A Wild Holiday Experience in Tiger Land

The raucous alarm cries continued unabated and we waited patiently hoping a big cat would show up. Well nothing emerged but we continued to wait in expectation. We were at Kanha National Park in Central India on wildlife safari. After a long deliberation we had chosen this destination on Diwali Holidays

Though we had many other options we decided for Kanha hoping that on this holiday tour we would see a tiger. These predators are elusive and shy of humans and sighting them is a feeling of extreme joy. Hence we waited for a long time but nothing happened, the alarm cries of monkeys and deer came to a stop and we moved ahead. But this was bound to be our day for as soon as we turned a corner a huge dominant male tiger was moving into the bush.

"This is the tiger we were waiting for, “the guide said. "He moved away from us while we were waiting and here it is!”

What a wonderful sight it was. We were absolutely mesmerized by the grace and beauty of the majestic animal. Busy clicking photographs we witnessed the spectacle in pin drop silence. The animal stood looking at us in awe surprised by the sudden intrusion. But not for long he soon vanished into the thick canopy his massive frame sliding in the green with ease. Soon there was nothing as the bubble burst. The whole family thrilled to the bone was chattering incoherently about what they had seen and what they thought about.

The banter was enough for the return journey to the luxury lodge. But we had more safaris to go and we were planning for a holistic experience. We were lucky for we had a company of trained naturalist provided by the hotel we were staying at. The food was delicious and the evenings by the campfire memorable.

Safaris at Kanha are organized in the early morning and post noon. This gives us enough time to see not only the tiger but plenty of other animals like the sloth bear, leopard, wild dog and the bison. Common animals like the sambar, spotted deer. Hanuman monkey and wild boar are seen frequently on the drives. The tough ones are the leopard and the sloth bear but little patient and expert tracking by the guide will lead to success. The pride of Kanha is of course the endangered hard ground swamp deer for only five hundred now survive. They have made a miraculous recovery from just 66 heads thanks to the park management. They are the most beautiful and graceful deer on Earth.