[Leica] Bandhavgarh - 1

[jayanand at gmail.com (Jayanand Govindaraj)]

Bandhavgarh was all about tigers - we had 10 drives in all, and saw tigers
on each drive, but only a few were photographic opportunities. In fact, on
one drive, I saw 6 tigers/cubs, but did not photograph even one, as they
were deep in the forest. It is not surprising that sightings of tigers are
relatively easy here, as it has the highest density of any reserve in India.

The first drive - the Sidhibaba female - she had 2 cubs which Howard
captured, thanks to the superior low light capability of the Nikon D700.
This was the limit of the D300:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100316_0016.jpg.html

Climber's Point - so called because the area is full of vines, and the
resident tigress:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100317_0041.jpg.html
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100317_0049.jpg.html

A rare sighting of a Jungle Cat, and that too close to the road who did not
get spooked:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100317_0060.jpg.html

A Tiger Show was on the next day - basically elephants locate a tiger, and
if it is close enough to the jeep routes, tourists are ferried up and down
to see it. Here, they had located a male, simply called the "New Male". Here
are the tourists on the elephants:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100322_0140.jpg.html
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100322_0143.jpg.html

Come evening, and everyone knew where a sighting was likely - actually I was
on the elephant in the morning when the New Male settled down for the
afternoon. The area was packed, and there was bedlam when he was sighted
(note the tripod on the ground - a major impediment to quick movement):

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100322_0204.jpg.html

Luckily my driver and guide had expertly parked our jeep, and he broke cover
right in front of us:

http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100322_0211.jpg.html
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Bandhavgarh/Bandhavgarh_20100322_0213.jpg.html

Criticisms and comments welcome!

Cheers
Jayanand