Gliding Frog

We hosted @kritiwaliaphotography last week on a private guided tour to Maasai Mara. @kritiwaliaphotography , thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience on your photography tour. We are glad that you enjoyed the tour and that it helped you capture some truly special moments! It is incredibly rewarding to know that we could be part of your creative journey. 😊 #glidingfrogtours

I still can’t believe that a massive tiger like Pujari could be killed by another tiger. It’s difficult to wrap my head around this. A tiger weighing close to 200 odd kilogram being killed by another similar sized tiger. That is insane. We have heard of younger tigers killing older ones or tigers in prime killing slightly younger ones. But that’s also not very common. Usually the ones who win are the ones who are either bigger / stronger and has an incredible urge to win over the territory that comes with a female. And almost always, the ones who win the fight suffer injuries. You can’t fight that big a tiger (a tiger!!!) and not suffer major injuries. In this case, we know for a fact that the cause was the urge to be a solo mate for Tara. But just the urge can’t lead to a fight to death I presumed. You may have a standoff, growl, spar or even swipe at each other. But usually, it would end at that. In this case, Pujari was found with deep canine wounds in his neck apart from some injuries visible on his forelimbs. Which means that D1 somehow managed to get a hold of his throat and pinned him down and just didn’t release the grip. Pujari had lost two half canines and one full canine. But he had claws, strength and weight to inflict damage to D1. How on earth can a tiger kill a massive tiger like Pujari and not have any major wounds??? D1 was seen only a couple times since the fight and seems like he doesn’t have any major injuries. Now that is insane! I couldn’t type more here. Please read the rest on the pinned comment. #tiger #fight #death #bandhavgarh #love

Dotty, not just a tigress but an emotion. 💚 My first sighting of her was on my birthday last year, during a private trip with @gliding.frog and ever since then, I’ve been blessed enough to see her on every single trip to Bandhavgarh. Thanks to @sachin_rai_photography , who always accommodates my stubborn wish to head to her area, far away, with the slimmest chances of a sighting, especially when there are 7 plus tigers visible within 10 minutes of entry in Tala. Honestly, I never even expected to see her cubs. They are shy, elusive and their sightings are incredibly infrequent. This time, we realised the family would use the road early in the morning, but the moment they sensed the foot rangers approaching, they would quietly slip deep into the forest and settle for the day, way before safari vehicles could ever reach there. Against all odds, that very morning, we had already seen Dotty with her cubs on the road. Brief, yet more than enough to be grateful for because even that felt unbelievably lucky. In the afternoon, we headed straight back to her area. Even before we reached the spot where we expected to see her, Saleem noticed her sitting quietly beside the track, almost hidden in the grass. She looked divine surrounded by all that green. Honestly, that alone would have been enough for me. But then came the surprise no one expected. One by one, her cubs slowly walked towards her. We maintained silence and distance throughout, probably why they felt comfortable enough to show themselves. Dotty, however, looked completely done with motherhood in that moment. She just wanted to rest while her tiny troublemakers had other plans. And there we were, absolutely over the moon, watching those special little moments unfold in front of us. Every sighting of Dotty leaves me emotional. It never feels ordinary. It feels like a gift. And I’ll forever be grateful to her and her cubs for blessing us with one of a kind experience this time! 🧿 Shot on @nikonindiaofficial #sadaawildlifephotography #sadaawildstories #tigersofindia #savetigers #dotty

Oh how do I explain the satisfaction of taking such a shot, how do I explain how low my heart beat is when I look through my camera. The forest is simply magical

