GreenEye & the
Wild Tigers of Bandhavgarh

Compiled from field observations and photography over a period of five years, my new book follows the lives of the 'Wild Tigers of Bandhavgarh'.

Join me in my face-to-face encounter with Charger, the dominant male; my discovery of 'hungover' tigers and the exciting first sighting of a pair of two month-old cubs. Intertwined within this true tiger tale is a portrait of India's natural history, and a look at the crisis facing tiger conservation as we enter the 21st century.

More than 250 full colour photographs illustrate the many aspects of wild tiger behaviour, and the jungle habitat which is their home.

Order your copy of the book, signed by the author, in the GreenEye Shop. £24.95 + p&p (Hardback, 192 pages, 303mm x 245mm)

Bandhavgarh

Set amid the jungles of central India, Bandhavgarh is home to a small population of wild tigers. For the past nine years I have had the privilege to follow the lives of five generations of tigers and photograph them as they grow. You can see many of my new photographs and some old favourites in my Gallery, and read the latest news here.

In the summer of 1998 I had my first wild tiger encounter; a meeting I remember vividly. Bachchi, as the young tigress was known, was the daughter of the then dominant male, Charger, and a tigress known as Sita. At the time Bachchi had three male cubs, who were born in April 1997. Subsequently, Bachchi's Boys have become the focus of my photographic studies. I have watched them develop from playful and inquisitive year-old cubs to self-sufficient adult tigers with cubs of their own.

In the summer of 1999, the brothers were starting out life as adult tigers, at two years old they were hunting for themselves. Raj & Barra Larka temporarily shared a territory, whilst Sundar continued to hunt alongside his mother. In 2000, Bachchi's boys have established their own territories. Sundar has expanded his territory, taking over his grandfather, Chargers, domain. Sadly, Charger died of old age in September 2000 (Sita, disappeared in the monsoon of 1998, possibly poached for her skin).

With her sons now independent, Bachchi had a second litter, which were born in October 1999. I was extremely lucky to glimpse the two female cubs in dense bamboo at just over two months old. In March 2001 I had quite a few sightings of Bachchi's almost fully grown female cubs. This photograph was taken only seconds after I found them in a tree. Sadly, a few months later one of the sisters got caught in a snare set for deer and died. Despite this sad incident, the good news for Bandhavgarh is that there were three other females with young cubs.

Back in June 2000 I watched Barra Larka getting friendly with a female known as Reshma - she now has cubs. Sundar has become the dominant male of the central area and has mated with a tigress called 'Pyari'. She now has a male and female cub which were about eight months old when I saw them in March 2001. Raj, the other brother, remained well hidden, though I did hear him growl! A female in his area also has cubs but they were very difficult to observe, mostly I just saw pugmarks! It has been very special indeed to watch 'Bachchis boys' grow from young cubs to adult tigers, each now with young of their own.

In early 2002 Bandhavgarh was alive with young tigers. Sundar's two cubs appear inseparable - Babu, the male, follows his sister (Narangi) everywhere. Barra Larka's youngsters are extremely elusive and even though they are almost two years old, it still unknown whether there are three of four cubs. During March I found Raj's cubs a couple of times and once with their mother Kokila. I had some fantastic and very close views of the male and two females. Once it looked as though I had stumbled upon the tigers experiencing the morning after a heavy drinking session! As these three litters of cubs are about to leave home, over in another part of the forest it is wonderful to know that Bachchi has a third litter of younger cubs.

In 2003, both Pyari and Reshma have second litters of ten-month old cubs. Pyari has four cubs and Reshma three. In March I was lucky to have a few good sightings of Pyari's cubs, including seeing them suckling from their mother in the long grass behind a small pool. The cubs were very inquisitive and at times approached me for a clearer view, one came within three metres of me! One evening just before sunset, I watched three of the cubs attempting to hunt a spotted deer - unsuccessfully.

Sundar and Barra Larka were clearly patrolling their ranges but Raj has not been seen recently, he may have moved to another area. In Raj's old territory, I observed a new male attempting to mate with one of Kokila's cubs from last year. He was very persistent but she wasn't interested.

The very sad news is that, in March 2003, Bachchi was involved in a collision with a vehicle on a nearby main road and subsequently died of her injuries. Many people will have read about Bachchi and some, like me, have been lucky enough to see her. An elusive tigress and superb mother of eight cubs, she will be greatly missed.

Immediately after her death there were worries about how her cubs would fare. A few weeks later one of the males died from eating a porcupine quill. Thankfully, the other two have managed to hunt successfully and are coping well with their sudden independence.

In 2004 Sundar is slowly taking on the status and character of his grandfather, Charger. Since the death of Barra Larka, Sundar has assumed ownership of his territory and now controls a massive range, which means roaming even greater distances each day.

Sundar's main threat for territory and females came from the male tiger known as Shaki. Shaki established himself in Raj's old territory and subsequently mated with both Charmeli and Juhi. Charmeli gave birth to her first litter of cubs in March and from a few brief sightings, forest rangers have indicated she has two cubs. These cubs are the fifth generation of tigers that I will have studied and photographed.

