This post is an experience of our Day 2 evening safari in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. You can read about our Day 1 Evening Safari and Day 2 Morning Safari. You will know how eager I was to see the big cats in the wilderness. Though we saw a Leopard on our Day 1 itself, my eyes were waiting to spot what Tadoba is famous for – The majestic Tiger.
Did we get lucky in the third attempt? Well….read on….
In our morning safari, we saw some amazing wildlife, serene Andhari river, and a stunning sunrise. The sweltering day squeezed the energy out of us but it was worth it. We returned to our cottage and had early lunch of simple and hearty Dal-Chawal. Moved to our rooms, relaxed a bit and within a couple of hours, it was the time for another safari.
This was our second last chance to spot the Tiger and I was religiously praying to see at least one. I didn’t feel like going out in the scorching heat but the motivation level was high. Though the temperature was quite high, the clear sky, busy waterholes make a super backdrop for photography enthusiasts. Summer is an ideal time for sighting uncommon species.
Tip: Carry lots of water to avoid dehydration. Wear sunscreen, hat/scarf, light summer clothing.
We started off at 2:30 PM and after all the regular checking process, our Jeep Safari entered the forest. The driver and guide were the same as on the first safari. Nothing changed except the landscape of our path. This time we were in yet another zone. The best part about the jungle is even if you come repetitively; you will find something new to be surprised about.
Our first spotting was of beautiful Common Buzzard sitting in the shade to get relief from the heat. The giant Indian Male Bison was roaming around in search of some food.
As we heard some calls, we suspected a location for the visit by the tiger, and to my utmost surprise what we see was an absolute treat – A Sloth Bear! Yes, a cute sloth bear crossed our path. It came from nowhere and just like any show, it came, saw us for a few seconds, posed, drank water from a pump nearby, again stared at us, and went away. OMG! what a memorable sight! It was so adorable. I still can’t get away from that visual.
We waited for a few minutes to see if the moon bear comes back but hard luck. We moved ahead to see a shy camouflaged Mongoose walking on the dried leaves. He surprisingly gazed at us and quickly went away into the bush. Once again we met our super shy nocturnal friend – The Mottled Wood Owl. It was sleepy hence didn’t disturb it and moved ahead.
Our last resort was to stay back around some water bodies. The safari was about to end in an hour. We waited around a pond for half an hour and wait what I saw was a dream. A tiger cub walked in from the bushes to drink water followed by its two kins. I could not believe my eyes! I was thrilled! Majestic, Beautiful, Fearless, Royal, Ferocious Tigers were in front of us. What a view! One after another 3 of them came, drank water, and sat there for a couple of minutes. I was dancing with joy in my heart. Within some time other safaris also gathered around and what I could hear was the shutter sound. Click Click Click and why not as the Tiger was relaxing and leisurely posing. Although you can capture the beauty in the camera for memories what you experience from your eyes remains in your heart forever.
I was soaking the moment in me.
Yayyyy! So, yes we were lucky in the third attempt. Watching tigers or big cat family in the wild is an altogether different experience. Though for us, each living being is beautiful and of utmost importance. We were at the location and time was slipping from our hands. Had to exit from the jungle as it was getting dark and the safari timing was about to get over. I felt helpless and wanted to cherish those moments for some more time. But had to keep calm and be happy for what I saw and experienced.
The Day 2 evening safari was quite fruitful and that made me happy. We had one more i.e Day 3 Morning Safari left and I was hopeful this luck continued to the other day as well.
We had to exit the jungle but my heart filled with joy after what I had experienced! The day ended on a grateful note. We had to wait till morning for our last safari and the mixed emotions lingered on me. That night I kept rewinding the entry of cute Moon Bear, the shy Mongoose, and the majestic Tiger cubs. What a day it was! I do not remember when sleep hugged me and the alarm rang at 4:30 AM.
Nanchi.blog 
I love the opening picture. The reddish sand of the trail is synonymous with this region of India.
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Thank you Arv! I am glad you liked it. Yes, I agree the red soil resonates this region. I also loved the opening picture apart from the bear, tiger and sunset shot. 😊
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great
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Thank you!
