Here are a few observations about travel in India:

Tiger Tracking in India with Gustafson Photo Safari Welcome to India…land of mystery, lost temples, and inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungl...
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Tiger Tracking in India with

Gustafson Photo Safari

Welcome to India…land of mystery, lost temples, and inspiration for Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book.” India is also the home of the powerful and ellusive tiger, a photo trophy beyond compare!! I grew up knowing the tales of “The Jungle Book”, but never thought I would ever make the journey to India where the story was set. The seed for this photo quest was planted by clients who asked me if I would consider guiding a trip to India to see tigers. I’m not comfortable making an all out photo expedition to a place I have never been so I asked people I trust how best to put the trip together. We came up with a “scouting mission” itinerary to see how India worked logistically and photographically. The trip was designed to present an overview of Central India and it gave me hands-on experience in tiger tracking and tiger photography. I saw how the game parks and lodges work as well as the food, vehicles and in-country travel. More importantly, I was able to meet and work with the owners of the Jungle Lodges and the expert tiger guide who is ultimately the one most responsible for our successful photo experience. Gustafson Photo Safari has partnered with naturalist and Tiger expert Harendra Singh. It was an eye opener to realize differences between India and East Africa. I live and breathe African Safari, from the lodges and vehicles to the game parks, the species and their habits. When photographing lions in Africa you can usually see them from a distance in the savannah habitat, move into position and start making pictures. Photographing tigers in India has a different set of challenges. The shooting locations are often in deep forest and jungle habitat with limited visibility. Here is where an expert tracking guide is of vital importance. With the benefit of Herindra’s knowledge and experience we were able to find and photograph tigers. Learning the tiger’s natural history was most important. Understanding tiger population distribution, territories, mating behavior, and the number and ages of cubs allowed us to get into position for wonderful photo opportunities.

I thought it was a joke the first time we stopped the vehicle and “listened to the sounds of the jungle.” We heard the typical undercurrent of insects‘ buzzing and a variety of bird calls. Then came a different kind of call; louder and more punctuated. The atmosphere was electric as our guide told us there was a tiger in the area. All the animals of the forest were sounding alarm calls when the tiger was on the move. We immediately moved the vehicle to where the calls were loudest and in a matter of moments a tiger emerged form the dense forest!

On another occasion, while following fresh tracks on the road and listening to the alarm calls we came to an open meadow where a mother tiger and 3 large cubs came out to play. Tracking, listening, finding and successfully photographing tigers results in an indescribable sense of accomplishment!

They say tigers are big. Seeing is believing. We were amazed to see this beautiful cat cross the road and realized that when the tiger’s nose was off the road the tail was still on the other side!

Here are a few observations about travel in India: Game park vehicles are smaller than their East African counterparts. They are more maneuverable in the tight tracks that traverse the tiger parks. Each has 2 bench seats for photographers that took some getting used to. Todd-Pods don’t work on them but there are roll bars and vehicle frames perfectly suited for beanbags. The forest tracks are dusty and the open vehicles let in a lot of dust. People who had camera covers were in better shape than those of us who didn’t. My 600mm VR lens lost auto focus on the last day. Part of that could have been the wear and tear of a month in Tanzania and Madagascar just before this trip. That being said; next year I will have dust protection for my camera gear! The Indian food is good (hint: in India they call it “food”). The lodges seemed to have a repetitive menu, but were happy to take suggestions from us. (They can make great French fries!) During the best time of year for tiger sightings (March- April) the weather gets hot. When we were there in mid-March, it was not unbearably hot. Next year we will be a couple of weeks later and it will be hotter. The good news....the camps have fans and some air-conditioning. There is little rain at this season, so the tigers come to water holes to hunt, drink and lay in the shade, making for great tiger sightings. Elephants and riders go out in the early morning to find tigers that may not be near the road and therefore inaccessible to vehicles. When they find a tiger, they radio the central point to let drivers know that they have found a tiger. Drivers then get a number and they are called in order to have their clients ride out on the elephant to see the tiger. You can get CLOSE to the tigers on an elephant. The rider will do his best to get his elephant in good position for photographs. I didn’t have a chance to ride an elephant, but some of our fellow photographers did and said it was a great experience! A surprise was how good the roads were and how comfortable the vehicles we used on travel days. The distances to some of the parks can be long, but driving in an air-conditioned minivan sure beats a bumpy Land Rover!

Tigers were, of course, the main event, but India offers so much more to the wildlife photographer. The game parks are beautiful and teeming with diverse species of birds and mammals. This actually proved to be a problem at first. Everything was new. The forest was filled with birds and animals I had never seen or photographed before! We learned quickly to ignore (for the time being) everything except tiger tracking. Tigers are nocturnal and their daytime activity is limited to the early morning and late afternoon. After 8:30 or 9:00 tigers find refuge in forest shade and photo opportunities are rare or nonexistent. That is the time to photograph Rest of India’s rich tapestry of wildlife. Here are some of the wonderful animals and birds that share the tiger’s habitat.

The beautiful spotted deer with their huge, velvety antlers

Gaur, the white stocking footed Indian Bison

the elusive barking deer is quite a challenge.

The huge Sambar,

Barasingha, or Swamp deer

The Jungle cat can blend into the grass as it stalks its pray The horse-like Nilgai,

Macaque and Langur monkeys feed and play in the forest,

I have seen plenty of peacocks in ornamental situations but have never taken a photo. Seeing the display of an endemic peacock in natural habitat is a thrilling sight.

Waterbirds are prolific. Black-necked storks, Eurasian spoonbill and the world’s tallest flying bird-Sarus crane in one afternoon is a treat! Other species include Ruddyshell ducks, bar-headed goose, common teal, sandpipers, lapwings, stilts and spotbilled duck, to name a few. Rose-ringed parakeets, white-throated kingfisher, lots of owl species, green bee eaters and Indian rollers are common. Here are some more of the stunning photographic subjects we found in India.

The natural history of India walks through the ages, hand in hand with its 5,000 year old culture. Ancient religions and societies were centered around the cities, forts and temples of their time. Some are lost forever, some are in ruins and some have been preserved as World Heritage Sites that can be visited and enjoyed today. Our itinerary included several famous temple sites.

The ancient 9th century Hindu temple complex at Khajurajo, decorated with erotic stone carvings provided endless photo opportunities.

We also traveled to Agra to see the fabled Taj Mahal. We were on the site at first light to photograph the most beautiful building on earth!

This was a 12 day scouting trip and having had 15 photographic sightings of 9 different tigers and the sheer numbers of wildlife in so many great photographic situations was beyond what we were hoping for, and yet.... it left us wanting more. With the experience gained on this trip and the expert advice from key players in India who understand our photographic needs we have expanded and streamlined next year’s itinerary. We are spending more time in each park, thus stream lining travel days. We are also adding Kaziranga National Park, famous for Indian one-horned rhino and wild elephants to next year’s

16 day tiger safari! With an optional extension to Agra to see the Taj Mahal View the HD video trip report at http://www.youtube.com/gustaphoto Photo gallery at gustafsonphotosafari.net For more details contact: Todd Gustafson (847)298-8351 email [email protected] website gustafsonphotosafari.net

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