However, in January 2005 came the surprise news that Babu had returned to the forest. Babu was Sundars' first male cub - born in June 2000. After an absence of two or three years he re-entered the Tala range with very serious intentions and immediately attempted to mate with Durga one of the new territorial females. Durga is one of the Pyari's four cubs born in 2002. All four cubs from Pyari's 2002 litter are still seen and two females, Lakshmi and Durga, both have established territories.

Sundar now has real competition from his son. At the same time as Babu appeared, Sundar was mating with Lakshmi, Although obscured by thick bamboo the mating was a rare and privileged encounter for me too witness.

In early summer 2004, Pyari and Reshma gave birth to their third litters of cubs, but sadly Pyari's did not survive for more than few weeks. Reshma had a large litter of four cubs, all of whom seem to be growing well - I had a number of wonderful encounters with them in December, when they were about eight months-old.

The happy news at Christmas was the very brief first sighting of Pyari with tiny cubs, guessed to be about five weeks old. Since then, her fourth litter have been seen a few times but it is too early to know how many cubs or what sexes they are. More news soon.

In late 2005 Charmeli's cubs are almost adult - the two eighteen-month old brothers are already exploring the jungle independently. They live in the area where their grandfather, Raj, had his territory and on a number of occasions in December 2005, I found the brothers resting near or crossing Raj Behra meadow. Watching the two young tigers in the grassland reminded me of the summer of 1999 when a similarly-aged Raj and his brother Barra Larka rarely seemed to leave the meadow. Charmeli's boys may stay in the area for a while more, but eventually they will have to move on - soon, Shaki, their father won't tolerate them. In April 2006 it is thought that Charmeli has a new litter of cubs.

Sundar is still the king on the other side of Bandhavgarh, spending much of the time roaming his large territory. Due to his expansive range, he is increasingly difficult to find, however on my last morning in the jungle I was lucky enough to track him for almost half an hour. Moving through the forest Sundar sniffed and scent marked trees and as he crossed a large meadow I was able to watch from a distance, gaining gorgeous views.

Sadly, Sundar's son, Babu died at the end of 2005. He had been seen regularly and was expected to mate with the one or more of the young female tigresses in the area, however on December 9th his body was found. It is thought he died of facial injuries but its not clear how he got them. So Bandhavgarh is still the sole realm of two territorial males, Sundar & Shaki.

Amazingly, however, there are six adult tigresses and all have cubs. Apart from Charmeli, Pyari in the central Chakradhara meadow has four cubs - two male and two female. Whenever I found the cubs, they were lying in thick bamboo, feeding on a fresh kill. Pyari is an exceptional mother and each time I see her, I remember what an incredibly beautiful tigress she is - she looks so like her mother, the famous Sita.

Bachchi's old territory, has been split by the three young tigresses (Pyari's daughters) and excitingly, two are now mothers. Durga gave birth to a male and female in mid 2005, whilst her sister Lakshmi had two cubs at end of 2005. Due to the inaccessibility of her range we are unsure as to whether Indrani has cubs.

Reshma's previous litter have now dispersed and she now has three tiny cubs, fathered by Sundar. They were first glimpsed in March 2006, when they were only five or six weeks old.

Latest News

In November 2006, depressing news headlines tell us that the world tiger population is now at its lowest level, perhaps only 3000 tigers left! Co-ordinated measures must be taken immediately to protect tigers if they are to survive. On a positive note, Bandhavgarh is one of a few places where tigers seem to be doing well. Now that the annual monsoon rains have finished, the jungle has once again become accessible.

The best news is that all the territorial tigers are still present. Sundar has been seen regularly, though his territory is definitely being squeezed by Shaki, his neighbour and rival. Shaki's range is gradually getting larger and he has recently mated with young tigress, Indrani - until recently her territory fell within Sundar's range.

Indrani's sisters, Lakshmi and Durga both have well grown cubs and have provided visitors with some wonderful views. This morning Durga's cubs were perched side-by-side on a rock and in late October Lakshmi was observed swimming in a jungle pool with her year-old cubs - what an amazing sight.

Over on the other side of Bandhavgarh's Tala range, Charmeli has at least two six-month-old cubs, though there might be more. Still very young, they are not seen regularly.

Pyari's four cubs are now two years old and should be dispersing, though only one of the female cubs shows any signs of independence. Whenever sighted Pyari is being trailed by her almost adult offspring, which must be putting a tremendous strain on her for food. They do occasionally find their own food - by stealing it from their aunt, Reshma! Not great news for Reshma as she has young cubs of her own.

As soon as I have more news of Pyari and co, I'll let you know.

Environmental Work

Throughout the world there are many organisations trying to protect the tiger. Over the years I have worked closely with the Environmental Investigation Agency - one such group doing vital work in India and all over the world. If you would like to know more about their work visit their website at www.eia-international.org.