Indian Wildlife & Ecotourism Tourism

 Since prehistoric times wildlife or wild animals' meat consumption was a regular part of the human diet. Animals were meant to be hunted for food before agrarian practices proliferated. Although human food also comprised vegetables and fruits that grew naturally animals being in plenty constituted a major part of the human diet.

In the modern era, hunting became a sport ruthless one at that and wild animal meat was a regular part of the human diet. Because of this Europe and the Americas lost most of their wilderness. Even in Asia, this has happened.

 As the civilizations progressed and guns came into the picture and wildlife persecution in form of sport and food magnified. With greater progress in society, wealth accumulation and greed pushed back the ethos of conservation forever.

In many civilizations, most of the wild animals especially predators were treated as vermin and a bounty was placed on them. They were trapped, snared, or shot down for a small price. With expanding communities the ecosystems or habitats began to vanish as widespread clearance started taking place to grow crops.

Clearance for agriculture and hunting is part of the torturous passage of history pages. Many wild species have become extinct, and mass extinction is threatening wilderness everywhere. During British rule, the Tiger, Lion, Elephant, Cobra, and even small predators were ruthlessly eliminated all for a small price.

When cognizance dawned we are all interlinked with all forms of life on Earth it was quite late. The conservation laws came in to stem the rot albeit quite late. Tigers, lions, rhinos, cheetahs, and leopards are being poached on a horrendous scale to this date.

Even in independent India, these animals were shot before the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 for a paltry fee. Shameful. We cannot blame the British alone for the sad state of affairs that prevails today.  It is the protected area concept that has saved much wilderness in the country. Project Tiger is responsible for saving the tiger in the reserves in India. There are more than fifty tiger reserves in the country, and more are being created to save the big cats, wildlife, and the ecosystem.

Ecotourism

Ecotourism in India has been a saving grace and bringing crucial revenue for the conservation of our National Parks and reserves. Organized tiger safaris are playing a major role in conservation. The parks are managed by State Governments under the aegis of NTCA and the results have been encouraging. There are more than 3000 tigers in the country and the future looks bright. 

Conserving Wildlife in the Pench Tiger Kingdom

Forsyth's Highlands of Central India

When Mowgli roamed the jungles of Seoni, they were teeming with tigers, leopards, sloth bears, bison, and the wolf. All these were part of life at the Seoni Hills, neighboring the township. At that time in India, there was wilderness everywhere, and this is best described in the book by James Forsyth "The Central Indian Highlands". Forsyth was a British explorer and a keen hunter. None could have written better than him on Central India, albeit there is a considerable slant against the natives.  

Tiger

The Sad Decline

Unfortunately, commercial forestry had started, and logs were falling everywhere pan India. The forests were slowly but surely receding; such was their extent in the country. The modern hunter with guns, trained elephants, and an entourage of Indian slaves was more vicious than his counterpart in the bygone era. 

The British rulers in India had declared predators as vermin, and a price was paid to the killers. In that period, around twenty-five thousand tigers were reported killed besides other predators. This was pure butchery! At that time, both the jungles and wild animals in India faced the fury of the rulers and their satraps, the princely bandwagon. This was followed by the cleansing of forests for agriculture post-independence, and wild animals came in the way. Rapid urbanization is the biggest threat ecosystems are facing in present-day India.   

Pench Jungle

Slow Recovery 

The jungles of Seoni, and neighboring Chhindawara, like everywhere, were being denuded, and subsequently, the depletion of wildlife was taking place. However, these forests were part of the Satpura Ranges, and the hilly terrain survived somewhat. Even in the seventies before the WPAct, a license to kill a tiger was around Rs.45, and you had the blessings of the local livestock owners and the dispensation. 

Small patches of forests came under the net of Project Tiger as a protected area, and the rot was stemmed. This happened quite late in 1972 whence the Wildlife Protection Act was passed, and the Project Tiger Program was initiated. WPA led to a complete ban on hunting wild animals. 

