[Torque123]

Click on the images to view them better. Gear used Nikon D850 & Nikkor 400mm f2.8 VR

It was end of March'22 & time for my daughter's final exams to get over. Her summer vacations were about to start & there was only 1 command from her. That was to visit Kabini for a minimum of 2 nights in Apr'22. I hate visiting the jungles during summer as the forest is bone dry & all the parks are jam packed due to the holiday season. Somehow convinced her that we will visit Kabini in May'22. With 3 tigresses having small cubs (2 to 3 months old) & soaring temperatures, I was expecting quite a bit of sightings of these families to begin by mid or end of April. I was wrong. 2 out of these 3 families were seen twice (March & April) & the 3rd has remained elusive till date with only the mother being seen quite frequently. April passed & I had not yet done the bookings as I was not confident of sighting even one of these families. In the 3rd week of May'22 one of these families was again seen. However by now there were rains & there was also no availability of rooms in any of the resorts for the month of May which was kind of a blessing for me.

It was a little early to analyse, but by now I kind of saw a pattern of one of the families which were seen thrice till now (Mar-May). This tiger family was seen almost every 4th week from the day of their previous sighting. Majority of the territory of the mother tiger of this family falls in the non tourism zone. With this, I decided to visit Kabini for 3 nights starting from 12th Jun. It was an extended summer holiday for my daughter as her school started from 08th Jun. Did the room bookings on 01st Jun at Jungle Lodges & Resorts (JLR) & the wait through the next 11 days seemed like eternity. Called the camera rental company & booked the Nikkor 400 mm f2.8 VR too. On 11th Jun, tanked up my trustworthy 14 year old Ford Fiesta 1.6, got the tyre pressure checked & we were all set.

12th Jun - Left northern part of Bangalore at around 6.30 AM. Being a Sunday, I was pretty sure the traffic would be moderate. I was right. Took the BLR - Nelamangala - Bellur cross - Nagamangala - Pandavapura - Mys - HD Kote - Kabini route. Reached Hotel Vaishali by 7.45 AM. After a relaxed breakfast, started around 8.45 AM. Reached JLR by 12ish after my regular stop for tender coconut near HD Kote. The skies were clear & I throughly enjoyed the ~250 Km drive. Completed the formalities & checked in at around 12.30 PM. Took a 1 Hr nap & finished lunch by 2.15 pm. Quick check of the battery, memory card etc & we were at the Gol Ghar to begin our first safari.


Beautiful stretch between Mysore to HD Kote



1st Safari drive - At sharp 3.10 PM we left JLR & were at the forest entry gate by 3.20 PM. Completed the usual formalities & entered the safari zone. Checked for some usual hot spots & waited at a couple of junctions for alarm calls. There were no pug marks or alarm calls. The couple of waterholes we had checked had some spotted deer herds around grazing peacefully. The zone we were in had been quite dull with respect to sightings in the past couple of days with very minimal cat sightings. However my target was the Temple Female & her four 4-5 months old cubs & her territory is a part of this zone & it was a little over 3 weeks since they were last seen. Hence I had pre decided to do as many rounds as possible in this zone. It was around 4.30 PM & now we decided to head towards her territory. We came across one of the department safari buses & the driver said they had seen a male tiger around 15 mins back in the last waterhole we had checked & was headed towards our direction. So after moving a little further away, the driver killed the engine & we waited for 5 to 10 mins. The forest was dead silent & we could hear a jungle fowl calling on & off. With no further developments, we decided to move ahead & wait at the next T junction.

As we moved some 200 meters there was a small elevation in the track & as our jeep was almost at the end of the incline, one of the guests from the back seat said "Tiger, Tiger". This guy was having a quick but relaxed potty time when I first saw him to my right. He is called the Cutlip Male or the Russell Line male & is quite a shy tiger. He is not known to walk the track when there are vehicles around. As he finished his potty business, he walked across the track from our right to left & disappeared in the undergrowth. He is a male tiger in his prime & is on the look out to expand his territory. He has never been seen in the area that we found him. This was one of the instances when one unexpectedly sees the tiger as there are no clues (no alarm calls or pugmarks).

