Tigers of South India & Western Ghats

[Roflcopters]

*This image is copyright of its original author

Agasthya the old ruler of Bandipur

*This image is copyright of its original author

Agasthya from (April/2009)

*This image is copyright of its original author

Shettikere Male (last seen in 2011)

*This image is copyright of its original author

close up of Shettikere (Jan/2010)

*This image is copyright of its original author

Ram, one of Raja's earliest rival and allegedly his brother as well.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Another photo of Ram

*This image is copyright of its original author

Basavanna Katte, the big male of Bandipur

*This image is copyright of its original author

Basavanna Katte

*This image is copyright of its original author

Basavanna Katte (August/2016)

*This image is copyright of its original author

Basavanna Katte (Dec/2015)

*This image is copyright of its original author

Basavanna Katte 

*This image is copyright of its original author

Young Basavanna Katte male (2013)

*This image is copyright of its original author

Young Basavanna Katte male (2013)

*This image is copyright of its original author

Raja  (September/2016)

*This image is copyright of its original author

Raja (April/2016)

*This image is copyright of its original author

The Warrior Prince of Bandipur


During our first safari there was hardly any movement in the forest, the gloomy weather was not helping much too. I was beginning to believe even our second safari was going to be quiet as well. One of the jeeps had seen a leopard cross one of the safari tracks and all the vehicles was actively trying to trace it again. There were a few alarm calls but nothing conclusive. It was about 8.30AM and soon it would have been time for us to head back. Just then, we found fresh pugmarks of a male tiger headed in the opposite direction of our jeep. Knowing that this could be Prince who's now crossed over from the other side, our search began. There was excitement nonetheless about what we're going to find. In less than 10 mins, we found Prince walking towards the waterhole for his fill.
Just a couple of days back there were reports on how the "Prince" of Bandipur had slayed another tiger in a territorial fight. According to some of the forest guys who witnessed the duel, it lasted for more than 4 hours. Both the tigers were equally strong and that made the fight pretty gruesome and intense. This was evident since Prince was now walking with a limp and bore fresh injury marks all over his body.
He walked slowly towards the pond and had a rather long session of drinking water which was followed by a dip in the pool to cool himself. His wounds were still red and his face clearly showed discomfort from all the pain. He was resting right in the open and seemed least bothered with the presence of the jeeps. Though I was happy to see him, it was quite sad to look at his plight. I'm hoping he'll recover soon enough to be able to hunt and reign over his new territory.
I couldn't gather much information the tiger that was killed, but someone mentioned that it could be one of Gowri's male cub. Having seen her cubs as they were growing up, it is going to be indeed sad to know if it was one of them. Apparently a few days back, Prince was seen with one of Gowri's female cub who is now an adult tigress and is ready to have her own litter. Let's hope their tribe grows at Bandipur!



this is all for now, I'll post the rest of the profiles when i get more time on my hand. Reply