[Torque123]

After changing jobs & relocating, my wildlife trips have reduced considerably due to time constraints. My last trip (prior to this) was in Dec'23 to Ranthambhore & it was a fabulous one. Checkout my travelogue on this trip in the travelogue section. I do not like to go for a forest vacation during the summer (Apr-May) due to multiple factors like -

1. Though big cat sightings are great during summer, the forest is dry, not in its glory & the whole experience including photography is not as good as when the forest is green.
2. It is crowded due to summer vacation (schools, colleges). Getting the right zones & drivers for safari, accommodation etc is a challenge.
3. Highways are ridden with city like traffic (especially if your destination is 100-200 kms in & around Mysore. Cannot enjoy the drive & scenic roads & locations on route.
4. The sweltering heat makes waiting at probable spots for long hours makes it impossible if you are going with family or kids.

My family just loves Kabini. For them wildlife = Kabini though they have been to other parks like Bandipur, Nagarahole, KGudi, Tadoba, Bandhavgarh multiple times. Plan was to take a week's absence from work in 2nd week of June. Like every year, I was keeping close tabs on the daily sightings in Kabini, Bandipur & Nagarahole since April. With the sightings of the Kabini Black Panther in Nagarahole side during April & May, my mind was fixated on Nagarahole. Had got a beautiful sighting of him in Jun'23 & that was one of the last couple of sightings of him on the Kabini side. The whole plan came to a standstill due to completion of some urgent work assignments given to me during end of May'24. The monsoon had started & the weather forecast wasn't good to visit any of these parks post the 2nd week of June. July was again going to be packed with work. So had to bite the bullet & decided to do the trip in the 4th week of June. It had been more than 15 years since I did safaris in Mudumalai. My first ever big cat sighting (Leopard) was here. Due to the lack of good safari options, mind never agreed to visit Mudumalai though my heart wanted to. However, knowingly I took the gamble this time & decided to include this park as a part of my itinerary.

Landed in Bangalore on 22nd Jun. Still had not decided on the parks I wanted to do. Getting bookings wasn't a problem as the peak tourist season was over, monsoon was in full flow & my visit would be during the peak weekdays. It had been quite sometime since I got a Leopard on tree. One of the goals of this trip was to get either a Leopard or the Black Panther on a tree. Plan was to visit Nagarahole for 2 nights & 3 days (25 - 27 Jun) & decide during the trip whether to extend for another day in Nagarahole or visit Kabini/Bandipur for 1 night & 2 days (27-28 Jun). Checked the availability of the camera gear with my usual camera rental company on 23rd Jun. Nikon Z9 & Nikkor Z mount 400mm F2.8 with the inbuilt 2x extender were available. Blocked it & was supposed to receive the gear on the evening/night of 24th Jun. 23rd Jun being a Sunday & lazy day, was casually browsing on the phone. Saw some recent Insta reels of Mudumalai & the desire to visit grew stronger. So changed the plan by giving a shot of visiting Mudumalai for 1 night & 2 days. Contacted the camera rental company & the Nikon gear was not available for 24th Jun. The beauty of renting photography equipment is that you will get used to multiple brands. I have no problems using Nikon or Canon though I prefer Nikon. So decided to go with Canon R5 & 400 MM F2.8 IS2. Got the gear by 8 PM on 23 June. Was going to use the R5 for the first time & I just love it. Did a quick search & found stay & safaris were available in Mudumalai. Bookings for both Nagarahole & Mudumalai done by 4 PM on 23rd Jun. Below was the final itinerary -

24 Jun - Overnight stay at Mudumalai (Abhayaranyam forest guest house - Have loads of memories from here including a Leopard sighting 20 feet from the room during my initial wildlife days) & afternoon safari.
25 Jun - Morning safari in Mudumalai, checkout & then overnight stay at Nagarahole (JLR Kings Sanctuary).
26 Jun - Overnight stay at Nagarahole with morning & afternoon safaris
27 Jun - Return to Bangalore post the morning safari in Nagarahole.

Tanked up my Blue Tiger (Slavia 1.5 DSG) with XP95, packed the bags, charged the camera batteries, reset some basic settings of the camera as per my shooting style & hit the bed by 11.30 PM dreaming about the mysteries of the wild that awaited us starting the following morning.


