Tadoba a Place of Exciting Safaris Where Taru & The Tiger are Worshipped

Of Tribal & Tiger 

There is a huge assemblage of the tribal at the shrine of Taru, a legendary figure who sacrificed his life fighting a tiger. The assemblage at the shrine takes place during the Hindu month of Pausha.  The shrine lies under a large tree at Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) and is venerated by one and all. 

Photo Tadoba Tiger Reserve

The reserve was once ruled by the Gond Tribal worshippers of Lord Shiva and local deities. Like all indigenous people's inclination for nature, nature worship is hence common among the tribal, but it is based on sound logic and promotes nature conservation. 

For eons, since humans arrived or evolved on Earth, the locals have been living at Tadoba in perfect harmony with the tigers and other wild inhabitants. Man-animal conflict in tiger habitats of India is minimal and on most occasions accidental or due to rare cases of a mental aberration among wild animals. 

Humans are injured or killed but the incidences are far less or negligible when compared with any other cause of death. At Tadoba humanity has engulfed the ecosystem, and there are frequent cases of infringement bringing the animals and man too close for comfort. However, the tourists are completely safe and can enjoy the tiger landscape on safari holidays and go back unscathed. Ha!   

Tadoba Tiger Landscape (TATR) in Chaimur Hills

TATR is an amalgamation of the Tadoba and Andhari forests near Chandrapur District in the State of Maharashtra. The Andhari River (Wainganga Basin) is the lifeline of the ecosystem along with many other wetlands. A large Tadoba Lake separates the forests from the farmlands in the southwest acting as a natural wall of protection from human interference.   

The National Park is also a tiger reserve under Project Tiger a program to save the endangered big cats. But along with the conservation of the big cats, the ecosystem as a whole and all wild animals in a particular benefit the most. The area of the reserve is 625 sq. km plus, but a large extent of surrounding dense forests and scrub holds incredible wildlife and equally good sighting of tigers and leopards takes place outside the core.  

The tropical dry deciduous forests create a magical tapestry of green in the tiger landscape. Unlike Kanha and Bandhavgarh, Sal does not dominate here being a mixed forest, but Saj and its associates are found in abundance in areas with thick crown cover besides bamboo and grasslands.  Harwood Teak dominates, but other species found here are semal, dhawa, bija, jamun, tendu, tinsa, ber, pipal, banyan,  mahua, hirda, gurar, salai, arjun, palas and karaya gum to name a few.  

One of the notable floral elements found here is kach katchauli a climber that grows extensively in the park. It is used for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. 

Tiger Biodiversity Jewel at TATR 

Tiger! Well, for the uninitiated the mention always slithers down from fables, poems, songs, fictional stories, hunting books, myths, and lore.  Projected as an oversized predator with huge claws, deadly long canines, and a nasty roar Grrrrrrr, the animal is also associated with magical power and unmatchable strength. We see it as a deadly man-killer or man-eater always after human blood. Shikaris or hunters always justified the mass killing of this predator on the basis described above.     

Nothing stands far from the truth. The tiger is an apex predator part of forest and grassland ecosystems in India. It is a tertial carnivore along with the leopard and at some places like Nauradehi Tiger Reserve with the wolf. It is extremely wary of humans and in my experience frightened to the core. 

We are not in the food chain of this apex predator excluded by the fright of the two-legged merciless creature that walks erect for ages.  In preserves like Tadoba, a robust prey base is enough for the big cat to subsist on. All reserves in India focus on the prey base so large numbers of these predators can survive and live for eternity. 

Tiger at Tadoba

The prey base inhabiting the Tadoba is as follows;

• Sambar
• Chital
• Chausingha
• Barking Deer
• Wild Boars
• Nilgai
• Marsh Crocodile
• Hanuman or Gray Langur
• Rhesus Macaque
• Porcupine
• Civets
• Mongoose 
• Wild Dog (Co-predator)
• Leopard    (Co-predator)
• Jackal (Co-predator)
• Fox (Co-predator)

The last few can hardly be terms as prey base, but the big cats kill all life that moves. I have seen them chewing grass and eating sand probably to aid in digestion or to fulfill mineral deficiency.  With such a large prey base being conserved in India, man-killing is accidental or as described a rare instance of mental aberration. 

With over a hundred and fifteen tigers, the reserve offers one of the best chances to see the big cats in wild natural surroundings. A trip to Melghat, Pench, and Kanha National Parks can be organized in a package tour for Tadoba  Tiger Reserve or TATR. This will accord a greater wildlife experience and offer sightings of the Central Indian landscape. 

Birds of Tadoba

More than two hundred species of avian can be found at the National Park. The number includes Pale Arctic Migrants that arrive in the winter. 