As a result, Pench Tiger Reserve and National Park came into existence in the year 1977. A much-reduced ecosystem, nevertheless, the creation of PA gave hope to the critically endangered tiger.  Today the park is a conservation unit, and more than fifty tigers survive in an approximate belt of 700 plus sq. km with dense cover. However, before creating the PA, the park was being run under sordid circumstances with rampant poaching and wood logging cases.  

The electrocution of wild animals was a major threat that was eventually brought under control. But this threat still exists, and so do other means of killing wild animals.  During my visit in the early nineties, I was witness to a carcass of electrocuted tigers and other animals; even one poacher was said to have died in the horrific incident. The sordid saga dealt with neglect, and the police apathy was evident.  

Though greater effort is being made by protecting wild animals and flora, conservation initiatives with the least intervention are quite common. As a result, the wilderness is flourishing, and the big cats are breeding well. At least in the critical tiger habitat or core. 

This conservation unit is home to the critically endangered Indian Wolf. Severely persecuted by humanity, it is still surviving, but there is no count or status record here. The dry deciduous tropical forests of this reserve are mixed forests with an abundance of fruiting trees, contributing to the strong recovery of animal populations in Central India. The overflow in the future would accelerate the need for a corridor between Pench and Kanha, which exists in a fragmented state at present.  The Jabalpur, Nagpur highway intersects the jungles, and road accidents are being prevented by building underpasses which sets a good example for the rest of the country obsessed with linear development.  Remedies like building elevated highways or underpasses and overpasses will reduce man-animal conflict by allowing safe passage to wild animals. 

Under the aegis of NTCA and the State Forest Department, considerable protection is accorded to the unit. Though the major part of the forest is under Madhya Pradesh Government, the rest is under the Maharashtra State.   

Tiger Tourism at Pench

Although created with conservation in focus, there is another dimension to the unit. And this is tourism which has proven to be a substantial revenue generator in the park. In addition, it contributes to National Exchequer by the inbound flow of foreign exchange through overseas visitors. 

Tourism is conducted in twenty percent area of critical tiger habitat and in the outer ring called a buffer. Though a preferred activity in the core, there is substantiative movement in the buffer as well.  The regulated tourism ecosystem is not only instrumental in earning revenue for the park. It is a major source of employment and small trade opportunity for people living in the periphery.  

The department employs a large number of people as guides, forest guards, and sundry laborers. The popular wildlife resorts in Pench are the key employment generators. They attract tourism from overseas as well as the domestic crowd. Luxury resorts and tour operators play a major role in marketing wild India abroad and locally. The tourism ecosystem generates business and employment. The status of locals and small-time businesses is robust thanks to the regulated tourism in the parks like Pench.  

These units are effective in nature interpretation and thus generate a sense of pride by increasing awareness about our wild heritage. Experience the wild tiger safari on an open jeep in Pench. It is organized every day except Wednesday evening. The tourists have to book a permit for each safari at MPOnline Portal. Another option is to book at the gate if available. The best season to experience conservation and search for wild animals is throughout the year except for the monsoon. 

Approach to Pench

From Kanha National Park by Road 

By Air Jabalpur and Nagpur

Nagpur Airport is much closer at 90 km approximately.  

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Uday freelances as a naturalist and loves to write about tiger conservation and the environment.

He also provides SEO and Content and teaches  Digital Marketing in his hometown Jabalpur. 

Contact: 

pateluday90@hotmail.com

9755089323

Will Tiger be Extinct in India?

Tiger Population Decline

The beast surely faced a big risk of being extinct in India but with sufficient conservative initiative, the outlook seems promising.  From perhaps less than 1400 tigers in the country, the population now touches around 3000. This has certainly been no small achievement.   

