gave birth to the saying “that you may not have seen me, but I have seen you many a time”.

The trip turned out to be one of the best one has had in the wilderness of Central India till date, and could not have happened without the following people.

My Fair Ladies; My three guests Hema Maira, Meenakshi Khanna, and Ritu Khanna. To have one wildlife aficionado in a group is usually a treat. To have three, and all friends with each other just makes safari guiding a different experience of enjoyment for everyone involved. The fact that all of them braved the relentless Central Indian Summer without so much as batting an eyelid, well perhaps there was one here and there, but their love for the forest and positivity overrode it all. To all the conversations prior to the trip, to those during, and to every experience we shared, one couldn’t have asked for a better set of people. Certainly look forward to having the privilege and pleasure of experiencing another trip sometime in the future with them again.

Our Guides and Drivers– From Vinod, to Laxmi, to Ram andHariprasad and all others who were with us on the safaris, their knowledge, and ability alongside the desire to enthusiastically share it. The Greenscape Resort and Staff- The place, it’s comforting space, the hospitality, the delicious and simple food and the tireless efforts to make our stay ever more comfortable and better. Looking forward to staying there again.

The Churna Forest Rest House and Staff- Few places are still as wild and available for a proper wilderness experience like this one. Deep in the heart of the forest and surrounded by wildlife and running only on solar electricity and power its remoteness is second to none. The fact that the forest staff who looks after the place in such challenging circumstances makes the stay like one is at home is just incredible, and not enough may be said about their regard for people and tourists. Vishnu Deep Dixit, Harendra and the Denwa Backwater Staff- The fact that we enjoyed our final dinner by invite to the stunning Denwa Backwater Escape was one of the most wonderful gestures that could be offered up by a lodge and its people to those they had just met and interacted with for a bit in the forest.

Shrey Goel- My friend and Owner of Greetoe Resorts in Panna, Bandhavgarh and Kanha who suggested and organized the partnership with Greenscape and met all our less than usual time and stay stipulations to make the trip a very memorable one, and one to be repeated in future.

Highlights

114 Species of Bird including a surprise sighting of a male Black-winged Cuckooshrike (my first sighting of this species in Central India), nine species of Raptor including a magnificent Crested Hawk Eagle on it’s nest, five species of Owl including a pair of Mottled Wood Owls one morning and some fabulous colour added by the Indian Pitta, Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher, Orange-headed Thrush, Grey Junglefowl and Emerald Dove.

15 Species of Mammal including 3 different tigers, one sloth bear, an Indian Giant Squirrel with it’s young, lots of Gaur, and a Common Palm Civet to name a few.

Tracks and Signs Add to that were close misses with at least 3-4 different Leopards gauging from the tracks and alarm calls of Langur nearby. Tracks and signs of Dhole or Indian Wild Dog, and Indian Crested Porcupine also found.

4 Species of Reptile including Marsh Crocodile, and numerous breeding pairs of the Peninsular Rock Agama.

Diary of Highlights

Day 1

1. Tracks of an Adult Female Tiger with 3 six+ month old cubs
2. Tracks of Adult Male and Female Tigers in different areas
3. Leopard Tracks
4. Indian Giant Squirrels
5. Good close up sightings of 3 different adult bull Gaur, including two who were eyeing each other
   and posturing to show dominance as we were currently in the Gaur Mating Season as well.
6. Excellent sighting of an Adult Female Tiger lying in short green grass near the edge of the
   reservoir. Our first tiger of the trip and my first tiger in Satpura in 22 years of having first visited
   this stunning reserve.
7. Stay in Churna Forest Rest House

Day 2

1. Langur Alarm for a predator near the Rest House before dawn
2. Lone adult Sloth Bear seen in the same area as the Tiger the previous evening
3. Marsh Crocodiles at a Waterhole
4. Striated Heron hunting
5. Black-winged Cuckooshrike
6. Indian Pittas
7. Peninsular Rock Agama mating display
8. Giant Squirrel with young
9. 2 different Lone bull Gaurs in the afternoon
10. Blue Bearded Bee Eater
11. Crested Hawk Eagle on it’s Nest
12. Stay in Churna Forest Rest House

Day 3

1. Fantastic sighting and experience of an Adult Male Tiger stalking and attempting to hunt Nilgai
   just a few metres from us in the morning
2. Heavy Alarm Calls in the vicinity and Fresh Tracks of 3 different Leopards who had walked on the
   road while we had been watching the Tiger
3. A Pair of Mottled Wood Owls
4. A Common Palm Civet initially mistaken to be a Giant Flying Squirrel resting in a tree hollow.
5. A fabulous encounter with an Adult Female Tiger who crossed our path twice and gave
   wonderful views before going further into the forest.
6. Transfer to Madhai to a private resort
7. Night safari in the Buffer Zone
8. Indian Thicknees with Young during the night safari
9. Wild Boar drinking at a waterhole at dusk

Day 4

1. A large herd of Gaur with 34 heads amongst them, including 4 adult bulls.
2. Observing Drosera or Sundew, a tiny insectivorous plant at the edge of a rocky stream in the
   forest in many stages of it’s life cycle including many that were in the process of devouring and
   digesting insects like flies etc.
3. Wooly-necked Stork with two hatchlings at a nest
4. Walking Safari in the Core in the afternoon with plenty of birds including the likes of River
   Lapwings, Little-ringed Plovers and Knob-billed Ducks near the edge of the reservoir
   backwaters.
5. Asiatic Jackal on the prowl spooking a collective of Savanna Nightjars from a bush, as well
   creating a slight alarm between a few Sambar and Langur nearby.
6. Night at Madhai Resort

Day 5.

1. Found Fresh tracks of an Adult Male Leopard. Found them again 45 min later as we returned to the same track as he had walked out from hiding and all over our jeep tracks.
2. Orange Headed Thrushes
3. Tickell’s Blue Flycatcher
4. Giant Squirrel feeding on a Fig tree feeding on Ripe Figs

Itinerary

Cost

Inclusions

Gallery