We were all set & left home by 6 AM the next morning. Took the Nice Road(Tumkur road to Mysore road) & in no time we were on the BLR-MYS Expressway. By 7.30 AM we stopped for breakfast at our usual joint Hotel Vaishali in Channapatna. After a leisurely & sumptuous breakfast of hot idly, Vada & Paya soup, we continued our journey towards Mudumalai by 8.20 AM. Took the left near Columbia Asia hospital (now Manipal) & by 10.45 AM we stopped at Pugmark restaurant (outlet of JLR where everyone can stop for a quick snack or tea/coffee). Caught up with a few naturalists & drivers I know in JLR Bandipur, had a coffee & by 11.15 AM we were on our way again. 24th Jun being Monday, there was hardly any traffic starting from Bangalore (except for a small stretch from Mysore Airport to Nanjangud). As we crossed Bandipur & entered Mudumalai, the customary check at the TN checklist did not even last for a minute. They asked us where we were headed to & when we said we were staying at Abhayaranyam, they told us to move on. They did not even ask for the stupid pass which has been implemented recently. There was another vehicle full of young men which was subjected to a thorough search.

Theppakaadu Range Office / Reception



Made a quick stop at the Theppakaadu range office to complete the formalities. They will cross check our stay/safari bookings & will sign the booking confirmation receipt which needs to be presented to the caretaker of the guesthouse where one is staying. Do not forget to take a print out of the booking confirmation along. I forgot & had to take one in Mysore. Fortunately found a shop with printout facility on Mysore ring road so early in the morning. Continued for another couple of KMS on the road from Theppakaadu to Gudalur forest road & reached Abhayaranyam forest guest house by 12 PM. Checked in, freshened up & was motivated by the scenic beauty of the forest to take some customary images on the phone. I usually do not do this. The overcast weather, slight drizzle, lush green forest & the view of Morgan Betta (mountain) from our room motivated me to do some mobile photography. I thoroughly enjoyed the drive. The roads are good throughout except for some patchy stretch between Mysore & Nanjangud. You see a white Dezire parked behind the Slavia in the image below. Right next to it is a pathway created by Elephants due to their movement. My first ever Leopard sighting was when we were sitting & relaxing at around 5.30 PM in the evening in the exact place where the Slavia is parked now & the Leopard came out of the pathway & walked right behind the place where the Dezire is parked.

Our Room




My Blue Tiger









It was now 1.30 PM. Had informed the caretaker while we were still on our way to prepare some simple but tasty lunch (Chapati, Rice, Veg dry, Sambar & fried papad). They will cook & serve Non-Veg too if we inform them in advance. Post lunch informed him about the menu for dinner (told him to make their village style chicken gravy with Dosa & some rice). Reported to the Theppakaadu reception point by 3PM for the safari. Completed the formalities & were assigned the jeep. Safari started at 3.30 PM & so did the heavy rain. Had booked both the slots (3.30 to 4.40 PM & 5.00 to 6.10 PM). So did not have to comeback post the first round. The forest was looking like a gorgeous lady draped in a peacock green attire. I am familiar with the routes & safari tracks but was not familiar with the current Tigers of this jungle. As it had been more than 15 years since my last visit the big cat dynamics would have changed entirely in the forest. So I was completely reliant on the driver's knowledge about the big cat territories & behavior, usual hotspots & routines in the safari zone. As usual in Mudumalai, I was disappointed. Absolutely no intent or positivity or display of tourist education about the forest & its flora & fauna. He had not even stopped the vehicle to wait at some hotspots or listen to the jungle calls including alarm calls until I urged him to do so. Ask him about the territories of the current Tigers in the safari area & he says - "I am not sure". He just wanted to finish the 3 hrs by roaming around pointlessly. They still think everyone who comes there for a safari does not have a clue about wildlife & they are doing us a favor. This was the exact reason why I had stopped visiting this place. This is where all other parks like Bandipur, Nagarahole & other central Indian parks excel. They try to understand the intrests of every guest & focus on that (it can be big cats for most, birds, other animals & the scenic spots inside the forest for some). In the first 15 minutes of the safari itself I knew I was stuck with a wrong driver & its only sheer luck which can get us a sighting & nothing based on tracking etc. After 45 minutes of heavy rain, the sun suddenly came out bright. Usual suspects like the deers, sambar, peacock etc slowly started coming out in the open. However, nothing worth mentioning occurred during the safari & the morning safari. Only highlight was seeing the waterfall in full splendor in the Moyar gorge during our morning drive. Both the drives reminded me of my visits & experiences 15 years back & made me fall back in love with this forest though we had a disappointing safari experience. Finished breakfast, checked out from the guest house after settling the food bill the next day (25th Jun) by 10.30 am & headed to Nagarahole.

The Slavia looks more beautiful than the green forest





Waterfall in the Moyar gorge separating TN & KA



Reached JLR Kings sanctuary by 1.30 PM. Being a Tuesday we were the only other guests other than a couple who had already checked in. It had been drizzling throughout from the time we left Mudumalai until we reached Nagarahole. Checked in, freshened up & headed straight to the Golghar for lunch. Started our first safari in Nagarahole at sharp 3.30 PM. As expected the drizzle turned into quite a heavy shower as we reached the safari zone. On the way, we saw this small pack of 3 wild dogs relaxing on the rock/boulder right next to the main road. Their tummies appeared to be full & were dozing away to glory. Clicked a few images & headed straight to the area where in the sub adult male cub of the Kunthur Tigress had made a kill on previous Saturday. The entire family was not seen post that. The area where it had made the kill was almost at the fag end of the tourism zone.

