ATR - Day 29: Another day of wonderful tiger sighting at Panna
ATR - Day 29: Another day of wonderful tiger sighting at Panna
Today, we got a tiger even before we entered the reserve. And during both the morning and evening safaris, we got to see tigers, and tree-perched leopard as well.
October 29, 2023
Sunday, 11:00 PM
Naahar Bagh Rajbagh,
Panna District,
Madhya Pradesh,
India
The morning safari in Panna Tiger Reserve was quite eventful, so much so that the events started lining up even before the safari had properly started, even though the first of the events was distressing. We saw a dead deer on the road with his skin badly peeled off. The deer seemed to have been hit by a vehicle while it was trying to get away from a stalking tiger.
As we drove on from there, just about a hundred meters towards the spot from where we were supposed to start our safari, we saw a tiger on the road. When we entered into the reserve, there were pugmarks everywhere, which is always a promising sight, and so we began looking around but for a long time no tiger appeared in sight. Then we decided to move in the opposite direction towards the Madla Gate of Panna Tiger Reserve, having entered the reserve from the Hinota Gate, to continue our search and wait (which is how you stalk a stalker — applies only to the animal kingdom; don’t stretch it to the nefarious bipeds for your own sake). There is a tigress with her cubs towards that gate; so we had thought of exploring the possibility of chancing upon her. So we went towards the Mandla Gate and waited for her to emerge, but she didn’t.
But on our way back towards the Hinota Gate, we found a tigress and also three of her cubs, who were sitting at a distance from her. So that was the morning safari, which went pretty well not only because we got to see a tiger but also because we came across a leopard perched on a tree, which is always a pretty awesome sight.
In the evening, things got way better than the morning when we found three tiger cubs, but let me tell that story tomorrow together with tomorrow’s update. I am already late in dispatching his newsletter, primarily due to the regular everyday stuff that needs to be done for ATR — travel, editing and daily uploads. The good thing is, one way or the other, we are getting better at it.