Tigers and Leopards of Bandipur

Madhu Gulati shares with us her experience of her recent trip to Bandipur, Karnataka. 

Bandipur National Park is in Hangala village, Gundlupet Taluk in Karnataka. It was established in 1974 as a Tiger Reserve under Project Tiger. Karnataka has the second-highest tiger population in India. It is one of the premier tiger reserves in India alongside Nagarhole National Park, Mudumalai National Park and Wayanad National Park. It was once a private hunting reserve for the Maharaja of the kingdom of Mysore but has now been upgraded to Tiger reserve.

The park spans an area of 874 sq km protecting several species of endangered wildlife. It has 178 Tigers and more than 300 Leopards. If you are travelling here from Bangalore, the distance is about 24 km and it takes around five hours to reach by road.

We went to Bandipur in July 2021 and stayed at The Wildflower resort. We started around 7.30 A.M and took a break on the way. Thanks to Covid-19, all the eating places along the route were closed so we had taken sandwiches and fruit with us. We reached the resort by lunchtime. The resort is beautiful and looks like you are in a jungle, which technically, you are. There are trees all around. The cottages are airy and well lit.

In the evening we went for a safari in an open jeep. In the two hour safari, we saw many animals like striped neck mongooses, elephants with babies, peacocks, serpent eagles, wild buffaloes, langurs and a lot of deer. We saw t paw prints of the tiger on the mud but no actual sighting. After finishing the safari, we were coming back to the resort when we got lucky and saw a sloth bear on the roadside. 

The next day we went for a morning safari but had no luck again in viewing tigers and leopards that seemed to be hiding. In the evening we went for a drive around the resort. We reached the border between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Mudumalai National Park but we could not cross the border as we did not have an e-pass. We saw one peacock dancing off the road and the peahens ignoring it. We saw lots of birds and butterflies.

On the third day, we went bird watching around the resort with a guide. We saw many birds like Grey jungle fowl, Bee-eater, Yellow-footed green pigeon, Malabar Grey hornbill, Hawk-eagle, Eagle-owl, seven sisters, lapwings and many more. We went for the evening safari again as it was our last chance for tiger-spotting. We drove around but as usual, had no luck with the big cats. A lapwing suddenly came in front of the jeep and started making shrill sounds and hopping. 

The guide, Kartik, told us that Lapwings are ground-nesting birds and told us to look around for chicks. We saw two chicks. He said the bird is doing this to distract our attention from the chicks. As usual, we finished the safari but without seeing the big cats. We were very disappointed when we reached the tar road and saw two jeeps waiting on the roadside. Suddenly we saw some rustling in the bushes and a leopard was crossing the road right in front of us. We were awestruck to see the majestic beast, which our guide said was a female. Lady luck seemed to be on our side now as, after a five-minute drive, we saw a male leopard. Our guide said the best time to spot big cats is in summer when the animals come out to drink water and can be seen easily.

As we journeyed back home the next day, the beautiful sky and the serene and scenic landscape reminded us of Switzerland. Marigold farms were in full bloom. We made a mental plan for another visit next summer when we would perhaps get luckier about spotting tigers and leopards.