Archived Testimonials: Nature Safari India

During December 2024 we spent three weeks visiting a total of five Tiger reserves in India. Our primary aim was to observe Bengal Tigers in the wild but at each reserve we operated light-trapping equipment to record any moths we encountered. The first reserve we visited was the Jim Corbett National Park in the foothills of the Himalayas, northern India. The results and observations from this reserve are reported in Waring & Waring (202x). The four reserves in central India were Satpura (December 6-9) (Figs. 1-3), Pench (December 9-12) (Figs. 4&5), Kanha (December 12-16) (Figs. 6-8) and Bandhavgarh (December 16-20) (Figs 9&10). To reach these from the Jim Corbett National Park we drove the six hours back to Delhi, from which we caught an internal flight to Bopal and then undertook a four-hour drive to Satpura. The roads between these reserves were surprisingly good with smooth tarmac surfaces almost all the way to the Tiger reserves and graded earth tracks on the final approaches. Various of the roads had more than one lane in either direction. The roads pass through very poor, overcrowded and shabby towns and villages. Cattle are everywhere, often wandering down the roads. Carts drawn by a pair of oxen are commonplace and are still a major form of transport in the more rural areas. Motorcycles and scooters are the most common method of getting around and swarm the roads in towns. Private vehicles are now also common. We also saw plenty of long-distance buses with well-constructed bus stops. The landscape between the towns is mainly overgrazed open ground, with surviving patches of woodland largely restricted to hills and rocky areas. Stray dogs and cats are numerous and will be disturbing and killing the smaller wild animals around the human settlements. Interestingly, Leopards are said to have a fondness for preying on lone dogs they may find.

The sites and the Tiger-watching

As at the Jim Corbett National Park (see Waring & Waring, 202x), the main type of vegetation in the four Tiger reserves we visited is dry and moist tropical broadleaved woodland, some of it deciduous. Sal Shorea robusta in the family Dipterocarpaceae is the predominant tree species but Terminalia elliptica and various Ficus species are frequent amongst the other trees present. Within the core areas of the reserves, cattle are excluded. But we noted that the buffer zones right up to the boundary with the core areas were frequently overgrazed. Only within the core areas is the field-layer vegetation able to flower and seed unhindered. During our December visit some of the grassy areas in the reserves were being cut by hand by local people with sickles, overseen by staff of the forestry department, particularly by the roadsides. This is to reduce the risk of accidental fires.

In addition to grazing in the buffer zones, the local people are also permitted to gather firewood there, to heat their homes and for cooking. However, we were dismayed to hear that they also take wood to sell, rather than for their own use, and we saw small trees being cut down as well as fallen wood being collected. The local people continue to damage and encroach on the buffer zones and seem to fail to recognise that the wildlife was here first and that these areas are set aside to protect the wildlife that has been lost elsewhere. That said, many of the local people are now being given jobs connected with the reserves, especially as guides, and in the many hotels and lodges that have been built around the reserves to accommodate the tourists. This is providing many more opportunities for steady and comparatively lucrative employment than would otherwise be available. If a Tiger kills a cow in the buffer zone, the owner of the cow is compensated financially by the forestry department. Tiger tourism really is an asset to the community.
During this three-week Tiger-watching trip we had a total of twenty-five Tiger sightings. On two occasions we saw four Tigers at once (at Pench). On several occasions we were less than 4m from the Tiger. Once, on December 14, from 07.45 to 08.00hrs, we watched a pack of twelve very rare Asiatic Hunting Dogs (Dholes) hunting Spotted Deer in open grassland at the Kanha reserve. We were the only vehicle there. We were just driving away and came across a Tiger walking up the jungle track we were on. We backed away as she walked towards us for about 10 minutes, before she went into the forest. We were so close, yet she was not worried. It was completely wonderful. Again, we were the only vehicle to see this Tiger on this occasion.
Generally, safaris after dark are not allowed in the core areas of any of the Tiger reserves. We went on one night safari (in the buffer zone at Pench) and were very lucky to come across four fully grown Tiger cubs sitting under a tree. They got up and three jeeps, including the one we were in, followed them around the forest for around half-an-hour, keeping our distance. These Tigers were walking slowly amongst the trees and largely ignored us. Then we had to leave them because the park was closing. On another occasion, a fine seven-year-old Tigeress known as Laila was walking along the track in Satpura and then she sat happily on a rock for ages in the late afternoon (Fig. 1). We all got tremendous views and photos of her and could have stayed all day, but sadly we had to leave the park before it got dark. We saw Tigers on two kills, both at the Satpura reserve. The first was of a large male Sambar. The antlers of the Sambar had got caught up on two young trees and the male Tiger, strong as he was, could not pull the deer into the cover of nearby bushy vegetation. The Tiger dined on the Sambar in full view of us, as did his sister with him. The second kill was of an adult feral white cow left behind when a village within the reserve was relocated to the outside. Again, this carcase was hardly hidden by vegetation. As the Tigeress ate into the body cavity, her eyes occasionally looked over at us. It was well aware we were watching, but it carried on undisturbed.