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Simply stunning pictures of the wildlife N. Am bowled by them 🙂
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Thank you so much Radhika. I am glad you liked the photographs. We too loved clicking them! 😊
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I Love Cats and Tiger is the Ultimate Cat. Most beautifull, most powerful, most Everything! Would Love to see one in person, in Nature. But in safe distance, don´t wanna be eaten by one. Namaste!
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Haha….Usually every animal is harmless until provoked or when they sense danger. I too love big cats. So beautiful. Thank you for visiting my blog! 🙂
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Great photos. What a strange and beautiful moon!
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Wow a sloth bear and 3 tigers! You’re so lucky! We didn’t go to the Tiger Reserves in India but now I wish we had!
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Yes, we were so lucky to spot not one but 3 tigers and the bonus was the sloth bear. You must visit Tiger Reserves in India and do not forget to take atleast 4 safaris. I am sure you will have a great time…😊
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Lovely pictures. You’ve had some good sightings.
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Yes absolutely. I was amazed! 😊
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You were so lucky to see so many exotic animals. When we go out to ride in the forest we rarely see the animals we know are out there. A rare bear, elk or deer sighting are exciting. One time we came upon a herd of 27 elk, led by a bull followed by cows and young crossing the road and a stream right in front of us. – Margy
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Yes, Margy. We were lucky to spot so many amazing wild animals. All those are hidden somewhere.
OMG! Herd of 27 elk plus cows and youngs!!?? That’s huge. It must have been a treat to watch them crossing the road and stream! Thank you for visiting the blog, Margy! 😊🙌
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Great photography!
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Thank you so much dear! 😊
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Did you actually click thoss tigers kya Nanchi?
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Off course, I did along with my partner! 😊🙌
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Wow, this is really a super post now. I loved it so much.
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Thank you so much, Sumit! I am glad you loved it. 😊 Hope you are safe and sound.
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Yes yes! Nisarg didn’t appear today.
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Pune and nearby areas are the victim. The cyclone must have skipped Mumbai.
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Yes, it did.
Were you all safe there?
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Wonderful..!! It’s good that you got to see the tigers for real in their natural environment.. 🙂
Tigers usually don’t attack a large group of people. And they attack stealthily if they want to. But, as the saying goes, better safe than sorry.
Good post and a great conclusion to this 3 part forest adventure.. 🙂 Thank you Madam for sharing.. 🙂
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I am glad you liked it, Abir. Yes, Tigers or rather any other animal is harmless except humans!
This is actually not conclusion. The last day morning safari post is pending which will be published in a couple of days. I initially planned to divide the series into 3 days post but wrote on the basis of safaris we did to give a clear and brief idea.
I hope you are liking the Tadoba posts. 😊
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Most animals are harmless and don’t attack unless provoked. The others are vermins.
Great..!! Waiting for your subsequent post on Tadoba National Park then.. 🙂 You describe the animals in great details and your photography skills are just exemplary.. 🙂
Thank you Madam for sharing.. 🙂
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Haha…True that! I am happy to know that you liked the photographs and the description. Thank you for being a wonderful reader, Abir. 😊
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Well, thanks for praising me though you being a wonderful blogger is what makes people become good readers.. 🙂 🙂
Take Care Madam..!!
And yes, do visit Sunderbans sometime in future if you want to.. There are lots and lots of tigers there, amidst dense mangrove forests.. Some safaris there are on boats.. 🙂 And you may be able to see white tigers (they are equally dangerous) in their natural habitat.. 🙂
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Thank you for being so kind always.😊
Sundarbans or rather North East India is on my list for long but it gets postponed because of one or the other reasons. I have heard and read so much about Sundarbans. Just waiting for the right time to materialise the trip. Yes, Royal Bengal Tigers and White Tigers are quite dangerous.
Thank you for reminding me about Sundarbans. 😊
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Well, North East is an enormous place, and each state will take up a lot of time (worth it) if you want to travel it meaningfully. Sunderbans is separate and is in Bengal.
You may club Kolkata trip with Sunderbans if you want to. Kolkata packs a solid punch when it comes to food (I am a Bengali, but this feeling is Universal)
Keep North East separate. Kaziranga will eat up as much time as Sunderbans will.