The Dholes






As it had been raining, the potholes on the safari tracks are filled with water & the safari tracks themselves had become slushy. It is easy to spot pug marks in this kind of situation & all along we checked for the same but to no avail. Reached the kill area & we saw herds of spotted deer, few Sambars & a lonely Gaur busily grazing in the grasslands. No signs of anxiousness or alarm calls from any of the herbivores. Waited there for quite sometime hoping for some action which did not happen at all. We had already checked one other hotspot before we arrived at this place. So we decided to move on & check few other places where this family is known to hangout. The driver had to engage 4X4 in quite a few places as the tracks with black soil were full of slush. It kept raining & at one point the rear of the jeep turned 90 degrees to our right. It was a fun filled off-road drive but my eyes were fixated on trees hoping to sight a Leopard which was taking shelter from the pounding rain. The entire safari post the sighting of the wild dogs was uneventful with no pug marks or alarm calls anywhere in the tourism zone. Just 45 mins before exiting the tourism zone, we decided to check the kill area one last time. On reaching there we found a few more herds of spotted deer peacefully grazing. We started our return journey at sharp 6 PM & found the same pack of 3 wild dogs still relaxing on the rocks. Was hoping for one of them to shrug the water off their coat so I was ready to shoot wide open at f2.8 & ISO bumped up to 6400 (light was very low). One of them stood & stretched too but did not shrug the water off its coat. Clicked few images of this act & exited the park. It stopped raining for a few minutes at around 7.30 PM. Had dinner & hit the bed hoping for an overcast morning with no rain.









Next Morning after the much needed Coffee, started the safari at sharp 6.30 AM. It was still raining & there were no signs of it letting go. As there is water available everywhere, the chances of tigers chilling out around waterholes early morning are almost none. So told the driver to go as slow as possible around the usual tiger crossing hotspots on the main road from the entry point up to where the actual safari area/range/zone begins. This stretch is around 10-12 kms & has multiple tiger crossing hotspots. Over the years, I have seen 5 different tigers just on the main road. However, this time it was hard luck. Reached the actual safari area & headed straight kill site. I was not hoping for the Tiger family to be out in the open as it was raining quite heavily & the kill might have just got over but expected the Tigress (mother) to venture out on patrolling & scent marking her territory as it had been more than 5 days since she had even been seen & the rain would have washed away all her scent. We did not find any pug marks or alarm calls either. I decided to venture out to the other part of the forest (where we had an off-roading experience the previous evening) to try our luck for Leopards & the Blackie. The driver was reluctant as the track is too slushy but as I know him well, he obliged. In the entire forest only 3 jeeps including ours were doing the safari rounds. Getting stuck in the slush even after engaging 4X4 meant a long wait to even communicate & get help. This mobile network inside the forest is almost non existent. Even after scanning almost each & every tree on our way & keeping our ears wide open for any alarm calls, we did not come across anything until we suddenly encountered a pack of 7 wild dogs (this was a different pack). They were literally enjoying the rains by having play fights. Did not risk of taking out my camera as it was raining heavily but took some videos from my phone.

Kingfisher In Rain




We had an hour to exit the forest, so we decided to check the kill area once before exiting the forest. With no positive developments, we decided to embark on the return journey to exit the forest when we came across an inclined curve where the safari track turned towards our left. As we approached the curve our driver sighted a Sloth Bear coming out of the bushes to our right. By the time I could open the lens hood & switch on the camera, the bear had crossed the track. To our left at the edge of the track was a tree. I was ready with the camera & expecting it to cross the tree & glance at us before entering the bushes. However, it decided to sniff around the bottom of the tree for a possible snack (termites). As we had given sufficient space, after sniffing around, it walked a couple of steps head on to us before turning & disappearing into the bushes. Post this we exited the forest, had a sumptuous breakfast & hit the pool.