Cutlip Male or Russell Line Male






Post this we spent the next 90 minutes traversing & waiting around Temple Female's territory. This area also has a resident Leopardess with 2 sub adult cubs who were seen on 11th Jun evening safari. However to our luck there was no movement of either of these families during the safari. It was 6.20 PM & we had to begin our journey to exit the park as it takes around 20 mins to reach the exit gate from this area. I was happy that we did get a cat sighting but in the back of mind the thought kept running if I will be able to sight the Temple female & her cubs who were my prime targets. Had dinner at around 9 PM & hit the bed by 10.30 PM after a long day.

2nd Safari drive - Next day morning, we were all set by 6 AM. Completed the formalities at the entry gate & we were inside the forest at sharp 6.30 AM. It had been more than 40 days since the famous black panther of Kabini was seen. To reach Temple female's territory one of the routes (longest by the way) is to go via the black panther's territory. As we had taken a different route the previous evening, our driver recommended that we go via the black panther's territory. I was not keen on taking this route as my primary focus for this trip was the tiger family & also we would take an extra 10 mins to reach Temple female's territory by taking this route. Those initial minutes in a morning safari matter a lot. With a lot of deliberation & hesitation I nodded my head & our jeep ambled its way through the twisty tracks in the territory of the black panther. As expected no sign of the Blacky anywhere. With no further ado, we headed straight to the area of Temple female's territory where the probability of seeing them is the most.

It is a T-junction, one track goes slightly to the left & the other goes to the right. We take the track which goes slightly to the left. Around 200 meters on, our driver gets a call from a fellow driver/naturalist asking for an update. So he kills the engine. Till now there has been no big cat movement anywhere in the zone we were in. I see a herd of may be 15 to 20 spotted deers further ahead to my left where in a couple of them on the edge of the track. They did not seemed alarmed or concerned. As I try listening to the conversation between our driver & his colleague, I take a glance at the deers ahead. I see 2 small figures standing still & gazing at us almost in the centre of the track may be 15 to 20 meters ahead of the deers. The deers were like 30 to 40 meters ahead of us. My initial thought was that they were spotted deer fawns. Then as I stood to take a look the 2 small bodies started running & that is when I realised they were Tiger cubs. By the time whatever happened in the last few seconds could sink in, the 2 cubs along with another sibling sprinted across the track, disappeared into the bushes to our right. By the time I could pick my camera & change the ISO, the mother & the remaining 1 cub too had almost crossed the track. I was able to take some images just for record purpose. It was really surprising to see the spotted deers not giving alarm calls or running heater skelter when 5 tigers crossed the safari track just 15 to 20 meters ahead of them. The extra 10 minutes we took to reach this place by coming via Blacky's territory cost us big time. I usually don't deviate from my plan but Blacky's greed got the better of me. The rest of the safari was uneventful & with a heavy heart we exited the forest.

3rd Safari drive - We entered the forest & headed straight to the area where we saw the Tiger family in the morning. The family had moved further more post the safari hours in the morning as we found the mother sleeping behind a big patch of lantana. The news travelled fast & almost all the vehicles in that zone covered at the spot within no time. This irritated the tigress & she went further ahead in the undergrowth for resting. It was a game of wait, wait, wait and wait. Given the number of vehicles at the spot, I instructed my driver to move & take us for a spin & return to this spot after 30 mins. It was around 4.15 PM & in this span of 20 to 30 mins, the tigress would not come out due to the chaos caused by all the vehicles & the afternoon sun was still hitting the forest floor hard enough. We tried to track the Leopard family as they too were in the close vicinity but to no avail. We then returned to the spot after 45 minutes & there were still 5 to 6 vehicles parked waiting for the tigress to move. By now it was 5.00 PM. As time passed & patience was running out, vehicles started leaving in frequent intervals. It was now around 5.30 PM & there were only 3 vehicles left including ours maintaining pin drop silence. The tigress got up, came out & sat on a bund like structure. Below is one of the images I made during this sighting. She was intermittently lying down & resting too. Then by around 6.15 pm or so, she got up & crossed the track & disappeared into the bushes.