Tigers were located on our safaris by listening out for the alarm calls of several animals, the so-called bush telegraph. Most helpful were the ringing relatively high-pitched bark of the Spotted Deer, the lower bark of the Sambar, the shriek of the Muntjac and the excited grunting of the Langur Monkeys.

We could go on and on about our Tiger sightings during this magnificent trip.

Sites of the moth recording

At each of the four Tiger reserves our accommodation was outside the core area, usually in the buffer zone, and never more than 10km from a park entrance. Table 1 below shows the co-ordinates of the accommodations where we operated our moth lights.

Tiger Reserve
Satpura
Pench
Kanha
Bandhavgarh
Accommodation
Bori Lodge
Pench Jungle Camp
Singinawa Jungle Lodge
Tree Top Hideaway
Co-ordinates
N22.2966750
E77.9426390
N21.72966
E79.35179
N22.11159
E80.56734
N23.72011
E81.04081


The accommodations at which the moth lights were operated, and some typical habitats in the surrounding areas are shown in Figs. 2-10 and Fig. 19.

The weather

As reported for the Jim Corbett National Park much further north (see Waring & Waring, 202x), the night-time temperatures in December were low – typically with minimums of between 4oC and 7oC. Despite being located in central India, it is worth noting that the above four parks are at considerable altitude. For example, the Singinawa Lodge at Kanha is at 553m above sea-level and the Tree Top Hideaway at Bandhavgarh is at 445m asl. The altitude further impacts on the winter climate. We were supplied with blankets (Fig. 37) and hot water-bottles for riding in the open-topped jeeps pre-dawn to get to the park entrances and at dawn in the parks until the sun rose.
During the day the temperature increased gradually to between 20oC and 25 oC in the middle of the day. Butterflies did not start flying until about 10.30hrs. By 16.00 the temperature was falling rapidly and we had our coats back on.
The nights were all clear and starry with the moon increasing to full moon and then starting to wane during our stay. The night air was always dead calm and there was no rain at all.

The moths

Table 2 shows the results of our moth recording at Satpura, Pench, Kanha and Bandhavgarh. The most striking and memorable moths we encountered were as follows:
Antheraea mylitti, the Tasar Silk Moth (Saturniidae) (Fig. 11) which we would prefer to call the Plum-coloured Emperor! We saw a single individual twice, on two consecutive nights, at Satpura. On the first night (December 6) this male arrived at the light between 02.00 and 05.00hrs. It was released just after 05.00hrs, in shade at the side of our accommodation, when the light was switched off and it was still dark outside. However, the next evening the same individual was back at the light, at 18.20, within minutes of switching it on after returning after dark from our afternoon safari. The moth had evidently not moved from its release point all day.

Trabala vishnou, the Green Vishnou Lappet Moth (Lasiocampidae). The first example of this Lappet Moth was the large yellow female (Fig. 12) which arrived at our lights at Satpura soon after dark on December 6. The male is a beautiful pale green (Fig. 13). We encountered five of these males on our first night at Satpura (Table 2). All arrived between midnight and 05.00. This habit of flying late at night also proved to be the case on subsequent nights and also when we encountered them at Kanha and Bandhavgarh. We did not see this species at Pench. We have previously encountered this species in the far south of India, in the Sunderbands (see Waring & Shore, 2020).

Metanastria aconycta, the White-spotted Lappet (Lasiocampidae) (Fig. 14) was seen at both Pench and Kanha.
Polyptychus dentatus, the Toothed Grey Sphinx (Sphingidae) (Fig. 15) was the only hawk-moth seen on this entire three-week trip in India. The single individual was seen at Satpura where it arrived on the night of December 6, between midnight and 02.00hrs.
Satpura also produced the only examples of Eudocima materna (Erebinae) (Fig. 16) and Cyclidia substigmaria (Drepanidae) (Fig. 17) seen during this stay in India.
Argina astrea, the Yellow Tiger (Erebidae, Arctiinae) (Fig. 18) was found both at Satpura and Bandhavgarh.

