Dholes (Cuon alpinus)

[Sully]

Nagzira 3 - Whole lotta Dhole

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There are places that somehow exert a magnetic charm on you and Nagzira is one of them for me.  Time and again, this beautiful little jewel in Vidarbha's green crown beckons me to visit and invariably showers an unbelievable bounty of sightings on me. And while A-Mark and her family invariably bless us with their presence, it is that whistling hunter of the Indian jungle that really draws me there every time.

Nagzira must rate amongst the finest places on the planet to see the Indian wild dog or dhole. This otherwise elusive predator is seen quite frequently here and several times in packs of a dozen or more. There are reported sightings of a legendary pack of upto 40 individuals, but I will reserve comment on that till I have had a chance to feast my own eyes on them. And no, it is not because I am jealous of those who have seen this pack!

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This time I set out for Nagzira with school friends Krishnan, Rajesh and Nirav, celebrating our 25th year out of school with a boys' trip. And it turned out to be a trip to savor for each one of us and in more ways than one - Nirav saw his first tiger,  Krishnan and Rajesh their first quality dhole sighting and me with another opportunity to step into this wonderful forest. And to keep my proud record going, of seeing a predator on every safari to date.

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Indian Pitta

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Oriental Honey Buzzard
Well, that record went in a hurry as our first trip yielded a lot but no predators. Instead, I got my first decent pictures of the Indian pitta, a bird which is so numerous in this season yet so difficult to photograph. With a hawk cuckoo, crested serpent eagle and oriental honey buzzard all giving us a patient sighting, we headed out with some good pictures. And at the last waterhole a peacock's alarm calls put us on high alert. He called repeatedly and sometimes was echoed by a jungle fowl. And close to dusk, it was very probably a leopard. So we waited till we were almost out of time and then reluctantly headed out. So the spotted wonder stayed hidden from our sight but presented himself to the next vehicle, who got a brief glimpse of him at the waterhole. Close, but no dice!

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The gods more than made up the next morning as first up, right next to the central check point, we saw a pack of dhole. They seemed to be hungry, sizing up a herd of spotted deer and when some of them split up, we knew that a hunt could be on. Then, to our surprise, this group headed to an old spotted deer kill and proceeded to tear to bits whatever little was left. There was plenty of squealing, yapping and even the odd high pitched yowl. And they seemed not in a mood to hunt, disappearing into the shade of thick bush, we left them to try our luck with A Mark and Jay.

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Collared Scops Owl Chicks
And as we headed down Chorkhamara road, we first saw a couple of collared scops owl chicks. Heading onwards, a couple of vehicles lined up near the entry to Tiger Trail told us what we wanted to know - there was a tiger somewhere near. And sure enough, it was A Mark sleeping in the bush. We waited for a while at the waterhole nearby while other vehicles gave up and left. And just as we opened our breakfast packets she walked out and settled down in the water for a drink and a wallow. The aloo parathas and boiled eggs were hastily shoved back into the packet as the queen of Nagzira posed distractedly for the attendant papperazzi. Maybe she wanted a bite but was too embarrassed to ask? Anyways, seeing that she wasn't going to get any, she drank her fill and then crossed over to rest in the bush. There was a suspicion that she could be pregnant again, after unfortunately losing her last litter a few months ago. We don't know for sure, but I'm hoping this amazing tigress has a new bunch of (female) kids to welcome us in the next season.

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A Mark lost in thought
So we had tiger and dhole on one safari and we were thrilled. But there was more. As we headed back from centre point, something told me I had to visit the waterhole at the nearby meadow - this was where I had that stupendous dhole sighting last year. And sure enough, there was another pack at the waterhole - just finished drinking and headed into the shade. One of them sat in the water and posed for us, while the lead lookout sat under a tree and glared at us as if we were checking out his mate. We could also smell a kill so they'd probably all had polished off a good meal of spotted deer. Two different dhole packs + A Mark made it a super special safari.

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That afternoon, my (now slightly dented) record stayed intact, but only just. We saw A Mark lying in the bush but she didn't emerge. We headed onwards towards Chorkhamara hoping that Jay (or Dendu) might be on the prowl. No signs of either, but we did glimpse a sleeping pack of dhole at Wakda Beda. Once again, dhole and tiger on the same safari, I don't think any other park can claim to provide such abundant sightings of both these predators. And as we headed out, a light shower cooled off things and made the day seem that much more productive!

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On our last safari, we headed to New Nagzira, via the Umarzari gate. The resident tigress Alpha had a litter of 6 month old cubs and we were keen to see them. As we drove around the area, we saw monkeys frantically calling near a waterhole at the foot of a hill. We also heard a tigress' 'Aumm', as she called to her cubs. We waited, and even opened our breakfast packets as bait, but this family didn't bite. Maybe they didn't care for poha and sandwiches! As the calls died down, we drove around to the other side of the hill and there were two vehicles next to a nallah, searching for something. They'd seen two of the cubs at the side of the road and they'd since disappeared into the shade of the nallah. So while we were hoping that the family were on the other side of the hill what actually happened was that the tigress was on top of the hill and she called to her cubs to stay put in the nallah this side. And as there was no sign of activity all the jeeps drove off.

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Alpha's 6 month old cub
And we waited. Knowing that the cubs were nearby and that the mother could make an appearance. And suddenly, Rajesh said 'tiger'! He'd spotted one of the cubs on a shady ledge in the nallah. And as the cub stretched, snoozed and stared at us in turn, we silently celebrated yet another sighting in this wonderful haven called Nagzira. The other cubs and tigress didn't make an appearance, so we drove off, thanking this little fella for giving us an exclusive audience. Back at the resort, there was some superb birding with sightings of flycatchers, pitta and orange headed thrushes.

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Orange headed thrush

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Tickell's Blue Flycatcher
Once again, Nagzira played the perfect host, with superb sightings of two of my favorite species and topped by some lovely birding. And this time, it exceeded its brief and threw up a couple of very pleasant surprises for Rajesh and me. I ran into old friends Shrikant and Uma with their kids, and Rajesh into his college mate. Both after nearly 2 decades! Now I'm wondering what I should ask of this incredible park on my next visit.

Maybe A Mark with 4 cubs. Jay, Veeru and Dendu. Alpha with her 4 cubs. A leopard or two perhaps? And topped off by that 40 strong dhole group for good measure? Outlandish it may sound, but never bet against it happening in this most incredible of wild havens called Nagzira!

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