Temple Female



4th Safari drive - With a cat sighting ratio of 3/3 till now in the trip, I was happy that my family was able to see Tigers. But I was still waiting for that 1 special sighting of the trip which was yet to happen. With high hopes, we enter the park at 6.30 AM sharp & head straight to Temple female's territory. We first check the area in & around the spot where we had seen her the previous evening. Till around 7.15 AM there is no movement or alarm calls. As all the vehicles poured in & were waiting at various places, we decided to check the spot where we had seen them during the 2nd safari. As we get on to the same safari track on which we had seen the tiger family during our 2nd safari & have hardly even covered 100 meters we see one cub walking on the track. As I reach for my camera the cub bolts to our left & joins its 3 siblings. As we moved the jeep a little ahead, we could see 3 cubs in the bushes. Apparently the mother & 3 cubs had already crossed & the last cub was on the verge of joining them when we found it. Again we missed the entire sequence by a couple of minutes. The area where the tiger family had crossed over is a part of the non tourism zone & leads to the prime territory of the Temple Female. Whenever they enter this side of their territory they are not seen for next few weeks. With this my heart kind of sank & I knew we would not be able to get them again during this trip. On our way back, I told our driver that we would go for safari in the other zone of the park as the window for getting this family is almost closed. The driver to agrees with this point.


5th safari drive - As decided in the morning, we head to the other zone of the park. To those who are not familiar with Kabini, there are only 2 safari zones. As our jeep traverses through the broken safari tracks, we see a herd of Gaurs looking in a single direction & they looked very anxious. One of them in particular was snorting intermittently looking in the same direction as others. Gaurs give a high pitched snort when they sense any threat. There were no spotted deer or Langur alarm calls. We wait for good 25 to 30 mins post which the Gaurs themselves were relaxed as the Leopard in the undergrowth moved away. I can vouch that it was a Leopard because if it was a Tiger, it would have circled around a bit to create some distance between itself & the Gaurs but would have definitely come out. We check for a couple of hotspots for the next 30 mins but with no luck. We again come back on the same track where had found the alert Gaurs. About half a kilometer from where we had seen the alert Gaurs, we hear Langur calls. There are 3 other vehicles along with us & all are waiting patiently for "THE" moment. The Langurs are constantly calling looking at the undergrowth to our right. But it is the same Leopard which is clever enough & more patient than us to avoid us. Again after waiting for 25 to 30 mins everybody including us moves on.

It is now around 5.45 PM & we are in an area closer to the main road. We stop at a junction which is very well known for Leopard sightings in this zone. As we are waiting patiently, we hear an alarm call of a couple of spotted deers behind us. Our driver quickly starts the jeep & heads in the direction of the alarm call. As we are closer we see a sub adult Leopard crossing the track from left to right. As it was not with its mother & probably still being a novice after getting separated from its mother, it quickly crouches & hides between the parthenium plants which have infested Kabini. Few more vehicles arrive & this spooked the Leopard even more. It almost kind of buried itself between the Parthenium plants & lifted its head once in a while to take a peek at the vehicles. Below is one such image I managed to capture. It is now around 6 PM & the Leopard has had enough. It literally crawled through the Parthenium foliage & made its way across the wall of Lantana which you find in South Indian jungles. It was now around 6.15 PM & the vehicles started leaving as it was almost the time to exit the park. As we had time till 6.45 PM to exit the park, I insisted the driver to stay for another 10 to 15 mins. As all the vehicles left except for ours & another jeep, I change the ISO to 4000 as the light is very low. As I am doing that our drivers taps my shoulder & points to the tree. The Leopard had almost climbed the tree. For the next few minutes I clicked as many images as I could though I knew the image quality would not be great due to high ISO & very low lighting conditions. I was getting a shutter speed of max 1/60 to 1/80 of a second even after using an ISO of 4000 & shooting at F2.8. Below is one of the images of the sighting for record purpose.

