Tiger Tours at Kanha National Park

Kanha is also known as Kanha Kisli, it is also known as the land of the tiger. It is home to the hard-ground swamp deer. This deer subspecies now only survive at Kanha National Park. The park is famous for the tiger but also for the saving of the critically endangered swamp deer. From just 66 heads the population now ranges over 500 heads. The credit goes to the Kanha team and George Schaller from the USA.

Kanha is home to over 100 tigers in an area of 2000 sq. km. The core area of the park is 940 sq. km and it is totally inviolate. No human activity except tourism in 20 percent area is allowed. The park is well protected by forest guards whole live in self-sufficient patrolling huts. There are more than 150 patrolling huts spread all over the park. Tourists are not allowed in the rest of the core zone.

Tourism also takes place in the buffer zone which is a multiple-use area. Besides the forest cover, there are human settlements and their farms. They are allowed to rear livestock. No commercial activities are allowed in the park. But there are wildlife resorts in the buffer under strict regulations. Small trade is possible in the buffer but no major commercial activities are permitted. While core zone tourism is limited with restriction on entry of jeeps no such limit exists in the buffer tourism zone at present.

Kanha Wilderness

Kanha is a tiger reserve and a National Park under the aegis of the State Government of Madhya Pradesh. Some tourism policies are advised by the NTCA which stands for National Tiger Conservation Authority. It is a Central Government body that now looks after the affairs of Project Tiger.  

The wild animals found at Kanha National Park are tiger, sloth bear, bison, chital deer, sambar deer, swamp deer, fox, jackal, mouse deer, barking deer, Nilgai, and four-horned antelope. Among the smaller fauna are porcupines, pangolins, jungle cats, civet cats, and wild rats.

There are more than 250 bird species in the park. Among the noted avian species are the white-tailed shama, orange-headed ground thrush, verditor flycatcher, Tickell's blue flycatcher, Tickell's thrush, common grey hornbill, Malabar Pied Hornbill, greenish warbler, Hume's warbler, booted warbler, Graylag geese, bar-headed geese, and more. Some raptors are the crested serpent eagle, honey buzzard, shikra, sparrow hawk, red-necked falcon white-eyed buzzard, and crested hawk eagle.  There are plenty of avians to be seen on tiger safari.

A permit for a tiger safari at Kanha is required. You can book the permits at MPOnline a Government of Madya Pradesh Portal. Since the jeep entity is limited you should book the safari in advance. Another option is to book a tiger safari at the gates subject to availability. 

          

Filming Tigers in India

Every wildlife photographer amateurs or professionals dream of photographing tigers in India. All filmmakers major or minor think of filming big cats in India. The country has more than 50 tiger reserves and more than 3000 adult tigers. Due to active protection, the number of these big cats is growing day by day as breeding has increased tremendously. The big cats give birth to more than 4 cubs every year, and rear them for two and a half years after which they breed again. The males can mate throughout the year till the ripe age of 14 years.      

Though any tiger reserve can be chosen for filming the big cats,  some destinations offer better opportunities due to the high number of sightings. The parks with very good sightings usually have high visitor traffic. These are the most visited parks but there is a limit to the number of people that can enter the reserve due to restrictions placed by NTCA and the State governments.  The parks are divided into a few zones, and each zone has a limit. Most of the safaris are booked online on the State Government Portals while booking is also available at the reserve gates. You can also book a safari at the director's office or respective reserve, these are protected areas and have separate forest departments. The addresses could be found online on the Internet by typing the name of the reserves.

Best Tiger Reserves

Some of the best reserves are National Parks as well.

Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttrakhand

Kanha Tiger Reserve in Uttrakhand

Bandhavgarh In MP

Ranthambhore in Rajasthan 

Pench National Park in MP

Panna National Park in MP 

These NPs have more than 100 thousand visitors and are highly popular. While many amateur photographers and small filmmakers can use their skills to film on safari, making documentaries is costly and time-consuming.  

For documentary makers, and professional photographers who need to cross the limits of regular safari need special permission from the Ministry of Environment or MOEF, and the principal chief wildlife warden or PCCF  of the states.  These are costly and require time for permissions to be granted if acceptable. It is not easy to organize photo tours in India for professionals.  Wildlife filmmakers and professional photographers need to make a lot of arrangements for photography sessions and need the help of local guides.

The best is to take the help of the local tour operators who can help organize the sessions in the respective tiger reserves.  The best choice is to go with Indian tour operators who can organize the documentary filming events.  Remember there is a rush during the festive seasons and weekdays hence book safari in advance.