Towards the last week of March 2016, my family planned a trip covering the triangle of Maharashtra- Tadoba National Park, Pench National Park, and Nagzira Tiger Reserve.
We decided to visit Pench first. We reached Pench on the 24th of March. We stayed at ‘Tiger n Woods’ which is near the Turia Gate (Madhya Pradesh). It’s an awesome place – very rustic and quiet, nestled in the lap of greenery. The owner Mr. Aditya, was very hospitable and friendly. He shared a lot of information about the jungle and the tigers there.
From the room balcony we saw many Jungle Babblers, Brahminy starlings and Green Bee-eaters. We were lucky to spot a Black Hooded Oriole. At night we saw a herd of Spotted Deer.
It was safari time the next morning . We were doing only one safari at Pench. We left the lodge by 6 am. We had to reach Sillari gate (Maharashtra), which was our entry point. Sillari was about 30 kms from the place where we were staying. Although it was summer, we had a very cold and breezy drive. We reached the gate by 6:30am. As soon as we entered, we saw a Crested Serpent Eagle. It seemed as if the eagle too was looking at us with curiosity. I was seeing it for the first time. We saw a Shikra too. I managed to take some shots of the bird.
As we moved on, there was a small waterhole; we saw a Indian Grey Hornbill and a Wild boar. The boar was not facing us but at times it did cast a glance. We also spotted a White throated Kingfisher. We moved towards the point where tiger sightings usually happen. We could hear calls but alas! No sightings! A family of Sambar Deer came out of the bushes. We waited there for a long time but there were no tigers.
So we took the boot camp road. We saw an Oriental Pied Hornbill. I was very happy to see so many hornbills. I managed to see a Crested Hawk Eagle. It had black spots on its belly. There were many Hanuman Langurs and Spotted Deer. There were Nilgais (Bluebull) too. The spirit of unity among these animals (terrestrial and arboreal) was evident by the danger calls (warnings) they were giving each other. This is something which we human beings need to learn from our animal friends – unity in diversity in its true sense.
Although we came back without any tiger sightings, I wasn’t disappointed. These beautiful birds and animals will always stay afresh in my memory .