Tiger Population 20th 

At the turn of the 20th century, the estimated population of big cats was more than a hundred thousand spread all over the country. This was the period in which hunting had started on a large scale and habitats were being replaced with agriculture or commercial forestry. Although the impact was not immediate the rot had set in and led to further damage whence monetary incentive was doled out to kill wild animals in India by the ruling British to get rid of the vermin in which the tiger was also included.  This was disastrous as animals like wolves, jackals, hyenas, foxes, leopards, and tigers were culled in large numbers. 

Hunting by the elites was a major scourge that added to this massacre and it was responsible for local extinction at many places.  

Indian Tiger

Post Independence 

Post-independence the population had come down strikingly low from estimated forty thousand to + - 1400. The die was cast and something had to be done if this magnificent predator had to make a return. Thankfully India had become a republic  (1950 ) the British had left and the local realms had been included in the newly born republic with no administrative controls.         

Under the new domain, the animals continued to be hunted, and their habitats are taken over by humans for agrarian purposes. The fast-growing population was making its presence felt and hungry stomachs had to be fed. This lead to an extensive takeover of wild habitats in all types of ecosystems to facilitate agriculture and to settle the ever-growing communities. This was one of the main reasons for the reduction in the population of tigers in India. The habitats were trampled over thoughtlessly to feed the masses. 

Commercial Forestry in India      

Systemic exploitation of forests is a recent phenomenon in India if the historic time scale is taken into account. Perhaps it all started post-1850 whence commercial forestry began during the Raj. This also implies that large-scale forests were cleared in India for commercial purposes accentuated by the industrial revolution in Great Britain.   

Commercial Forestry Slide Show

Extensive deforestation in the country took place from 1880 onward to 1920. There are many reasons for extensive deforestation during British rule but we should also take into the account overflowing population and the subsequent need for food and settlement. 

Deforestation, commercial exploitation, and human takeover of ecosystems continued in the country till the rot stemmed somewhat. But by the time corrective action had been taken the tiger population in the country had come down drastically and extinction seemed inevitable. 

Tigers were still hunted under license, and one could shoot the predator in the allotted area for a price as low as Rs.45 less than 1 $.  This bewildering anomaly in the system was caused by little understanding of nature especially wildlife and forests that maintained an equilibrium capable of sustaining life including that of humans. 

Nevertheless, India is a country with a strong conservation ethos that was inculcated during the Vedic Era some five thousand plus years back. 

Wildlife Protection Act 1972

In 1972 corrective action was taken in form of the Wildlife Protection Act. which prohibited the killing of all animals except those that fell under the purview of livestock. This was a wonderful law the effect of which is quite prevalent now. Wild animal populations are on the rise everywhere in the country and the incidence of poaching has come down. The Act also accords protection to floral elements.    

Under this Act, there are provisions to notify the area as sacrosanct. This has led to the creation of Protected Areas. The PAs are divided into an inviolate core zone which is the critical tiger habitat and buffer or eco-sensitive zone. The latter is an outer ring with some restrictions where the source population can settle down in case of a lack of territory. 

Project Tiger Program 1973

NTCA or National Tiger Conservation Authority is at the helm of Project Tiger. The policies are framed under this organization. This body also regulates overseas tiger tourism in conjunction with State Governments and with the participation of local bodies. 

Although the implementation of this conservative initiative was done euphemistically there were periods of complacency till cases of mass killing of tigers in Panna and Sariska shook the Nation. The program has been successful of late with the population rising to 3000 in about fifty tiger reserves spread across the country.     

Survival of Tiger in India

The most important factor that will help the animal survive is political will. Political initiatives taken at the top are important for the survival of this critically endangered species. This becomes imperative in case of the strong impetus for urbanization and industrialization taking place at the present juncture. The ruling dispensations, the policymakers within should accord immense consideration for natural area preservation without any concession to unplanned development and resource extraction agenda.    

Preservation of tiger habits is imperative to save the species besides as much increase as possible of the core area. Thus the protected areas with inviolate cores are of utmost importance and should remain till eternity in the habitats now terribly constricted by humans and their overpopulated livestock. 