Some of the noted species are:

• Paradise Flycatcher
• Peacock Pheasant
• Orange-headed thrush, 
• Golden Backed Woodpecker
•  Indian pitta, 
• Crested treeswift,
• Shama
• Alexandrine Parakeet
• White Rumped Vulture
• Egyptian Vulture
• Honey Buzzard
• Crested Serpent Eagle
• Crested Hawk Eagle
• White Eyed Buzzard
• Mottled Wood Owl
• Barn Owl
• Scops Owl
• Jungle Owlet
• Stone curlew
• Bronze-winged jacana
• Black-naped blue flycatcher 
• Brown Fish Owl
• Brown Cheeked Fulvetta
• Plum Headed Parakeet
• Wire Tailed Swallow
• Tickell's Flower Pecker
• Thick Billed Flowerpecker
• Hume's Warbler
• Greenish Warbler
• Paddyfield Warbler
• Booted Warbler
• Pipits
• Larks
• Nightjars 
  
  
  The list is endless please refer to a hand guide of Indian birds for reference to the region. 

How to Explore Tadoba on Tiger Safari?

TATR comes under the jurisdiction of the Maharashtra State Government. A permit is mandatory for excursions in the park. The safari can be booked online at: https://booking.mytadoba.org/safari/

Or you can request your package tour operator for Tadoba for game rides at Tadoba. He will also help organize your travel to the National Park. Please discuss all before making a tour.  

It is advisable to book a safari much in advance as entry may be limited. It is also advisable to book accommodations and make travel arrangements after your safari has been booked.  

===========================================================================

Uday has worked as a naturalist and loves to write about tigers and other wildlife forms. He also provides SEO Services and Content for Digital Marketing. He can be contacted at :

pateluday90@hotmail.com

Mob/Watsapp: 9755089323

Tiger Images by Teerath Singh

Be it Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench or Tadoba, Teerath Singh, MP Tour Operator manages to get the best shot. The photographer certainly knows how to combine work with pleasure. The finest wildlife destination on Earth the tigers of Kanha National Park offer the best photo tour. The other tiger reserves offer an equal opportunity to capture images of the king in his wild realm.    

Searching for tiger in Pench

"When they do not want to be seen you don't see them." I explained to my friend who had just been to Tadoba. "Yeah that's what happened at Tadoba," my friend replied back. We were very hopeful that he and his family would see the tiger there since it was so much in picture. There had been frequent tiger sightings at Tadoba in Maharashtra, surpassing the Central Indian Tiger Reserves.     

Well I had warned them about the rains that could disrupt tiger safaris at the end of the season. That's what happened. It rained at both places and the safari was ruined. My friend was more hopeful at Pench with me along. He knows that I conduct tiger safaris and birding trips. But tigers are tigers unpredictable yet fathomable.

In National Parks these big cats are seen whence stressed for water and food. Heat and the need to chalk out their territory time and again brings them near the jungle roads. Yes a search for a mate also fetches them into the open. But on rainy day they prefer to relax under the canopy, and have water all around. There is no need for thermo-regulation which keeps indolent. The prey base is scattered all around. But tigress with cubs are more likely to move. If the cubs are grown up they stray away, but keep  in the vicinity of the mother. In such circumstances you should keep to the area of the family.       

Without tiger sightings, the long rides in the forest are not as disappointing as people think. It is the singular chase for tiger that dampens the whole excursion.

There is so much to experience, in these lovely forests, deers, monkeys, a sudden surprise - four Jackals on a kill. The birds are simply fantastic they are must watch even for those who are not bird watchers. The resplendent colors, the acrobatic flight and remarkable camouflage that surprises you no end. 

The massive bisons and the stately sambar peacefully foraging on long grasses is a wonderful sight to watch. Other life forms are an intrigue that thrills. A sloth bear ambling along and a leopard on prowl can be as exciting as a pack of wildlife chasing a deer and consuming it while still alive. Well that is how the nature works.         

The tiger some of us did see on the trip. We decided to move to the part of the river banks which was frequented by a tigress with grown up cubs. Another jeep spotted a tiger few minutes before we reached the banks of Pench River. They left as soon as the animal vanished leaving us to look for the big cat. We could hear lots of alarm cries but the bushes were very thick. 

We waited ahead in the direction of tiger walk but the animal had decided to change its course, I presumed. Hence I turned my binoculars towards the river and its bank. It was one roar that told me where the animal was. We headed back for some distance and then looked at the river bed through the clearing. All us were standing on the jeep seats to get a better view. (You are not allowed to get down from the jeep and you shouldn't.) 

"There it is! I whispered and pointed in the direction. Only one or two could see the tiger moving fast towards the other bank. The roar continued as it vanished into the tall grasses and that was that. I could still picture the scene but the roar was more exciting. My friends also appreciated this event. 'The roar was frightening," they said. Well it was!