B2 and Other Great Tiger Pics from India

[kingrifter]

Today, the Bandhavgarh official instagram posted a very interesting update about two male tigers. I have the post below and have reposted the text too. I'm planning a trip this December and posts like these get me very excited to be back. 

Quote:1. Banvehi Male: Born near Banvehi river, this male spent his early years in the Tala range. He later ventured to near by buffer and core areas before seeking a larger territory. Eventually, he ruled over Kallwah and Manpur ranges. In early 2024, due to age and injuries, he shifted to Dhamokar buffer range, traveling over 40 km. Injured and toothless, he resorted to preying on cattle. Understanding the risk to human life, we rescued him, offering him more years to live.


2. Chota Charger: The brother of the famous Mahamana Male, he was born in the area of Tala and Magadhi range. Establishing his territory in the Kallwah and Manpur range, he later moved to Dhamokar buffer after a fierce battle with a stronger male. A tourist caught it in Dhamaokar buffer and as a responsible citizen @ravi_bandhavgarh inform this to our officials.. After a month of monitoring and assurance of human safety, he was safely relocated. Vigilant measures prevented human-wildlife conflicts, ensuring the safety of both cases.

Most of you know Bandhavgarh well, but here's a map to get you situated. Manpur is East of Tala and north of Kalwah. 

*This image is copyright of its original author

Now, Chota Charger is well documented. As the post says, he was born in 2012 to Jobhi male and Choti Mahaman in Magadhi, with his more famous brother, Mahaman. There are several pictures of him on this forum. I posted one a while ago, asking if people knew what had happened to him. He is a massive male. My understanding is that he was moving between Magdhi and Kalwah in the late 2010s and tourists would infrequently sight him in Magdhi. The fact that he moved all the way from Kalwah to Dhamokhar (which is west of Magdhi) shows you the distance he traveled. It got me thinking that it is very possible that Mahaman male has gone towards Kalwah or Manpur after being ousted by Jamhol from Magdhi.
 

*This image is copyright of its original author

The second male, however, was more interesting. "Banvehi male", based on his age, was probably born to Banbehi female and Bamera male around 2010/2011. I matched his stripes against Kanwar (brother of Pushpraj, who pushed out his father, Bamera male), and they seem to match. Very interesting, because I always wanted to know what happened to both Pushpraj and his shier brother, Kanwar after Mangu came into Tala and pushed them all out.

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

While trying to find a picture of Pushpraj to ID against, I found this picture from 2014, which was the first time the tiger was spotted. Photographers saw him in Magdhi first and subsequently in Tala. They initially thought this was one of Pushpraj and Kanwar, but dubbed it the "mystery male" when they couldn't match stripes. This mystery male fought Bamera and was seen with Mirchaini female. I matched stripes and it was none other than Mangu. I have rarely seen pictures of Mangu as a younger male, so this was a nice find. 

*This image is copyright of its original author

*This image is copyright of its original author

Now that I was down the Bandhavgarh rabbit hole, I thought I would post about the different Chakradhara males that people find difficult to tell apart. These males are all very elusive, live in Tala, and are barely ever seen. Guides seem to call them all "CM male" making it very difficult to tell which is which.

The first, original one, is Trishul. He pushed Mangu out and had cubs with Spotty. He is easy to identify by the inverted trident on his forehand. You could see him between Tala and Magdhi zones. He's probably around 9 at this point, but I haven't seen pictures of him from this season.

The second, is one of his half brothers from the following litter. He continues to be seen in the Rampur / Ghodademon area. Based on the pictures below, I imagine he is around 6-7.

Then there's this third one, and I have no idea who he is. In fact, I have never seen this male before.

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