Other members of the Arctiinae or Tiger moths included Creatonotus gangis, the Streaked Tiger (illustrated in Waring & Waring, 202x), two Footmen species and the pink-banded white Cyana (Fig. 20), of which there are many similar species.
The Lymantriinae or Tussock Moths were well represented by various small yellow ‘Euproctis’-like moths that were not identified to species level. However, the closely-related larger Nygmia icilia was easily identified by its rich reddish markings across the forewing (Fig. 21). The much larger and attractive Lymantria marginata, Mango Tussock Moth, of which we had seen several at the Jim Corbett National Park in the north earlier in the week (Waring & Waring, 202x), was only seen as a single male, at Satpura on December 6, during the rest of the trip. This may have been due to a slight seasonal difference between the Corbett National Park and the other reserves further south. A single male of the smaller Lymantria incerta (Fig. 22), named the so-called Wingless Tussock after the flight-less female, was seen at Kanha on December 12. The distinctive small Orvasca subnotata was found at Bandhavgarh, as at the Jim Corbett National Park.

Several species of the Notodontidae or Prominent moths were recorded (Table 2). The largest was the Green-waved Prominent Netria iridescens (Fig. 23), followed by the Indian Lobster Moth Stauropus alternus (Fig. 24). A type of Chocolate-tip Clostera sp. (Fig. 25) was also encountered, but this has not been identified to species.

The Geometridae were represented by several species, none common, again probably due to the time of year. Hyposidra talaca the hook-winged Talaca Leaf-moth was seen at Kanha, but not as frequently as at the Jim Corbett National Park (Waring & Waring, 202x). The most distinctive of the geometrid moths were Pingasa ruginaria, the Brown-bordered Pingasa (Fig. 26), which seems to be widely distributed over India, and Spaniocentra panasa, Rufous-bordered Emerald, with its distinctive dark blotches (Fig. 27). Many species of geometrid moths have larvae which feed on tree foliage, so a wide variety is generally expected in woodland habitats.

The Noctuidae, particularly the members of the Noctuinae and Hadeninae, are more generally dependent on low-growing herbaceous plants and grasses. These moths tend to be more abundant where there is clearance of woodland, and at riverine habitats, where there is opening up of the land to the sun, as also by humans clearing for agriculture and settlements. Two species of Noctuids were recorded at the lodges – a Slender Burnished Brass Thysanoplusia orichalcea at Bori Lodge, Satpura, where there was open grassland around our accommodation, and a Wainscot of genus Mythimna or Leucania near M. unipuncta at Kanha. Both of these are species very familiar around human settlements in Europe and Africa as well as Asia. The Slender Burnished Brass even occurs, as a rare immigrant, in the British Isles.
The Pyralidae were not seen in any numbers on this visit to India, unlike is often the case in the tropics. This was probably due to the season of the year. Two species were noticeable, a large golden yellow pyrale Botyodes asialis, known as the Asian Tear Sucker (Fig. 28), and a smaller white pyrale Cydalima laticostalis (Fig. 29). Both were seen at Kanha on December 12 and the former turned up again there on December 15.
The final moth of the trip was a large female of the Noble Lappet Lebeda nobilis (Lasiocampidae) (Fig. 30). This turned up on our very last night at Bandhavgarh (December 19), at our light on the first-floor balcony at the Tree House Hideway at 21.00hrs. It flapped around the full length of the balcony for at least a minute then settled on the wall near the 160W blended light bulb, closed up its wings and came to rest, much to my relief. It was able to take several good photographs of it. It remained in this position until 05.00hrs when I switched off the light bulb in preparation for our early morning departure to Jabalpur airport to catch a flight to Delhi, where we overnighted before our 4181 mile, nine-hour return flight from Delhi back to London Heathrow and the train home.

The butterflies

The site where we had the best opportunity to record butterflies was the Tree House Hideaway at Bandhavgarh, which is set in woodland in the buffer zone and only a few metres from the boundary of the core area. On one of the nights of our stay, a young Tigress was seen walking through the camp. We found her footprints in the morning, in sand not far from our own tree-house. We were close enough to hear her roar on the last night of our stay.

