[Stryker]

My last Kabini thread here titled . (Kabini - It is raining tigers) seems to have sparked of a kind of tiger exodus from the wonderland that is Kabini. Or at least, as far as I'm concerned. After that visit in the last week of January '23, I've been there twice now and have not managed to see a single tiger! Leopards yes, but no tigers. In fact, I hadn't seen a leopard in some time so I was lamenting that fact until now. Looks like the God of Sightings has decided to teach me some humbling lessons. It isn't just me though, there has been a reduced number of sightings reported by others too, in spite of the increase in tiger population. Paradoxical, isn't it? But that seems to be the way it is. The daily sightings board at the reception in JLR Kabini shows very few tigers for the last few days, the drivers and naturalists were saying "Enu movement illa saar" (there is no movement sir). The last time I went in June (I didn't post a separate thread for that here, got busy, slipped my mind, no sightings, etc.) we didn't even hear a single alarm call, forget about sightings! I put it down to the Law of Averages finally deciding it had ignored me enough, so I didn't bother too much. But this time round too there were no tiger sightings!

I met a few regulars at the bar who were discussing the same thing. One possible reason is that the monsoon has been abundant and there is no lack of water inside the forest which automatically means lesser movement by both prey and predators. Another reason is that the increasing population has caused the tigers to move further away from the tourist areas and into the core zone where we lesser mortals are not allowed. A third reason is that all the bold leopards, tigers and tigresses for which Kabini was so well known - Blackie, Torn Ears, Scarface, Cleopatra, the Back Water Female, the Russell Line Female, the Temple Male, etc - have all either passed on or in old age homes now, leaving us with their not so bold offspring who just give glimpses and not "sightings". A fourth and probably more pertinent reason is that the Forest Department has undertaken de-weeding activity which means lots of humans on the ground in the forest which tend to keep the predators away. I only hope these now reticent denizens regain their courage and give us the usual darshans in the coming months and years.

Having said all this, as I've always mentioned in my previous threads too, the forest is not just about the big cats right? There are many other equally wonderful, if more populous and thus common, animals and birds that make visiting a joy each time I go there. Presenting some of the better photos I managed to take during the last two visits. I've posted all photos in 4K high resolution, so feel free to click on these images to open a large version in another tab. All of them are so much more enjoyable when they fill a large screen!

C'est Moi. I don't think I've ever posted my photo in this forum, in any post. My wife took this image in the JLR property.




A pair of rare White Bellied Woodpeckers are going hammer and tongs at the wood work to get at the insects inside. If you zoom in, you can actually see the said wood pieces flying in the air.




A Malabar Giant Squirrel is browsing for juicy young leaves. The exquisite chocloate brown of her body and the length of bushy tail never ceases to amaze me.



Contre Jour. A photography technique which literally means "against the light". This Langur was perfectly lit by the setting sun which I intentionally kept just outside the top left of the frame. I knew the effect I was going for and I'm happy I was able to achieve what I wanted.




A 1:1 crop of the same photo showing the beautiful rim lighting on the Langur. Scenes such as this are unforgettable and I can probably recall the exact tree on which I saw this!




Early in the morning, we come across a pack of wild dogs on the hunt. This one steps into the light at the right place for me to take this photo.




The EPT road always has an abundance of peacocks for whatever reason and this handsome male was trying to impress a disinterested female with his lovely feathers. Ah, the things we men have to do to get some attention!




A White Rumped Shama. Not a common bird, so I was fortunate to have seen it, doubly so with a good photo opportunity.




In June, there were tons of elephants in the forest and the backwaters. This tusker is enjoying the morning sunshine along the river bank.




And so is this lovely lady, some distance away.




A huge tusker meanders along the path in front of us. Look at the size of his crossed tusks!




He meets up with his lady love just down the road and they both strike a pose for me. Look again, there are two of them in the image!




A Bonnet Macaque (the common monkey in simpler words) is continuously sounding alarm calls up in the tree. He could spot a leopard some distance away which we couldn't see. Never did, although we knew it was somewhere around.




A Flame Backed Woodpecker strikes a pose on a Crocodile Bark Tree (known as Matti in Kannada, not sure about other languages).




A Spotted Deer stag in amazing light, with a Jungle Myna cleaning up his ticks and other insects on the body. These birds play an important symbiotic role with the deer and other animals.




An elephant suddenly emerges from the thick undergrowth. Weeds like Parthenium and Lantana have grown too much with the rains. Lot of de-weeding activity is going on in the forest to clear these plants.




A small tortoise relaxes on a small rock in a small pond.

[Stryker]

We are driving back from yet another cat-less safari and are very close to the exit gate on the highway, when we see a car parked on the side with the occupants excitedly pointing into the trees. That can mean only one thing right? Talk about irony! Here we are, fruitlessly roaming the forest in search of cats and these people travelling on the highway manage to sight one while driving home! Well, if you are in luck...peekaboo!




And then she decides to show off. Stands up and poses between the V shaped branches of the tree. I ask the driver to backup quickly and he is super fast in getting to the position I want. What a shot, even if I say so myself!