Sloth Bear





Checked & replied to some official emails before hitting the pool. After freshening up, finished lunch & started our 3rd safari at sharp 3.30 PM. It was raining again with a hundred different things playing on the mind. Told the driver to check the kill spot & one other spot for Tiger movement before moving to the other side of the forest in search of Leopards & Blackie. Quickly scanned the tracks for any pug marks on the way to the kill area. Zilch. Not even deers were in the open due to the rain. Saw a couple of Elephants on the main road though. Quickly moved on to the other side of the forest. I wanted to see the exact spots/areas/trees where Blackie was seen last couple of times. The driver took us there & on the way we canvassed all probable tress where usually Leopards are known to take shelter. Nothing. By now, my eyes got so much trained on scanning the trees that even if I had seen the tail of a Leopard I would have been able to spot it. It was now 5.45 PM. Checked the kill area again before heading back to the exit gate. On our exit journey, I had told the driver to stop at a particular place on the main road where most of the main road Tiger crossings happen (2 tigers - 1 male & 1 Female) use the same Pugdundee to cross the main road. The jeep was traversing at a speed of maybe 35-40 kms an hour & we were maybe 2 kms before the spot where I had asked to stop the jeep & wait for 5 mins or so. I was in the front passenger seat & was scanning the trees to my left. Not sure for what reason, but I decided to glance at some trees to my left. In a split second, I felt I saw the silhouette of a Leopard sitting on a tree branch. Sometimes when it is raining cats & dogs, its the end of a safari with fading light, one has already had 4 dry safaris (2 in Mudumalai & 2 in Nagarahole) & most of your safaris have been spent scanning the trees that imaginary Leopard sitting on tree branch can play in your mind. I immediately said Leopard & the driver braked & got the jeep to a standstill. Told him to reverse very slowly & voila, I was right. The Leopardess was sitting on a thick branch of quite a large tree. Everyone in the jeep was clueless of where the Leopard was including the driver. I pointed my finger & the driver was quick to get a glimpse of it too. Quickly clicked a couple of images & then reversed the jeep to a better angle from where everyone could get a clear view of the Leopardess. In the below image you will see how the big cat was perched when I first saw it. Kindly bear with the image quality as it was captured in extreme low light & heavy rain.





After spending some 10-15 minutes with the Leopardess, we had to exit the park. One thing we observed was it was looking down every few minutes the Leopard's tummy looked quite full & we guessed she might have made a kill. If that was true then there is possibility of getting her around the same place the next morning too. With some happy faces seen in the jeep now (my family), I was glad seeing that too. With a positive feeling, finished dinner & called it a day. The next morning, even before the safari had started, I had clearly told the driver to scan each & every tree in the place we had seen the Leopardess. I told him I don't mind going late to the Tiger's kill area as the chances of getting this Leopardess was higher. It was still raining while we embarked on our final safari at 6.30 AM. Around 100 meters before we reached the exact spot where we had seen the Leopard, the driver stopped & scanned the trees. Nothing. Then we moved a little bit & stopped exactly in the same place where we had seen the Leopardess the previous evening. I was quick to scan the tree on which it was perched the previous day but nothing. The driver then scanned the surrounding trees with his binocs & said - "Sir, Teak marad male kutide nodi" (meaning Sir, its sitting on the teak tree". I wasn't able to immediately spot it as there was not just one teak tree. He then pointed his finger towards the exact tree which was may be 15 to 20 meters to the right of the tree on which it was perched the earlier evening. It was sleeping with its back facing us. We waited for more than 30 mins hoping for the Leopardess to move & turn towards us. By now another jeep (forest department's) also arrived & the intensity of the rain had reduced but had not completely stopped. As I was hoping the Leopardess would make a move now, she stood & walked on the branch to our left. She sat & peeked at us from behind a clump of teak leaves. Once she was convinced about no threat from us, she then walked right back to the spot where she was sleeping & started getting ready for the descent. This was the moment I was waiting for. Bumped up the ISO to 2000 & was ready to shoot at wide open (F2.8). Below is the series of a couple of images of the Leopardess descending from the tree. It is just amazing to see how acrobatic they are. From the mobile video that my daughter took, I see that it took exactly 6 seconds for the Leopardess to complete the descent.

The Stare





The Descent























Once she took the final leap to get off the tree, we knew she would move towards the kill. We did see the overgrown shrubs moving but post a certain distance could not see any movement. We knew she would gorge on the kill & then head towards a water source which is out of sight or access & would return to any one of the trees at this spot to sleep again. For all this to happen, it would take more than an hour for sure. So we decided to check on the Tigers but nothing. There were pug marks on a track leading to the kill area. We waited till the moment it was time for us to exit the park. On our return we stopped at the place where we saw the Leopardess. The driver scanned each every tree using his binocs but she had not yet returned. It was time for us to exit & with a epic sighting of the Leopardess descending the tree, I could see only happy faces in the jeep. Returned to the resort, finished breakfast, freshened up, settled the bill for camera charges & some extras & started our return journey to Bangalore. Reached home by 5 PM & watched the videos captured of the Leopard sighting to my heart's content .

Until next time, CIAO!

[Aditya]

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

[Kashi053]

That first pic of descent was lovely. Big Cats in monsoon is rare sight and nice to see them in green backgrounds. Thanks for sharing.