But PAs are not eternal...in case of political infringement if the status is diluted or abrogated that would lead to certain extinction of the tiger. Although a strong framework guarantees the prevention of such anomalies it is all under the control of humans. There are no natural factors or barriers that prevent the violation of critical tiger habitats the predator is entirely at the mercy of humans. 

Creation of corridors, although this has been construed as vital for the prevention of inbreeding and to accord free movement to wildlife the implementation is at best on paper. A strong political will is required in order to relocate settlements from these sensitive and fragile habitats that could form a viable connection. But mass relocation seems to be too overwhelming for the system.   

In India, there is a tribe of organizations that are strong detractors of the inviolate core area concept and often act as a pressure group against the implementation of strong conservative measures.  

Understanding the behavioral characteristics of tigers is very important. As an ambush hunter, it is dependent upon the thick canopy of dense forest and tall grasslands and thus this virtue makes it vulnerable to habitat degradation since it cannot survive in the open country unlike the leopard and the lion.      

Political initiatives are imperative at all levels of administration, especially in the vicinity of the PAs. The initiatives should be favorable towards conservation and prevent biotic interference and commercialization. 

Albeit the forest management in charge of PAs is efficient and dedicated...lacunae in the system should be amended and corrupt elements should be weeded out.  

Poaching through reduced due to stringent patrolling is still an issue and cases of electrocution, snaring, and hunting are still prevalent. Tigers are being lost annually in such incidences. The demand for bones and parts of the big cats is very much prevalent in countries wherever TCM is popular. Thus the threat of poaching and resultant illegal trade in wildlife looms large over our tiger landscapes.   

Eco-development is playing a key role in preventing the alienation of local communities which play a major conservation role in and around the PAs.  Economic development through employment and empowerment is essential in this aspect and tourism and jobs in the forest department are playing a vital role.  

India has a long way to go in order to save the tiger eternally. Although the present trend of increasing population is exhilarating there is no room for complacency.   

Will the tiger be extinct in India?

No! This, if the current trend is taken into consideration and corrective measures are vigorously implemented. The animal will survive until in unforeseen circumstances the threat becomes a reality.   

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Uday Works as Freelance Naturalist and Blogs on conservation, tigers, environmental issues.

He also provides SEO and Website Contents in English. He teaches Digital Marketing in Jabalpur in Summers.

He can be contacted at:

Mail: pateluday90@hotmail.com
 Mob: 09755089323

              

Goodbye Munna : Tiger Iconic at Kanha

Munna Imprisoned!

Munna is an epitome of the tiger. His resilience, stamina, sagacity and the spirit of survival is insuperable.  

Munna - Mary & Andrew

The cage was a dreadful sight for us or for any tiger lover. The crowd comprising police and forest officials made evident the sad event about to take place. We were shunned by the officials and we could not witness the capture. But the saddest part was his translocation to Bhopal a faraway land. We expected him to be immortalized here!

The contingency had arrived because of the death of a young girl in her teens. Upon inspection, no pug marks were seen in the vicinity as per some mahouts. Actually, event details are not known accurately to me. But the teen was deep in the forest and could have been a victim of rape or could have been killed by another animal as the goats she was herding could have attracted the killer. 

Anyway, it is unlikely Munna could have done this because even in old age he was still able to kill cattle frequently. He was thus drawing the ire of villagers by becoming a cattle lifter. He could have been poisoned or killed by an irate local. But with locals, no one dares to take a chance, and so the sad incarceration of a majestic and iconic carnivore.      

He is still living, seventeen years plus but now far removed from his home at Bhopal conservancy. Born and brought up in Kanha National Park there was no tiger like this amazing big cat in the World. 

Munna With Bison Kill - Image Gopal Desai 

Red Eye - Paul Fear

I must have seen him earlier on my frequent visits to Kanha National Park as a naturalist but my first memorable meeting was in 2009. He had killed a bison and was fiercely protecting it from the crow nuisance. The place was near Schaller's hide at Kanha and some lucky tourists had seen him making the kill. 