Leopard on Tree



6th Safari drive - Post the 5th safari & after a lot of thinking decided to do the final safari in the zone where the Temple family has their territory. The intent was to try out luck in tracking down the Leopardess with 2 sub adults & not the tiger family as me nor my driver had any hopes of getting the Temple Tigers. Entered the forest at sharp 6.30 AM. Took the shortest route possible which leads to the Leopardess's area. A small herd of 5 to 6 elephants blocked our way for 10 mins or so on route to the Temple territory.

Elephants






This is around the same area where we had seen the Temple female in our 3rd safari. With 12 pairs of eyes scanning each & every tree we had already spent the first 1 hour into the safari. Most of the vehicles in this zone were no where close to where we were as they were not attempting to find the Leopardess & her sub adult cubs or the Temple family. They were looking out for other tigers in the same zone. By this time our driver got a call from his colleague that a tigress called Magge female had crossed the main road & entered the zone in which we were waiting. We were expecting her to come to a waterhole which was around half a kilometer away from the spot where we had seen the Temple tigress during our 3rd safari. This is an overlapping territory for both these tigresses. As our jeep & one more vehicle was waiting near the waterhole, our driver heard a couple of spotted deer alarm calls to our right. Few minutes later we heard a tiger roar a couple of times at quite a distance to our right. This can mean only 2 things & we were not sure which one is it. It has to be the Temple female or entire Temple family heading in our direction or they should be heading in the opposite direction.

This confusion was caused because just the previous morning we had seen the entire family had entered the non tourism zone which is like a minimum of 2 to 2.5 kilometres away from this waterhole & were not expected to return to this side of the park. The mother comes to this area usually only for patrolling & scent marking which she would have done when we spotted them during the 2nd & 4th safari. Even if they had returned (which is logically not making any sense), what made them to again go back immediately. So we asked the other vehicle to wait near this waterhole & call our driver incase Magge female or Temple female made an appearance & we would quickly go & check certain places where the Temple female usually crosses safari tracks to reach this waterhole. As we are near the second location where we expected the Temple female to cross, there is a series of spotted deer & Langur alarm calls. Our driver sees the mother tiger's head popping out slightly out of the undergrowth checking to see if our vehicle passes by without noticing her. He does not speak & just points his finger to a spot on my left. I know what this means & as I see in the direction his finger is pointed out, I see the mother tiger coming out of the bushes flashing her tail up & down. This means only one thing. She is asking her cubs to follow her. Tigers use their tail as a signalling device for their cubs to follow them while traversing through the forest.

My face is plastered with a WIDE smile as I know that "SPECIAL" sighting of the trip I was looking forward to is about to become a reality. With no other vehicles around we stop the jeep & cut the engine off giving enough space between us & the Tigress so that the cubs follow the mother. The mother crosses the road thinking that the cubs will follow her but they don't. They come to the edge of the wall of Lantana (still behind the bushes) to our left & settle down. Seeing this the mother settles herself down to our right waiting for the cubs to cross as she feels there is no threat to them as we are the only jeep & have maintained enough distance for the cubs to cross. Below is one the image of the Temple Female sitting & keeping a watchful eye on us so that her cubs can cross.

Temple Tigress



She then gets up, walks a few feet, sits closer to the track as though reassuring the cubs its safe & time for them to cross the track & follow her for the rest of their journey to the non tourism area. You may feel the tigress is snarling at us in a couple of images below. But NO. She was calling her cubs & not snarling at us though it may look like that. The cubs too respond to the mother's call but are hesitant to cross the track. The vocal interaction between the mother & the cubs will be an experience to cherish for a lifetime.

Temple Female walking down & calling her Cubs










Temple Female sitting & calling her cubs





By now few more vehicles had arrived & there was no way the cubs would have crossed over to the mother. So the mother crossed back to our left where the cubs were & sat waiting for vehicles to leave. Once we created even more space, the mother reached the track & 2 out of the 4 cubs made up their mind & sprinted across the track. The other 2 cubs are quite timid & shy. They still did not budge & stayed put. The mother waited for like another 5 mins & called out. Post this the remaining 2 cubs gathered some courage & sprinted across the track one after the other. Below are a couple of more images of this action.