She holds this pose for a few seconds, enough for me to get about a hundred photos! The D500's 10 fps rate is working overtime here. It is getting dark and I have to boost the ISO to 20,000 to get a decent shutter speed. I'm no longer apprehensive of such high ISOs, the AI de-noiser in Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw editor is amazing in what it can do.




Time to say goodbye, even if the leopard is not going anywhere soon. If we don't take leave now, ma'am, we'll have to sleep on the ground below you! Not to mention paying some hefty fines. The department is quite strict on exit times. But there will be laughter and high fives at the bar tonight!




A close-up of a Serpent Eagle's wickedly sharp talons. No serpent could easily escape these babies once it is in their clutches.




A herd of elephants cross the path ahead of us, keeping the young one between them. The matriarch is just behind the herd and will cross only after everyone else has crossed safely.




A huge bull Gaur crosses the path (a different path at a different time on a different safari in a different zone). He is fully grown and must easily weigh over a ton.




I'm not really sure why they always stop in the middle and look back at us, but I'm waiting eagerly for this moment. Maybe they want to present their best side to be photographed or maybe they want to ensure we are no threat. Whatever, I like it!




And his younger brother? cousin? friend? crosses after him. Not as muscled as the previous specimen, this one is maybe skipping a few gym sessions to play hooky, but you can see he is getting there too.




A stag has just lost one of his antlers! Probably fell off on its own as this is the shedding season before he grows a new pair. Could have just as easily lost it in a fight with another stag.




Different shades of green. The forest in the monsoon is a sight to behold, green is just everywhere.




This is how we roll, when on the famous 5 km road. Do you see what I mean by the parthenium becoming too much?





End of another visit to this lovely place. Maybe next time I'll have some tiger luck.

As always, my equipment is the Nikon D500 and the Nikkor 200-500mm lens and as ever, I hope you people enjoy these photos as much as I enjoy taking them. Until next time then, bye and drive safe.

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing.

[sunilarkt]

Wonderful travelogue, and you have spotted so many beautiful animals and birds.

The rainy season is not ideal for spotting tigers. Also, finding one at Kabini is usually involves a bit of luck anyway.

[W.A.G.7]

Beautiful travelogue and pictures! It's amazing, the whole jungle in every which way you look at it But your opening post made me a bit nervous - about not spotting any tigers. I just hope they have not fallen prey to poaching in any way. I think you were lucky in spotting the rest of the animals and birds in this jungle despite all the overgrown forest. Absolutely amazing pictures.

[Yesterdaysnews]

Really fantastic pictures! Absolutely spectacular indeed! Tigers are there, no worries - they are doing rather well too! It is difficult to spot the big cats during the rains and post rains. I’ve found December to May is when you have the highest chance of spotting tigers in Kabini.

But you’ve done rather well - wild dogs and leopard - that’s quite a list!

[thirugata]

Wonderful photographs. Made my day. Thanks for sharing.

[asingh1977]

You are a great photographer. And a lovely write up. Thanks for sharing this.

[Bhodrolok]

Kabini is an absolute treat every single time. If only bookings at the JLR wasn't such a pain.

[swami69]

On a two day stay at JLR during first week of June, we could also see all that you have photographed expect for the Leopard.

Then, absolutely no sightings of Tigers in "all four Jeep safaris". Very unfortunate. Still we enjoyed the forest, the weather, the drizzle and those lovely animals and birds. Fortunately we had good sightings of Elephants, a fight between two tuskers, a charge on to our Jeep, so we were happy with nature all around us.

Great Photos and nice write up

Swami

[lobojames9]

On my trip to Kabini in January this year, we managed to spot of tiger in all her majesty. If I am not wrong it was the Tiger Tank Female. Walked so nonchalantly passed us like we didn't exist. It was definitely a scene to behold.

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by sunilarkt

The rainy season is not ideal for spotting tigers. Also, finding one at Kabini is usually involves a bit of luck anyway.

Thanks, sunilarkt. Luck plays a role in cat sightings anywhere except in a zoo! Yes, I agree that the rainy season is not ideal for spotting tigers, but then you if do manage to spot them, you tend to get photos like these. That's why I love going to Kabini in the monsoon.

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

I just hope they have not fallen prey to poaching in any way.

Thanks, W.A.G.7. No, poaching has go nothing to do with this. In fact, poaching is at an all time low. There are several anti poaching camps inside the forest, with some very zealous forest guards patrolling the forest during non safari times.

Originally Posted by Yesterdaysnews

Tigers are there, no worries - they are doing rather well too! It is difficult to spot the big cats during the rains and post rains. I’ve found December to May is when you have the highest chance of spotting tigers in Kabini.

Thanks, Yesterdaysnews. See above for my response to "difficult to spot cats during rains"!

Originally Posted by thirugata

Wonderful photographs. Made my day. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, thirugata.

Originally Posted by asingh1977

You are a great photographer. And a lovely write up. Thanks for sharing this.

Thanks, asingh1977. Glad you liked the write up too!