4 days after I shot this… he was killed. 💔 What a tragic end for one of the boldest and most striking males of Bandhavgarh. Pujari had slowly taken over parts of his brother Chota Bheem’s territory after Chota Bheem was taken away from the park. Eventually, he became deeply tied to Tara’s story, Chota Bheem’s former mate. He followed her through Khitauli and the buffer forests of Panpatha, slowly occupying spaces that once belonged to Chota Bheem. Many times, the two were seen together around the same waterholes. But Tara’s story has always been difficult. Since Chota Bheem disappeared, Tara had been caught between D1 ( who had overlapping territory with Chota Bheem ) and Pujari and she has had terrible luck raising her cubs. She reportedly lost litter after litter, apparently thrice, because of the overlapping territories and conflict between these dominant males. Pujari himself reportedly killed the cubs she had with Chota Bheem in order to mate with her. And while he spent time with Tara, his own cubs with Kativa were allegedly killed by another male elsewhere. This video was shot on the evening of the 6th, when I headed straight to the buffer from the airport. The very next morning, on the 7th, we saw Pujari in the core area while D1, now the dominant male of Khitauli, was mating with Tara. Pujari watched them from a distance before quietly walking back toward the buffer. The following two days, Tara was again seen mating with Pujari in the buffer. And then, a day later, he likely followed her back toward the core… not knowing it would be his last walk. On the morning safari of the 11th, we entered Khitauli hoping to see him once again. But all we heard was that there had been two loud growls early that morning. No sign of Pujari. No Tara. No D1. Soon after, the area was suddenly closed mid-safari. Forest officials gathered near the camp where the growls had reportedly been heard. We waited silently on the road, sensing something was terribly wrong. >>> Continued in pinned comment…. #pujari #tigersofbandhavgarh #savetigers #sadaawildlifephotography

Bulky but still classy! Jaguars are bulkier cats compared to leopards but they are still super cool characters. Particularly because they love water. And it is incredible to see these big cats wade through the rivers. #glidingfrogtours #theglidingfrog #wildlife #pantanal #jaguar

Only mothers can turn chaos into tenderness. Look at her unbothered in the end… 💚 That’s a young tigress, Durga, raising her first litter of four cubs, carrying the patience of a thousand forests within her. At 8 months old, her cubs are already full of energy and one chose to climb over her. Each of them test boundaries, demand attention every second… and she simply lets them. Imagine handling four wild children at once and still responding with this kind of gentleness. ( You only see three cubs here… ) The wild constantly reminds me that motherhood is built on patience, resilience, sacrifices and a love that quietly endures everything. Happy Mother’s Day to every mother, to mine and yours, in the wild and beyond. 🐅💚 #sadaawildlifephotography #sadaawildstories #tigersofindia #ranthamboretigerreserve #savetigers

Eyes on the horizon! Sitting quietly on a small hill, this young male from Chakradhara lineage looked lost in the evening sky, almost as if he was thinking about the journey ahead. With his father, the legendary Bajrang, still ruling these forests, the young prince has time to learn the ways of the wild before one day carrying forward the legacy of Bandhavgarh #sonyalpha #sonyalphain #natgeoindia #wildlifehabitat #bandhavgarh @natgeoindia @sonyalpha @sonyalphain @tigers_of_bandhavgarh @discovery @sanctuaryasia @bbcearth @gliding.frog @naturein_focus @rawrszn @indianwildlifeofficial @solentnews @bandhavgarh_tr_official @natgeoyourshot @aranyakresort @natgeo @bbcwildlifemagazine @discovery_uk

When the tables turned! This young tigress charged at the family of Gaurs to kill the young calf but the tables turned instantly and the herd of Gaurs chased her instead. This was made last summer. I have seen her half a dozen times this month already, including today 😊 #glidingfrogtours #theglidingfrog #tiger #chakradhara #bandhavgarh #hunt #chase

“One cub, one queen, zero mercy.” 🦁👑🔥🛡️ #LionessPower #WildlifeReel #MotherNature #ProtectiveMom#shekhar_travelogue

A mighty tiger from the terai region, Dudhwa! #tiger #glidingfrogtours #theglidingfrog #backlit #animal

Dotty! It is always special to see this tigress. I had watched her as a tiny tot, barely 3 months old when her mother crossed the road and Dotty and her sister Spotty scampered trying to cross the road. Spotty darted behind her mother but Dotty went back. Her mother, Sukhi Patiha had to come back and sit on the road to probably tell her timid daughter that it’s ok. Dotty then ran across the road after her mother. From then to now. I have had innumerable sightings of this girl and she has been one of my most favourites. This was last summer when she got off the hill one late evening and had a long drink 😊 #bandhavgarh #glidingfrogtours #theglidingfrog #tiger #wildlife