Cub approaching the track



Cub after crossing the track




Mother & the first 2 Cubs




4th Cub after crossing the track



The Flying Cub






After the entire family had crossed over, we knew they would again come out on the other track where we had seen them during the 2nd & 4th safari post which they would disappear in the non tourism zone. This would take at least 15 to mins for the tiger family to cover that distance. There are 2 approach roads to reach that safari track. Most of the vehicles gave up the search & went in search of other fauna. 4 vehicles continued the tracking & took the shorter route which reaches the final leg of the journey for the tiger family. We took the longer route so that we are the only vehicle in the opposite side which would help us in positioning the vehicle the way we wanted. Below is an image of one of the cub approaching the safari track while ending the final leg of their journey. On our way back we found a tusker too.






With the "Special" sighting of the trip I was hoping for became a reality, we were all set to return to Bangalore with sightings to our hearts content. Keeping a tab on the sighting frequency of this tiger family & trying to plan the trip kind of helped in making it a successful trip. With the monsoon arriving expect more travelogues to come from my end. Until then, Ciao & hope you enjoy the long travelogue.

Cheers,
Torque123

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Rajeevraj]

Nice travelogue and great sightings and pictures. I had been to Kabini 2nd week of May and unfortunately was able to sight only a leapord's tail.. Of course we did only one land safari and did not have the background about the past sightings and zones of sightings That is a good learning to keep in mind for the next trip.

[Maverick5490]

Stunning pictures, especially the headshot! The eyes communicate so much and tigers look beautiful in green background!

[warp_10]

Awesome pictures. Done like 5 safaris in jeep till now, not a single big cat sighting. Will try again this season, let's see if the jinx breaks.

[ashishsGT]

Hello Torque123,

As always, amazingly detailed write up with fantastic clicks to match! Kudos!
The photo of the tiger calling out (roaring?) to its cubs is just out of the world. How did the gear feel in your hands in terms of weight? I'm also about to take a plunge with 400 mm, as my Tamron 150-600 G2 / Nikon D800 combo just wears down on my arms heavily for extended hand holding sessions.

Cheers,
Ashish

[pradheepsr]

Stunning pics ! especially the head-on shots.
Can u tell me a bit more about your gear?
Whenever I rent a 400mm from Kabini , the sightings go pathetic. Hence stopped doing so.
The background with the grass cover in most your shots, signals the onset of monsoon and provides an awesome silhouette.

[jasraj_jog]

Hello,

How did you manage so many safaris ? :-)

Do they have 2 each day for the entire duration of your stay ?

And how is JLR lodge to stay ? Is it clean without any reptiles lurking ?

I had stayed at JLR Bhadra river sanctuary & the cottage was teaming with lizards. Needless to say my wife was not on talking terms with me for 3 to 4 days :-)
Thanks
Jasraj

[srikrishna717]

Stunning photographs. Thanks for sharing

[avk]

Originally Posted by Torque123

Did the room bookings on 01st Jun at Jungle Lodges & Resorts (JLR) & the wait through the next 11 days seemed like eternity. Called the camera rental company & booked the Nikkor 400 mm f2.8 VR too. On 11th Jun, tanked up my trustworthy 14 year old Ford Fiesta 1.6, got the tyre pressure checked & we were all set.

That's an amazing travelogue and stunning pics. Would like to know more about what package was chosen at JLR and related info.

Originally Posted by jasraj_jog

Hello,

How did you manage so many safaris? :-)

Do they have 2 each day for the entire duration of your stay?

And how is JLR lodge to stay ? Is it clean without any reptiles lurking?

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Nice travelogue and great sightings and pictures. I had been to Kabini 2nd week of May and unfortunately was able to sight only a leapord's tail.. Of course we did only one land safari and did not have the background about the past sightings and zones of sightings That is a good learning to keep in mind for the next trip.

Glad you liked the travelogue.

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Stunning pictures, especially the headshot! The eyes communicate so much and tigers look beautiful in green background!