The owners of the 14-hectare Tree House Hideaway site were encouraging native plants all over the site and had created a small butterfly garden with a selection of larval foodplants as well as nectar-flowers. Butterflies were most frequent flying up and down the wooded track to our accommodation, which included some open sunny areas. The most frequently seen butterflies here included the papilionids Lime Swallowtail Papilio demoleus and Common Rose Pachliopta aristolochiae , the pierids Common Emigrant Catopsilia pomona, Common Grass Yellow Eurema hecabe and Psyche Leptosia nina, the nymphalids Baronet Symphaedra nais, Chocolate Pansy Junonia iphita, Grey Pansy Junonia atlites and including the danaiines Common Crow Euploea core and Plain Tiger Danaus chryssipus, the Common Sailer Neptis hylas (Limenitidinae), and the satyrines Evening Brown Melanites leda and Common Faun Faunis canens. There are several species of Eurema known from this site. Fig. 31, taken here, shows that Eurema hecabe was the species we saw, based on the pattern of brown spots on the undersides of the wings. It has one brown spot and a comma-shaped marking towards the base of the underside of the forewing. E. andersoni has only one brown marking here and E. blanda has three (Smetacek, 2017). There were several species of Lycaenidae present, of which the Common Pierrot Castalius rosimon was easily identified without catching it, on account of its bold black and white markings (Fig. 32). The Baronet (Fig. 33) was particularly frequent, with several males appearing to have territories along the main path and chasing off the Chocolate Pansies in particular, then returning to their previous resting place in a sunny spot on the path. The above was a good cross-section of the butterflies we had seen in the Tiger reserves. Several of the beautiful light bluish Dark Wanderer Pareronia ceylanica (Pieridae) (Fig. 34) were seen flying about the Tree Top Hideaway site, but were not noticed in other sites.

Our second-best place for observing butterflies was a muddy area by a stream in the Pench reserve. Here we saw and photographed several species mud-puddling. These included the Commander Medusa procris (Nymphalidae, Nymphalinae) (Fig. 35), a species not seen at the Tree Top Hideaway. It was also seen a few times elsewhere in the Pench reserve. Also present at the muddy stream-side was the Common Leopard Phalanus phalanta, the Baronet, the Common Crow, Plain Tiger, Common Rose and Common Sailer.
Elsewhere in the four Tiger reserves, butterflies were infrequent at the time of our visit. The species seen most often was the Common Crow (Fig. 36). Several of the very handsome Grey Count Tanaecia lepidea (Nymphalidae) (Fig. 37) were seen at a designated breakfast stop in Kanha. This is a particularly large and striking butterfly, even though it is only black and grey. We also confirmed the Common Bush-brown Mycalesis perseus (Satyrinae) (Fig. 38) at this breakfast stop.
The Lime Swallowtail and the Plain Tiger butterfly were often seen flying across the tracks in the reserves.

A single male of the Great Egg-fly Hypolimnus bolina (Fig. 39) was seen flying and at rest while we were in the jeep queue waiting to enter the Kanha Tiger Reserve for our afternoon safari on December 14.
In contrast to all the other species of butterflies mentioned above, one species was seen in large numbers. This was the Evening Brown. At Kanha about 30 individuals were seen careering across the road between two sections of woodland in the 20-minute drive at dusk from the Mikki Gate of the Kanha Tiger Reserve to our accommodation at Singinawa Lodge on December 14. They seemed disorientated by our headlights. They may have been attracted by, or accumulated here due to, the warm tarmac of the road warming the air above it. At Bandhavgarh on December 16 we observed the same phenomenon at dusk in the drive on the tarmac road between Gate 2 and Gate 3 but this time we counted 200 individuals before we stopped counting.
The Evening Brown was also quite frequently seen around the wooded camps at both Pench and Kanha.
The jeep safaris kept us busy most of the day. It was against park rules to get out of the jeeps for any reason, including photographing butterflies. The possibility of dangers lurking nearby was emphasised when we encountered a Leopard able to hide successfully in grass just 20cm tall!

