After four nights at Satpura and three full days bouncing around the jungles on safari, we had seen lots of interesting critters, but alas, no tigers. We were a little disappointed for Bill and Sue, but we knew going in that sightings at Satpura were not as frequent as in other parks, including Pench, where we would be going next. Our last morning at Satpura would be a short boat trip along the shores of the lake at sunrise, looking for birds, before setting off on a six-hour drive to Pench.
There are only two flatbed sightseeing/safari boats licensed at Satpura, and our lodge had one of them, so off we went in the hazy, pre-dawn gloom. I’m always into attempting to photograph birds and thought we might actually see more along the shoreline than on our inland drives in the forest during the week.
Not only was it hazy that morning, but there was a cloud bank on the horizon delaying our seeing the first rays of the sun popping up. However, we were not disappointed and did see the birdlife starting to come to life.
At one point we pulled into a small cove for a closer look. Far up on the cliffside we could see two safari jeeps on one of the few dirt tracks in the core area that could get this close to the lake. Perhaps they were waiting to get a good view of the sunrise from up there. In the meantime our naturalist, Devya, got on her phone and started chatting with one of the Gypsy drivers up on the ridge. After a few moments I could tell that they were talking about something besides another lovely Indian sunrise. When she ended her call, I asked her what was up.
“They say they can see what they think is the female tiger we have been looking for, down by the lake, so we’re going to go around this rock outcropping and see what we can find,” she responded.
The boatman kicked on the engine, and off we went quickly, back out to the main body of water and around the bend to the right. As we made our way a little ways up the south side of the lake, Devya, who was peering through her binoculars, suddenly proclaimed, “TIGER!” And there she was up ahead. Lounging in the grass on the riverbank, directly in front of us, was the fourteen-year-old tigress we had been looking for all week. Our bird-watching outing had turned into a tiger sighting.
We were able to move in closer for a better look as she checked us out.
She didn’t seem to be too bothered by us in our little boat. I glanced around the cliff side to our right and could not see any vehicles anywhere. We were the only people seeing this!
Finally she seemed to be getting bored and headed down towards the lake. Was she going for a drink? A swim? What was she up to?
Into the water she went. You don’t see this too often in India at this time of year. Only during the hot months of April and May when they will sit in pools of the limited water to cool off.
First a little drink.
Then, after a little snarl…
… off she went, heading for the other side of the lake. Marjorie has video of this taken on her phone. You’ll have to invite us to your house for dinner to see that!
Devya told us that the opposite shore was very muddy and she could possibly get stuck in the muck, which would have been a disaster. As she approached the opposite embankment you could see her testing the bottom. After a couple of probes she finally settled on a spot near some rocks.
And finally, she made it!
As the tigress made her way up through the rocks and disappeared into the brush, Bill exclaimed, “OK, we can go home now!”
Next time; Pench National Park and Tiger Reserve (or should we say Leopard Reserve?).
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