Day Ten
This was a quiet morning. One of our vehicles had a quick sighting of a young adult male tiger crossing the road. Today was very hot so things might pick up again for the rest of the week. We did have a fun elephant safari for an hour. We went across some meadows and deep into the forest. Seeing the forest from an elephant’s height is beautiful. We went through saal tree forest, through streams, across ravines, and through dense underbrush like it was nothing. On the drive home we heard some alarm calls that told us the tigers were in the area. There were signs of a tiger; paw prints, scat and flattened grasses where he had slept. We pounded the bushes long enough to know the tiger had gone.
The afternoon drive produced no tigers but in Kanha there is a lot to see and shoot. It was the season for Langur monkeys to have new babies, so there were plenty of chances to photograph interactions between family members. One favorite was a mother and baby snuggling between the trunks of two trees. Another was a baby climbing all over a mother’s head. Another specialty of the park is Gor, the largest bovid in the world. Huge and beautiful with their ivory horns, raspberry colored ears and white stockings, we found herds grazing in meadows while dominant males bellowed and jousted in the forest. Tonight the lodge manager arranged a huge Tandoori feast out in a forest glade. The pathways were lined with lanterns and candles, creating a lovely blend with the starry night sky.
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