Originally Posted by Bhodrolok

Kabini is an absolute treat every single time. If only bookings at the JLR wasn't such a pain.

Thanks, Bhodrolok. I'm not sure what you mean by "pain". The prices or the fact that it is nearly always fully booked months in advance?

Originally Posted by swami69

Great Photos and nice write up

Thanks, Swami. Nice to hear you had a good trip to Kabini.

Originally Posted by lobojames9

On my trip to Kabini in January this year, we managed to spot of tiger in all her majesty.

Could be the TT female, a frontal view would have helped identify it better. Tigers have very distinctive markings on their faces.

[deepak_misra]

Very nice writing and beautiful photos.
Kabini never ceases to amaze and the only drawback is the tarrif.
I have a contrarian view on the safaris there. The duration is just too much. It would be nice to have something where you can just sit and soak in nature and the wild life.
Trust more photos are on the way

[CptSlow]

Beautiful photos!
Something similar happened to us on our last two trips to Kabini. In September last year, we did 5 safaris and didn't see any tigers, just one leopard in a faraway tree completely obscured by the dense leaves. But we managed to see tigers and leopards in 3 of the 4 safaris we did in March this year! Magge female and its 2 tiny cubs were the highlights of the trip.

[Torque123]

A well written & nice travelogue. Excellent sighting & image of the Leopard. Below are the reasons for the significant drop in tiger sightings in Kabini.

1. After the capture of the backwater female due to an unfortunate man-animal conflict, tiger sightings in Kabini dropped by 50%. The 2 sub adult male cubs of her's from the previous litter have moved on & are not residing in the tourism zone of the backwater area. They were heavily reliant on the kills made by the mother which kind of forced her to make cattle kills with 6 tigers including herself to be fed (2 subadult males from previous litter & 3 five to six months old cubs from the current litter). 2 of the 3 cubs from the current litter have died too with no confirmed news about the existence of the 3rd cub. So currently backwater area of tourism side is almost devoid of tigers. TT male is seen only when he is patrolling that part & the TT female (alone & not with cubs) is seen once in a while as she is trying to take over that area.

2. TT female even in her core territory is not seen that often due to lack of access roads in majority of her territory. Add to that when she moves to specific areas in her territory with cubs which have access roads the department guys close those routes till she moves off from there.

3. The female sub adult from backwater female's previous litter (now called as new Balle female) has made a territory of her own in the non tourism zone & is seen only when she visits the fringes of the tourism area. Post her mother's capture she was the heart & soul of Kabini (sighting wise). An injury which needed treatment has kind of made her shy away from humans. Her sightings have reduced drastically too.

3. The death of old Russell line female (Nayanjikatte female) put the life of 2 of her cubs in danger & reduced the sightings too. No one has a clue of what happened to these 2 cubs. Due to aging, she anyways had moved to Taraka side (read non tourism zone) & had made that her permanent home & would very rarely come to the tourism zone when she was alive.

4. Magge female post having her 1st litter of cubs is spending majority of her time in village farmlands than inside the forest. Moreover she has taken over the entire territory of the Old Russell line or Nayanjikatte female & spends time on the Taraka backwaters side which has a higher prey base. 9/10 sightings of her's have become solo sightings due to this reason.

5. Temple or current Russell Line Female is the only tiger who is seen the most these days. Again majority of her territory is now in the non tourism side. Her 4 cubs are now almost fully grown & on the verge of separation. They have been very shy from day 1 till now. Cutlip male is seen for a couple of days whenever he is in tourism zone & that happens maybe once or twice a month.

6. Bisalwadi male & female are not only very shy but also have 90% of their territories in the non tourism area.

7. The bold Leopards are long gone (Torn ears, Scarface, Cleopatra etc). Blacky is now old & his sightings reduced drastically since more than a year when he made the non tourism zone his home after the advent of 2 new males (Kaimara & new KV tank male).

8. Cat sightings in Kabini were never so low even in Monsoons. There has also been a drastic increase in the movement of tribals inside the forest for honey collection etc. I observed this in my last couple of visits & when I visited in June this year, I got the Blackie in the morning & saw a group of 6-8 tribals in the afternoon drive walking past exactly beside the spot where I had seen Blackie in the morning. In fact saw multiple groups of tribals at various locations inside the forest. Looks like the forest department is not having a control & they fear the implications (man made forest fire) in case if they try to stop. them.


De-weeding is done every year. It is done in batches. So wherever the work is being done on a particular day, the sightings in that area reduce but not in the entire tourism zone. The tourism zone in almost all forests of Karnataka (except for Bandipur) is way less than the 20% of total forest area. The Karnataka forest department has to learn from their counterparts in Maharashtra on how to create & maintain tourism zones which will improve or provide direct/indirect employment to localites, will intern ease the process of re-location of villages inside the forest, increases the department revenue from tourism, create transparency in doing safaris & last but not the least increases the probability of cat sightings. They should change the wildlife tourism & safari model in Karnataka. The current model is ridiculous which makes a trip to any Karnataka forest very expensive.