As a freelance naturalist, I was frequently encountering this magnificent beast and learned to track him with ease. He was one tiger that I had seen very often more than others as a naturalist. The study was revealing but the most awe-inspiring was his controlled aggression and sagacity rarely seen in dominant tigers. Another feature was his tolerance for humans whom he knew were not part of his food chain.       

Though he moved from one area to another all were within his dominance. I had seen him tackle red eye whom he managed to subdue using his posture and roars. Red Eye equally huge never ever came close to him, for Munna was more than a match in his prime.  

The iconic tiger made careers of many naturalists in Kanha and brought into prominence the forest guides as well. For us, the awe had turned into an extreme fondness for this mighty predator who made many holidaymakers fulfill their lifetime desire of seeing and photographing this amazing tiger in the wild. 

Munna now far away from Kanha still lives in the park through his genes as he must have made a record of siring many young in his phenomenally extended rule. 

The last I saw him was in the summer of 2016 or was it 2017? I do not remember. He had emerged from the forests after spending time at a waterhole in the canopy. He came to sit beside us, in fact too near for comfort and we had to reverse. He kept on roaring at the top of his voice incessantly probably to attract a tigress that frequented the area. He could share meals with her...a practice which he often did in old age. This he repeated the next day as well continuously roaring on both occasions he was a figure of extreme sadness.

                                                         Aging Munna Video

T2 or Kariaghati Tiger the big beast proved to be his nemesis. He had given way to a larger, younger, and fitter T2 but kept dodging him throughout to escape injuries. After one or two confrontations between the two...the story continued with Munna cleverly avoiding him all the time. The fate of aggressive T2 is not known for more than a year. Both the big cats had moved into the buffer in the vicinity of Courtyard House Resort.   

Munna is in incarceration...if looked after well may live longer than he would have in the wild. Let us hope for the best in conservation history and see a record being made.
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Uday works as a Naturalist at Kanha National Park. He loves to blog on wildlife conservation and tiger safaris. Uday writes content for websites and for search engine optimization.
He can be contacted at: pateluday90@hotmail.com
9755089323

Tiger Conservation: Contingency History & Traffic

When the numbers fall and the home shrinks the extinction seems inevitable. Well, that is what exactly has happened to the tiger in India. One after another misfortune arrived, always hunted but never in extreme in the ancient times the downfall came surprisingly in the modern times right between us. The clock has started ticking right in our lifetimes..perhaps a bit earlier whence the Raj overcame us. 

Modern weapons, greed for timber, and pure bloodthirst were the reason for the big cat's beleaguered state. The ball had started rolling, spinning out of control, and since then never come to a stop. Large-scale tree felling and commercial plantation had started transforming unnaturally the profile of the carnivore's habitats all over the country. 

Those habitats today in a perfect state of preservation remained so because of being out of reach or being privileged enough to gain the status of royal hunting preserves - the shikargahs of the Maharajahs. Nevertheless, hunting continued recklessly, in fact when the Raj ended and the Maharajahs began to lose hold the local bigwigs duly took over to bring an end to a vermin and a vicious killer with haste. 

Hunting was the most indulged sport during the Raj with the rulers, nobles man and Maharajahs joining in the spree. Tigers were the prized target, and many were killed with royal aplomb...beyond sustenance, mercilessly...and as one author put pregnant tigress, cubs, and young all were slaughtered. The greatest decrease in the numbers was brought about by the bounty hunters during the Raj whence thousands of tigers and other predators were slaughtered mercilessly...cleansing the country of vermin for a few rupees in a decade.     

The unchecked human population implosion was another reason whence to meet the hunger needs of the ever-growing millions of large-scale tiger habitats were converted to fields. Commercial greed had never come to a halt and large-scale clear felling for valuable timber continued unabated.  

