B2 and Other Great Tiger Pics from India

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 aditya.panda -
I’ve seen tigers on close to two thousand occasions across India’s tiger landscapes in my life. But, something that has always hurt is that despite all my time with wild tigers, I had never been able to see one in the forests that I’ve worked all my life to conserve: the tiger forests of my home state, Odisha. This has been so because Odisha’s tigers had been in decline through the 1990s and 2000s. In the few places they survived, they did so in such poor densities and disturbed conditions that it was practically impossible to see them. Even field staff, working every day in those habitats for years, rarely, if ever, got to see one.

But things are now changing.

The Odisha Wildlife Wing is now very serious about reviving tigers, and our #tigers are certainly making a comeback. A few days ago, I was in the Similipal Tiger Reserve on an official visit, on invitation from the Similipal Tiger Conservation Foundation. I spent my time looking at the excellent new measures in place for wildlife and habitat management, protection and tiger monitoring. With frost on the ground and sunlight filtering through the sal canopy, I was on an early morning drive when I suddenly came across this stunning young male tiger in beautiful winter coat. My first tiger in Odisha and perhaps the first ever wild tiger in the state to be photographed “normally” with a DSLR camera! This is T-35. He is about three years old and is actively establishing his dominion over the best parts of the core area. Similipal’s tiger population is perhaps at its best ever in many years today. Tigers are breeding and their population is growing. Over 1200 square kilometres of inviolate core habitat is available to them—among the highest in the country. Prey base is increasing. A dedicated, hardworking field staff corps led by a dynamic field director are going above and beyond to ensure tiger revival in Similipal. May their tribe increase, flourish and rule over the wilds of Odisha for all time to come!

But things are now changing.

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