Other wildlife highlights

Each of the four Tiger reserves we visited in central India produced some unique wildlife highlights in addition to sightings of Tigers. Satpura produced the greatest range of moths and the most spectacular species. In addition to the four Tigers viewed together in the forest at night, at Pench we had three sightings of Leopards, not seen elsewhere (see Fig. 19). One was calmly sunning itself on a rock outcrop in the forest. At Kanha we saw Barasingha deer in their swampy open habitat (Fig. 6) during their rut. The mature males were adorning their antlers with swamp vegetation by wading in and thrashing the antlers through the swamp plants. They looked a fine sight, all the more evocative when viewed in the early morning mist. The top males were following females about, checking their hind ends to smell if they were coming into season. The reserve guide informed us that in 1970 the world population of Barasingha was just 66 individuals. As a result of special protection, conservation efforts and captive breeding, the population now numbers about 1100 animals – a major conservation success story. Kanha also produced the views of Indian Wild Dogs hunting Spotted Deer, mentioned earlier. Bandhavgarh produced our only sighting of a Sloth Bear. This was found and watched foraging among the trees in the forest in the last hour of daylight before it entered dense vegetation and we had to leave it so that we could exit the park on time.

Spotted Deer, Sambar and Wild Boar were seen in all the four reserves, in numbers. They are the main prey of the Tigers. Langur Monkeys and Rhesus Macaques were common. The Nilgai or Blue Bull was seen fairly frequently at Satpura, less so at Pench and Kanha, and none was seen at Bandhavgarh, where we also failed to see the herd of Indian Gazelle, despite much effort. A few Jackals were seen at each reserve. We had several sightings of Ruddy Mongoose at Bandhavgarh and watched a big male Elephant with tusks feeding among the trees on our last day there. There are about 70 wild Elephants on this reserve according to our guide, but they had eluded us until this one.

We had a prolonged viewing of a Grey Monitor Lizard basking on a rock at Kanha on the very cold morning of December 15. It was almost 1m in length from its nose to the tip of its tail. We left it undisturbed. It may have been too cold to move quickly.
All the reserves supported large numbers of often colourful birds, from Egrets, Herons and various Storks, to three different species of Kingfishers and a range of raptors. Bandhavgarh produced a splendid sighting of the Brown Fish Owl, which resembles a huge Tawny Owl. Peacocks were frequent. We counted at least 25 male Peacocks seen during the afternoon safari at Kanha on December 14. It was good to see 13 Vultures soaring together at Bandhavgarh, in view of the widespread poisoning of Vultures in India. Most of the 13 were White-rumped Vultures with a couple of Indian Vultures and a Griffon Vulture amongst them.

General observations

We observed that the visitors at all the Tiger reserves were mainly Indian. We considered this good because it demonstrated that Tiger-tourism has a solid following amongst the resident population in the Tiger’s homeland. The deliberately restricted number of jeep safaris were fully booked up every day. Some of the hotels and lodges need to be booked well in advance, such is the demand. It is clear that having a local Tiger reserve generates a large amount of revenue and employment, far in excess of the other opportunities in what are generally very poor areas of subsistence farming.

We were told that there are now officially 3682 Tigers in India at a recent count, although this may be an under-estimate. At least this means that the Tiger population has more than doubled since the low of 1400 in 1970. We saw two instances of Tigers rearing four cubs in a litter and heard of more instances of the same.

Many of us grew up with The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling from 1894 or, much more likely, the cartoon movie adaptation of Jungle Book by Walt Disney from 1967. Pench is Kipling country, a fact not lost on several local hotels which feature his name in theirs. In Pench we had several sightings of the Ruddy Mongoose which is distinguished by the black, upturned tip of its long tail. This was a reminder of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, the hero Mongoose which fought two Cobras in one of Kipling’s Jungle Book stories. The Tiger, Leopard, Langur Monkeys and Vultures we saw all feature in the book and the movie.

At Bandhavgarh the Tigers were noticeably more wary and reluctant to leave cover. We think this is due to the large numbers of local people we saw on foot in the core area, much more so than at the other reserves. It was not clear if these people had jobs working for the reserve or permits to do so.. Some people at Bandhavgarh were only food vendors rather than forest workers. Perhaps there is more illicit hunting and poaching than on the other reserves. Our sightings of Nilgai were very few and the Sambar tended to stay in deeper cover. We were assured all the reserves are regularly patrolled by anti-poaching staff. Measures are also being implemented which limit the number of jeeps in the parks on any one day, and divide the parks up into zones, to spread the jeeps out. In an attempt to avoid all the jeeps in one area gathering around a Tiger and hassling it, the use of personal mobile phones by the drivers and naturalists is banned, although this is not necessarily complied with. Each guide is issued with a staff phone with a GPS transmitter such that reserve staff in the office know where all the jeeps are at any time. The jeeps are not permitted to remain motionless in one spot for more than ten minutes.

