Tadoba turns up trumps yet again

10th April 2018

Tigress Sonam up close and personal at Tadoba (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Tigress Maya washes one of her small cubs at Tadoba, India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

This Striped Hyaena allowed us a very close approach (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Spotted Deer (or Chital) rutting at Tadoba Andhari Tiger reserve in central India (Image by Inger Vandyke)

Well, we thought our last India wildlife photography tour featuring Tadoba was great, but Tadoba proved even more extraordinary in 2018, with no fewer than 38 sightings of Tigers for our group in our 9 days in the reserve! Where else can you achieve that? Tadoba is currently THE place for Tiger sightings.

Not only was this a new record, but the quality of some of the sightings was awesome, with Maya and her cubs feasting on a Sambhar she had just brought down, really tiny Tiger cubs getting washed and suckled by their mother, the Tigress Sonam with no fewer than four cubs together, three Tigers (an adult female, Choti Tara, and her two sub-adult male cubs, which were already larger than she was) walking past our vehicles in the early morning light, Sonam right next to the jeeps, etc etc.

As always, Sloth Bear sightings were good, although none went swimming in a waterhole like last time, and we had no fewer than four encounters with packs of Asiatic Wild Dogs (or Dholes), including some very sweet pups.

The rest of the tour also produced some remarkable photographic encounters, including loads of crocodiles and photogenic birds at Chambal, Asian Wild Asses at sunset, Bengal Fox cubs playing just a few metres from us, an awesomely close and confiding Striped Hyaena at its den (it was quite extraordinary how that animal tolerated our close approach), a Jungle Cat hunting and leaping into the air in the golden light of dawn, fighting Blackbucks and Chital (Spotted Deer), lolling Asiatic Lions and so much more. It really was an outstanding tour and every group member came away from India with wonderful images.

Come and experience the Tigers of Tadoba yourself on our March/April 2019 India: Tigers, Sloth Bears, Taj Mahal & More wildlife photography tour.

Inger Vandyke & Mark Beaman