Very happy to hear you liked the pictures too. When the forest is green the images look better and the feel of the forest is too good. That's the reason why I don't like visiting the jungle in summers.

Originally Posted by warp_10

Awesome pictures. Done like 5 safaris in jeep till now, not a single big cat sighting. Will try again this season, let's see if the jinx breaks.

It is always wise to know the sightings that have happened in the previous days before your visit. That way one will know which area in the zone one needs to concentrate on for sightings.

Originally Posted by ashishsGT

Hello Torque123,

As always, amazingly detailed write up with fantastic clicks to match! Kudos!
The photo of the tiger calling out (roaring?) to its cubs is just out of the world. How did the gear feel in your hands in terms of weight? I'm also about to take a plunge with 400 mm, as my Tamron 150-600 G2 / Nikon D800 combo just wears down on my arms heavily for extended hand holding sessions.

Cheers,
Ashish

Thank you Ashish. I always use a bean bag for support as hand holding the 400 mm for an extended period of time is not possible. It's heavy. I suggest you rent it out a few times before taking the plunge.

Originally Posted by pradheepsr

Stunning pics ! especially the head-on shots.
Can u tell me a bit more about your gear?
Whenever I rent a 400mm from Kabini , the sightings go pathetic. Hence stopped doing so.
The background with the grass cover in most your shots, signals the onset of monsoon and provides an awesome silhouette.

Glad that you liked the images. The forest is green as it has rained well in the month of May. I use Nikon D850 and Nikkor 400 mm. I rent them from Pixception for INR 4400 per day.

Originally Posted by jasraj_jog

Hello,

How did you manage so many safaris ? :-)

Do they have 2 each day for the entire duration of your stay ?

And how is JLR lodge to stay ? Is it clean without any reptiles lurking ?

I had stayed at JLR Bhadra river sanctuary & the cottage was teaming with lizards. Needless to say my wife was not on talking terms with me for 3 to 4 days :-)
Thanks
Jasraj

As a part of the package, one is entitled for 2 safaris for each day of stay. I stayed for 3 nights. Hence could do 6 safaris. The resort is clean. You do have some insects lurking if you keep the doors open. That's understandable as the resorts are on the fringes of the forest.

Originally Posted by avk

That's an amazing travelogue and stunning pics. Would like to know more about what package was chosen at JLR and related info.

I took the room package which costs approx INR 30k per day for 2 adults and 1 child (above 5 years). This cost is inclusive of safari charges too. This cost is applicable only for weekdays (Sun - Thu). Weekend rates are higher by another 3 to 3.5k for the same package.

[naveenvenkatesh]

Great travelogue Ullas as always. I have stopped going to Kabini because of their atrocious pricing. Will plan for Nanchi gate Nagarhole next month. Had been to Bandhavghar in April. Itching to see forest during monsoon.

[Stryker]

Great spotting of the temple female with her cubs! They are looking healthy and ready to display more of themselves. We are in for a treat for the next few months! And ah, that 400/2.8 is a beast isn't it?

[Torque123]

Originally Posted by naveenvenkatesh

Great travelogue Ullas as always. I have stopped going to Kabini because of their atrocious pricing. Will plan for Nanchi gate Nagarhole next month. Had been to Bandhavghar in April. Itching to see forest during monsoon.

Thank you Naveen. All the best for your Nagarahole trip & eagerly waiting for your Bandhavgarh travelogue. Nagarhole will be even more greener and denser than Kabini.

Originally Posted by Stryker

Great spotting of the temple female with her cubs! They are looking healthy and ready to display more of themselves. We are in for a treat for the next few months! And ah, that 400/2.8 is a beast isn't it?

They will be seen more often provided safaris are dedicated in tracking them. Oh yeah, nothing can beat the 400 mm. Haven't even touched my 200-500 from the time i started using the 400. It's definitely a beast & addictive

[ramnath_77]

Brilliant pictures and travelogue Torque123.
Enjoyed all the pictures. The green background makes so much of a difference to all images. The Head on shots are simply awesome.
The image of the cub running to cross the road is also superb.