After a 5am wake up we were off to Gohri gate to try our luck in the parks other zone (supposed lesser rated area). With just the two of us today it would hopefullybe special. After entering the park and having a stop to look at a marquet monkey the boys heard the warning calls from the spotted deer in the distance, alerting them to the chance it could be a tiger.
We headed straight for the commotion, after about 15 minutes of stopping to track the calls we came to a clearing and about 500m away the guide pointed out a large male (buhka) tiger striding his way back into the forest.
Very exciting, especially with the enthusiasm and excitement shown by the boys as well, even when this park is considered to be the best place in the world to sight a Tiger.
Nothing came of the wait, we were either to slow or he had decided to take a rest in the bamboo or long grass. We then drove up to the top of ridge to have a re-evaluation of the situation, that was quickly interrupted by some calls an a low growl that was very, very close!
All hell broke loose in terms of gypsy’s vying for position about 3 had followed us up the hill (our crew seems to have a high reputation, based on he followers). The growls then also became brief glimpses of orange and write stripes as the Tiger moved across the ridge about 2 metres above us.
The convoy followed her for about 300m until she dropped down to cross the path in front of the waiting jeeps, but she didn’t just cross she decided to lie down on the path and take us all in for a minute or so before she got up and dropped down the hill into the jungle again and continued her journey.
The growls apparently were to warn the her clubs that there was a male in the area. After that everyone was on a high so even though we had no more sightings after that, we didn’t really mind.