As far as hunting is concerned the rot stemmed whence in 1972 Wildlife Protection Act was legislated and Project Tiger came into the picture. From one hundred thousand tigers the number had plummeted to 1400 or less. Horrendous! 

Just when we thought that the mayhem was over another menace surfaced and the system under the spell of the recent success of Project Tiger was shell-shocked. A poaching mechanism comprising importers of animal parts (TCM) smugglers, some people of the department, and small-time but deadly hunters of yore was in the act surreptitiously.

Panna and Sariska were the eye-openers whence all the tigers in the conservation units were poached. Thankfully it was not too late and intense protection of the big cats came into the picture. Albeit such an incidence is unlikely to happen thanks to conservationists and wildlife managers and staff the leak continues. 

The poaching intent is for smuggling tiger parts to consumers of TCM etc in many countries. The nexus is deep and underground and continues to operate through actively pursued by the agencies and NGOs like  WPSI there seems to be no end. The emergence of recent trafficking reports carries a foreboding of doom. India ranks highest among the countries from where the trafficking of tiger parts takes place. This is suggestive of a leak and calls for revamping our protection and intelligence-gathering mechanism.     

Although body parts used for medicine are the most lucrative the number of tiger skins seized every year is frighteningly high. Most of the figures for seizures are consistent every year which indicates a modus operandi that has not been stemmed. 

In spite of encouraging census figures of recent counting in India, the dangers to our precious big cats loom large. How well will we be able to protect the dwindling species is a question that we should ask ourselves? Will constructive efforts and sound policies continue to fetch the species out of red? 

The pride of India needs National Support a strong political will and conservation management that up till now has been exhilarating.  In all National, Endeavours public plays an important role we the people should do whatever we can to Save The Tiger!
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Uday freelances as a naturalist/birder and loves to write about conservation.
Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
9755089323

Tiger Conservation Threats & History of Linear Development in India

When the British conquered India the exploitation was mostly of resources. They were physically perhaps not as brutal as the earlier invaders which were looters, Mogul megalomaniacs, bigots and usurpers. They did not sack the local populace resorting to senseless killings, rape, loot and forced conversions. Those were times of colonization and there was a purpose! 

The Raj was a manifestation of an advanced and comparatively modern civilization shaped by the industrial world of Europe. The natives were no match for them and the subjugation was complete. 

The disparity that prevailed was absolute because the Sahibs were contemporary with overpowering cultural traits, elite, educated, and yielded power that came easily with their superior force. The governance was aided by employment of  natives in various disciplines and the satraps due to whom a handful of them could easily rule over India. They had mastered structured governance in their domain, albeit India too had a structure in place being a Vedic civilization dating five thousand year but we were helpless in front of such overbearing. During the Raj, the rulers writ ran large. 

Coming straight to the point in order to exploit the natural resources better, an infrastructure was required to be put in place. With a technology considered modern in those times, they invaded the hinterland all over. This was the culmination of disastrous unplanned infrastructure building were  only thing that mattered was reaching and unearthing the natural resources and dispatching them to their homeland. 

The aim was extracting maximum economic benefit of having a jewel in the crown - a subjugated civilization that was enormously rich in natural wealth and yet timid and impoverished. With modern infrastructure in place, the enslaved country was being milked incessantly.

In post independent India we benefited from the infrastructure created by the British...and till this day we are following in the footsteps of our erstwhile masters. Though the rulers have left in the year 1947 we are still living with the slave mentality which we inherited during centuries of foreign subjugation.  

We have lost our original ethos and our civilization is badly corrupted by traits of external civilizations that at the most has made us submissive and adaptable babus.  

Post independent India, the incursion into our hinterlands became linear development a contemporary terminology that describes invasion of our lands in lieu of development. We have not hesitated to emulate our erstwhile rulers by doing exactly what they did. 