Pench reserve has a reputation for producing sightings of Leopards, more so than the other reserves we visited. We had three sightings of Leopards at Pench and saw none in the other reserves, although we did see footprints of Leopards. Pench is 1179km2 in area and safaris are permitted in only 20% of it. We wondered if these two facts might be connected. There are an estimated 10,000 Leopards in India, but we heard from various sources that they are particularly secretive when large populations of Tigers are present. Tigers will kill Leopards because this reduces competition for prey. We also heard that Tigers will kill Sloth Bears, even though these are not obvious competitors, Sloth Bears eating mainly Termites, fruit and carrion. We only saw one Sloth Bear during the three weeks, at Bandhavgarh. Sloth Bears are often active at night and the cold weather may have reduced activity, although they do not actually hibernate like other Bears. There was some feeling amongst the naturalists that as Tiger numbers increase the number of daytime sightings of Sloth Bears decline and perhaps their population numbers also. These impressions certainly need study to see if they are substantiated.

Conclusions

We had 25 sightings of Tigers in three weeks over five Tiger reserves, seeing at least one Tiger most days. This was more than we anticipated. We were pleased with this result and that the Tigers we saw were mostly unbothered by the visiting jeeps. It appears that measures to conserve Tigers in India are working. Furthermore, there is a huge demand from the Indian population, and from tourists from other countries, to see Tigers in the wild. Currently, the Tiger-watching opportunities at the five reserves we visited are operating at or near full capacity. The demand appears to be increasing.

The winter weather of December is a good time to see Tigers at their finest but not the time to encounter large numbers of moths or butterflies in these Tiger reserves. Never-the-less, for the visiting lepidopterist, there are sufficient numbers of species to maintain interest, and many are striking in their size and appearance, resulting in some thrilling encounters.

Our wildlife observations indicate that many other species are benefitting from the conservation of Tigers and their habitat. Male Tigers need individual territories of between 200 and 300 km2, dependent on the population densities of prey, and to be viable in the long-term a Tiger population needs to number more than 200 individuals, according to information supplied by our guides and by Kala (2019). A male Tiger’s territory may encompass the territories of two females. So large areas have to be set aside if viable populations of Tigers are to be conserved. This will have tremendous value for the wildlife and tourism in India.

Acknowledgements

Our entire three-week tour of the five Tiger reserves we visited in December 2024 was organised by Nature Safari India (NSI), owned and overseen by Sharad Vats who is a keen naturalist, wildlife photographer and conservationist as well as a good organiser. This is a firm we can thoroughly recommend based on our experiences with them. From the moment we got off the plane in New Delhi, until we caught the return flight to London Heathrow, employees of the company were there to assist us. Air-conditioned vehicles collected the two of us on time to take us to the accommodations at the Tiger reserves. Open-topped four-wheel- drive green Maruti jeeps collected us from the accommodations for the morning and afternoon safaris each day and we had the jeep to ourselves. We planned the tour months in advance and NSI made all the advance hotel bookings for us at the five reserves we wanted to visit. NSI supplied a driver-naturalist for each safari. At Pench, Kanha and Bandhavgarh a guide who was a staff member at the reserve joined us for each safari. This is mandatory. The guide is there to ensure that the rules of the park are not broken, as well as to assist the driver-naturalist in showing us the wildlife. We usually had a different guide for each of our safaris in these Tiger reserves. The driver-naturalists supplied by NSI were all excellent and did so much to maximise the interest of our safaris and the naturalists attached to the lodges gave us good advice. We thank them all – lodge naturalists Shubham Alave and Khadir Khan at Satpura; NSI naturalist Satendra Hinge and lodge naturalist Sougato Bhattacharyya at Pench; NSI driver-naturalist Aalam Khan and lodge naturalists Anand and Vipul at Kanha and NSI driver-naturalist Ajeet Chaturvedi at Bandhavgarh. In addition, all the staff at all the accommodations were most helpful and welcoming and looked after us very well. At Singinawa Lodge our apartment was supplied with identification guides and other books relevant to the local wildlife, including a self-produced copy of Dhamorikar’s guide to the butterflies of Kanha (undated) and a checklist of local wildlife, including butterflies (Singinawa, undated). At Satpura, Pench and Bandhavgarh there was a well-stocked library of such books in the main building for us to use, and reading desks, plus a wildlife checklist in our room at Bandhavgarh (Pugdundee, undated). All of this added to the studious ambiance of these marvellous lodge accommodations. All had a 24-hour electricity supply, such that we could operate our moth lights all night at each site, which was much appreciated.