BLOG 5: Bandhavgarh National Park and the first leopard and the first tigers

We continue by car to our first national park. A few “atmospheric pictures” should give you an impression of rural India.

The Bandhavgarh Wildlife Sanctuary was declared a national park in 1968 and was included in the famous Tiger Project in 1993. It is one of the most picturesque tiger reserves in India. It is located in the lush surroundings of the Vindhya and Satpura mountain ranges in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The reserve is known for its tiger population, which now numbers between 45 and 50.

However, human visitors are only allowed access to around 25% of the area with around 20 tigers.

Axis deer and sambar deer, the Indian bison / gaur, langur and macaque monkeys, a large number of different birds, but also tigers and leopards are very common.

We are very lucky to see our first tigers in the wild. On our first attempt to spot “Tiger No.1” we fail because of the traffic jam that always forms very quickly when tigers are sighted due to small Suzuki-Maruti jeeps speeding towards us. On our second attempt, this tiger walks across the road directly in front of our Tata jeep.

Tiger No. 2 “Racing Roland” sweeps past our column along the path at such a high speed that we can’t even manage to take a photo – and then he has disappeared back into the bushes.

The third specimen, which we can see from a distance in the bushes, is called the “lazy one”. We wait for over two hours without it moving from its resting position - we learn from other visitors that it always comes much later in the afternoon still taking a siesta.

Almost on the way out, we see another “tired warrior” – a leopard lying comfortably on a branch.

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We continue by car to our first national park. A few “atmospheric pictures” should give you an impression of rural India.

Declared as national park in 1968 and included in the famous Project Tiger in 1993, Bandhavgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, is one of the most scenic tiger reserves in India. It is located in the lush surroundings of the Vindhya and Satpura hill ranges, in the state of Madhya Pradesh. Known for its tiger population whose numbers are now between 45 and 50.

However, human visitors are only allowed access to around 25% of the area with around 20 tigers.

Axis deer and sambar deer, Gaurs – the Indian bison, langur and macaque monkeys, a large number of different birds, but also tigers and leopards are very common.

We are very lucky to see our first tigers in the wild. On our first attempt to spot “Tiger No.1” we fail because of the traffic jam that always forms very quickly when tigers are sighted due to the large number of small Suzuki-Maruti jeeps speeding to the spot. On our second attempt we have more luck, the tiger walks across the road directly in front of our Tata jeep.

Tiger No. 2 “Racing Roland” sweeps past our column along the path at such a high speed that we can't even manage to take a photo – and then he has disappeared back into the bushes.

The third specimen, which we can see from a distance in the bushes, we call the “lazy one”. We wait for over two hours without it moving from its resting position - we learn from other visitors that much later in the afternoon it was still taking a siesta.

Almost on the way out, we see another “tired warrior” – a leopard resting comfortably on a branch.