Hope you are able to visit these places soon and mesmerize us with your beautiful pictures and words.. 🙂
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Yes, Abir…I am aware Sundarbans is separate and is in Bengal 🙂 I was talking about that part of India in overall. Off course, I won’t be visiting every place in once. We visit a single place, absorb it and then plan for another destination. So, in anyway whole of North East is not in my plan. It will be one destination at a time. And as you mentioned, I too had planned to combine Sundarbans with Kolkata (Travel+Food) and then return back.
Then plan to another state in next trip. Not even Kaziranga, I had plans for Majuli as well. So yes fingers crossed when will all travel plans work out. Hopefully soon.
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It’s great to know that you don’t like mixing up too many places in on trip.. 🙂 Infact that’s the correct thing to do mostly.. 🙂 Better to absorb a lot from one region and then move to another..!!
Majuli River Island will be a fantastic place to visit.. 🙂 Don’t know much about it.. Waiting for your articles on that.. 🙂
Best wishes for your upcoming trip to Majuli Island.. 🙂
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Yes, but it seems no travel out of Maharashtra this year! 😦
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Yipeeeee you were blessed. Beautiful sighting indeed. Fantastic photography too. The sunrise & set just wow!!!
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Yes absolutely. We felt blessed to witness the wonderful sightings. I am glad you liked the photographs. Thank you! 😊😊
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Wow! What amazing sights you saw! I am glad you shared your photos with us, they are simply awesome to see.
Thanks for being a part of ‘My Corner of the World’ this week!
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Wow! What a great experience! And adventure 😉
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Yesss!!!! Yessss!!!! Victory!!!!!!!
You found the tiger! Or the tiger found you. But the main thing is, you captured the tiger!! This must have been such an awesome adventure and sighting! And that sloth bear looks so amazing!! Please bring me one. I really want one.😛🙃
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Hahah….You gave the same reaction as I gave when I saw the tiger for the first time! 😆🙌 May be the tiger found me! 😜 It was a memorable experience for sure. Sloth bear was so cute. I wish I could bring one for you. 😂
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I too was waiting for the tiger to show up. Looks like the tiger was sincere.😂
Next time you come across a sloth bear, you are bringing it for me.😍😂😜
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Yes, I know how eager you were! Tiger was sincere or may be my prayers were genuine. Who knows! 😂😜 Haha…This time you go for a safari and get a bear! 😂
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Me going to a safari is like the appearance of Halley’s comet, once in 76 years. May be I won’t take 76 years, but you get the idea. I want to go somewhere for adventure, but I am not counting on it. But you go for adventures frequently, so you are bringing the sloth bear.😂😜
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Haha….But it won’t come with me. They come only with those who want to keep them! 😜
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Now that’s not fair! 😂😜
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😆🙌
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Wow you certainly did get to see the tiger.. Great reflections in the water.. 😉
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Yess….finally, I got to see the Tiger! Thank you Lisa, I am glad you liked the photographs! 😊
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Tadoba is one of the easiest for tigers. And I was surprised about your first post which said you hadn’t seen any.
What a wonderful view you had of the sloth bear. That is much less common; they are shy creatures. Also, the grey mongoose. Another shy animal. Usually doesn’t wait for its passport photo.
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I agree, Tadoba is popular and easy for tiger spotting. Since I was writing my safari-day wise experience, hence it took time for tigers to show up! 😁
Watching a sloth bear and mongoose was a treat. We were really fortunate.
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Great sky.
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Thank you so much, Jim! 😊
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You are blessed to see all the animals during this safari. I enjoyed your style of writing. I feel your excitement. All your photographs are top notch. Be safe.
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What an amazing experience, and wonderful that you and your camera were ready for the tiger sighting! I like the reflection off the water. Beautiful photos!
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OMG! You are so lucky. They say you need the luck to see the Tiger in the wild and you saw. Wow! That is truly amazing. Being in a forest is always a beautiful experience and over and above with the chance of meeting Tiger, that is remarkable.
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Oh my word, Nanchi! The sloth bear, the mongoose, and the tiger cub just stole my heart! How amazing! Thanks for sharing and linking up with me.
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
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From your day 1 adventure to day 2, you did not let me down. The pictures are amazing and your posts are so detailed, I thought I was there with you. Such a beautiful sight to see.
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