Like many of you, in the past, when the words Tiger Safari were mentioned, I was skeptical. Probably one of the main reasons was the bad wrap they seem to have by many who had gone on a Tiger Safari and left disappointed. What I have discovered over the past few years, as in most successful wildlife photography, one must not simply drop in with grand expectations. Instead, one must do the upfront work and stack the deck in their favor.
It all really started several years ago when all of us photographers converged on the Maasia Mara during migration season. My colleague and friend, Shivang, shared the same camp for years, and in our many evenings of bantering over a cold Tusker, I simply asked if he would like to team up for a safari in India; and the rest was history as one would say.
Strategizing, researching, and scheming is part of the grand passion of wildlife photographers; that which is most challenging is usually the most rewarding. This is why I knew it was critical to team up with a very experienced Indian wildlife photographer with decades of experience and a great network; a colleague I highly admire. As we began scheming and crafting the logistics, guides, drivers, access permits, and the never-ending details to increase our odds, the excitement of the possibilities grew.
Through numerous conversations and from boots on the ground in India I learned that a key element to increasing your odds is having intimate knowledge of all cats in all reserves. Knowing whom the breeding Tigers are, if they are breeding, if they are having cubs, when they are having cubs, how old the cubs are (important in relation to the survival rate), and how territories overlap is very important in trying to determine what reserves and what areas are going to be best in a given year. However, critically important is to obtain an all access all zone permit.
However, the most critically important element is to obtain all access all zone permits, which are extremely limited. India’s parks are divided into zones. There is a limited amount of vehicles per zone. You could get assigned to a zone that does not even have tiger activity. Even if you are to choose and purchase your zone in advance, these cats can move great distances in a single day. The zone you choose may have had tigers when you bought the permit, but then the have moved out by the time you arrive. The other advantage of the all access all zone permit is you may enter the park 15 minutes earlier than everyone else, which gives you access to the fresh track on the road that were created throughout the night and early morning.
Although the Tiger is one of the most impressive cats in the world and our planning was based around where we thought we might have the best sightings, we did not want to limit our experience by only offering a Tiger-centric Safari. You see, going into only one place, and being tiger centric unlimitedly leads to frustration, boredom, torture, and madness
Tigers live in different forests and environments, which provide great dramatic lighting on all of their wildlife, something most of us thrive on. So, we wanted to plan a multiple location safari to take advantage of the variety. Central India is the Tiger capital of the world, so each reserve chosen had tigers (and we got lucky in all three locations), but each reserve also provided a unique environment adding variety to the safari experience and portfolio of images.
Never through all our planning did I think we would all come back with this much editing. I am warning you: there are a lot of images below, but at the end, I have added valuable tips if a Tiger Safari is on your bucket list.
Now in 2023 we are taking it to another level again. Not only will be have all access permits in Bandhavgarh, but we have added a location where we can do night photograph and also have the opportunity to photography the worlds smallest cat!!!!