In this assault on our natural spaces we are empowered to a great extent by education in foreign language and rigidly following the Western ethos, a civilization parasitism that is simply incomprehensible and irrelevant till this day.      

1. During the Raj we had lost a large chunk of our natural spaces, and denudation and plantation of commercially viable species had already altered the remaining forever. When the rulers left, we did everything that they should not have done. And we still continue...the linear development that is taking a heavy toll of our tiger reserves, National Parks and other ecosystems continues unabated.  

The tiger is on verge of extinction so are many other species, we have no count of how many species that have become extinct, and the extent to which our forests have been denuded. Tigers need inviolate space to breed and live. But is there more space for them in this country? How many big cats does our land mass can support? Will development impact or alter our tiger reserves negatively? These are the questions conservationists are raising. 

Our geography has changed and become non-viable, climate change is affecting us badly with greater  ferocity every year, carbon footprints are enlarging every year, heat, water shortage, pollution and other life threatening factors are on increase. Yet we are in race for development that we perceive is good for us. 

Linear infrastructure development creates opening and easy accessibility to remote regions which were in an inviolate state since evolution due to inaccessibility. This impacts the linear connectivity and prevents corridor formations or makes existing corridors non-viable. Overall habitat loss and or fragmentation of our ecosystems can happen as a result of intrusion. Intruding humans can also cause problems like damage to the fragile species web of life, poaching and wood logging besides according access to foreign or alien species to overpower. Wind erosion and fires can be deadly and so can be territorial changes brought about by man. 

India is on a spree of infrastructural development, and the haste can prevent or discourage the alternative, a less damaging methodology.  The impetus on road building, new settlements, urbanization and extraction of natural resources, power projects, dams etc are  like a death knell for species survival and conservation of our natural spaces.   

It is imperative for the Nation to develop sound policies that in spite of infrastructural development circumvent or safe guards our natural spaces and preserves crucial resources besides creating a harmonious environment good enough for our well being and maintain an equilibrium.
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Uday works as a naturalist in India and writes on tigers and their conservation.
Contact: pateluday90@hotmail.com
9755089323

Searching For Tigers - Bandhavgarh National Park

Bandhavgarh National Park 

The Fort of The Gond Kings 

Rising majestically from the tortured terrain is the Bandhavgarh Hillock scaling 800 plus MSL. On the dizzy heights an ancient fort built more than  two thousand years back nestles imposingly amidst long stretch of grassy meadows and dense canopy. In spite of being in ruins the surrounding spectacle is mesmerising. 

Zoomorphic idols of Lord Vishnu the creator are scattered all over among them the Varha Avatar, Matsya Avatar and Kasyap Avatar are engrossing. Large reservoirs are spread all over the premises presumably surrounding the central building which is no more. 

An ancient temple devoted to Lord Rama, Sita and Laxman stands still over looking the expanse of the hilly forests, swampy grasslands and majestic trees. Rivulets snake through, down from the hills into the plains and glens to create a unique ecosystem of low lying swamps filled grass. These are favourite hunting grounds for the tigers. Known as “bohera” they provide food for the herbivores which in turn become a meal for tigers lurking unseen in the grass.     

Fort Entrance - Pic Teerath Singh

Tigers rule the wild kingdom but telltale signs of human intervention are scattered all over amidst the dense Sal forests of Bandhavgarh. Man made caves, idols, stables, shelters, pools lie still in the kingdom of the wild. The assemblage functional long time back housed armies of the rulers. Turbulent past is etched all over bloody conquests that took place time and again repeatedly one after the other. 

The indomitable spirit of the tiger preserved the species throughout the bloody conquests, and later the marauding hunting pogroms. The survival of the dominant species aided in preservation of the whole ecosystems albeit much reduced.        

Sesh Shhaiya      

Reclining Vishnu - Pic Gopal Desai

Somewhere near the ascent to the fort is an esoteric fairy tale like pool dating back many centuries. Ensconced in a groove of flowering trees a pool made of rocks lies listlessly in the centre. A twenty feet long rock idol of reclining Vishnu is the centre of attraction. Revered by the locals the idol is an archaeological wonder deep in the remote confines of Central India.  

