Everyone who goes on my India safari hopes to get a glimpse of a Bengal tiger, but no one expects the kind of sightings we got on our trip to India this year. We got our first tiger sightings in Ranthambore, where we followed the activities of a newly independent two-year-old male over the course of several days. This tiger is called “the Maharaja” because he likes to hang around near the Rajbagh (“the King’s Garden”), a ruined pleasure-palace set on an island in the middle of a beautiful lake. One morning, we watched him drink and bathe. The next afternoon, we saw the Maharaja resting in front of some tall grass near the edge of the lakeshore. The lake was filled with grazing sambar deer, belly-deep in water. A big-antlered stag clearly saw the tiger and kept up a honking alarm call. Peacocks drank at the shore, and herds of chital (spotted deer) grazed the grassy verges of the lake. It was a lovely tableau, all bathed in golden afternoon sunlight. The next morning, the young Maharaja was at the same spot: this time we watched him stalk some unsuspecting chital—but he gave up the hunt when they changed direction. These were unforgettable sightings, but they all took place at a distance. Viewing through binoculars was great, yet it took my telescope to count the tiger’s whiskers. The close-up tiger action took place at Kanha, the reserve in the heart of central India. Here a female had brought her four-cub litter up to the age of 14 months. This is quite an accomplishment for a tigress, who must hunt relentlessly to feed such a large family. These tigers were well habituated to vehicles and people on elephant-back, and have been easy to find over the last year. The first morning at Kanha, we rode on elephants to see the tigress, a real beauty. The next day, a surprise: we found a big male, not the resident “dominant” tiger, but an intruder from the north end of the park. Such a tiger was a clear danger to the cubs, particularly the young males, and over the next days, this “intruder” was to be the source of endless speculation. Had he driven off the resident male, who was nowhere to be found? Was a reported midnight encounter between the intruder and the tigress mating behavior, or was the tigress fighting to defend her cubs? A few days later, trackers found the intruder with the half-eaten carcass of one of the male cubs. Male tigers must compete violently to establish a territory where they have mating rights. The killing of younger males eliminates potential rivals and—though the tiger is unaware of it— may hasten his breeding opportunities. We were all stunned and saddened by the death of the cub, but we understood that the intruder’s behavior was normal and even necessary in tiger society. Of course, we don’t go on safari just to see tigers, and indeed we saw lots of other animals. We had terrific elephant and rhino watching at Kaziranga, where mating behavior figured prominently. We saw a huge tuskless male elephant guarding a large herd of cows, while keeping challenging tuskers at bay. We also watched a rhino bull chase off a rival, then mate with a female: copulation took 38 minutes! We got a nice leopard at Ranthambhore, and watched a pack of dhole (wild dogs) hunting at Kanha.. Personal highlights for me include my first sighting of a king cobra and a fantastic sighting of gibbons, both at Kaziranga. The king cobra was seen on three consecutive days; it was shedding its skin and remained near a hole to which it always retreated when it became wary of us. The king cobra is the world’s largest poisonous snake, with a length of up to 18 feet. I didn’t measure this one, but it was surely over 10 feet. Hoolock gibbons are India’s only ape. These fascinating primates are famous for their far-carrying calls and their acrobatic ability. They use their long arms in fluid overhead motions to swing quickly from branch to branch, and can literally fly through the treetops. Finding gibbons usually requires going afoot into the Panburi Forest, where walking is sometimes difficult and sightings are not guaranteed. But on the last morning of the trip, we had stopped at an overlook for a last view of the Kaziranga grasslands, when we heard gibbons whooping in the distance. We drove on slowly and found them in a forest tree, right next to the main road. This was a whole family: an adult male accompanied by several females (one with a young baby) and juveniles. They called repeatedly and put on their aerial displays. It is truly wonderful to see a wild gibbon in its trademark pose, gracefully suspended one-armed from an overhanging branch. It was a terrific finale to a great wildlife safari. For details on this trip, please go to India Wildlife Safari. For more information and reservations, please contact: Mountain Travel Sobek 1266 66th Street, Suite 4 Emeryville, CA 94608 USA Toll Free (USA and Canada): 1-888-831-7526 Phone: +1-510-594-6000 Fax: + 1-510-594-6001 Email: info@mtsobek.com