Caves - Pic Teerath Singh

Idols - Pic Teerath Singh  

The pool is fed by number of springs that trickle down the edges over grown with moss, lichens and ferns. As the wind blows from between the hillocks a comfort level astoundingly cool enhanced by the shade of the grooves refreshes in parched heat of the intense summer. The fairy tale like  ambience is an esoteric experience for visitors from the contemporary Worlds. Here time stands still, and the panoramic spread amazes and enchants beyond belief.       

The Terrain   

Surrounding Bandhavgarh are a number of hillocks or tabletop mountains with a unique mix of steep edges and gentle slopes. The hills are covered with bamboo wherever fertility prevails else barren stony escarpment jut out like shining daggers creating an intricate tapestry a unique feature among the surrounding wilderness.        

Meadows - Teerath Singh

Rivulets arising from mountain tops snake through crossing through the low lying terrains. Here they form swampy grasslands which support a wide variety of life forms in their niche. Dense Sal, mix forests and bamboo cover the slopes and the deep glens.     

Bandhavgarh - Teerath Singh

The abundant diversity and unique land features enthral the visitors with their beauty and panoramic excellence. Bandhavgarh is amongst the most picturesque tiger reserves in India.  

Searching for tiger in Pench

Pench is a unique destination that has been popularized by Capt.Sleeman and the legendary writer Kipling. Capt Seelman wrote in his book "Rambles and Recollection" about Mowgli the Wolf Child first discovered by Lt. Moor of British Army in Central India. He found the child in the village of Sant Vavadi.

Kipling's account of Seoni Hills in "Jungle Book" is fiction that is based on reality.  The imagination has mesmerized readers all over the World. Actually it was not the book that did it but the film by Walt Disney Production that proselytized millions across the World. The film created love and respect for other life forms by presenting them in a highly loveable manner including Sher Khan. Yes Sher Khan too, the object of our reckless pursuit on tiger safari. The film is in my  view one of the greatest conservation work in history of mankind. Hyperbole not to be misunderstood.

The denizens of the wild still survive but in less numbers, the forest wealth has been diminished by loggers and the down slide continues.  Within the confines of Pench National Park the tigers have learned to thrive well while their brothers outside the protected area are totally at the mercy of humans. 

Tigers are shy animals and very difficult to see in dense thickets. They are by nature nocturnal animals hence active hunting takes place in the night. The tigers love to move in the cold of the night and prefer to lie in the shade whence the sun is high up. They are seen whence forced to move in the day time on paths frequented by humans. Or on the jungle roads inside the park. Thirst and hunger are two major factors which forces the big cat to cross path with humans. Through years of experience their instinctive avoidance of humans has come into picture and when the stress factor is not there it is very very difficult to see these animals. 

For the big cats the alarm cries are the biggest give away and so is there spoor. Some have come to realize that the tourists on jeep is harmless and dare to venture in full daylight in their presence. This has given the benign tourist extreme moments of delight, but at the same time made them realize the importance of nature conservation and respect for all life forms. Not till one sees the tiger does he or she realize the importance of ecosystems and the wonder creation of Mother Earth.  

Tourism does play an important role in creating awareness about nature and our environment. It persuades tourist to value and conserve whatever is left of  natural Earth.  Tiger safaris are vital if we have to keep educating the uninitiated. The tourism infrastructure, the hotels in Pench National Park in MP are foundation of conservation and responsible tourism. The sustenance of locals means greater help in conserving our inheritance.

The conservationists, tourists, wildlife photographers and nature lovers are the sentinel of wilderness. They are the voice that speaks for the tigers and other persecuted life forms.  It is the people who care to visit natural heavens that realize our inhertiance not those who never bother.  For you do not hear a golfer say" Help Save the Tiger".