My Wildlife Journey

I remember the first time my father was upset about me not enjoying the nature and beauty of Sweden, back in 2012. I was a seven year old chubby girl, who didn’t care about anything other than her iPad mini and the candy crush score.

The same year in the month of December, my mom planned our very first trip to the Gir National Park in Gujarat, India. I honestly was ready to go anywhere as long as I had good food and my iPad along. During my first ever wildlife safari, not kidding, I was a bit bored, not because we weren’t able to spot any lions, but because of the number of deers in the sanctuary. A quick heads up, in any national park of India you are bound to see at least 3000 spotted deers. The scorching sun was bothering me a lot, until a brief sighting changed my mood all together.

A male lion was sitting right in front of our safari not more than 20m away, basking in the sun. He was old, so his mane wasn’t as magnificent as the manes of the handsome African lions. Looking at the beautiful beast, whom I had encountered only through television, now not more than 20m away from me, was truly one of the most amazing moments of my life.

A couple of years later, 2014, was the year I realised that I truly loved wildlife. It was my first Tadoba trip. Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve is by far my favourite national park. It’s in Maharashtra, India. During our trip, I was accompanied by my neighbours. Finally the time came when this one safari altered everything. It was our last safari of the day. The colors in the sky slowly started changing from red and orange to orangish pink, the sunset colors. We hadn’t spotted a single tiger the whole day. Our safari guide decided to try one last shot to spot the P3 tigress. So we decided to go towards the “Kaala Aamba” zone. My mom was sitting in the front seat, my neighbours in the middle seat, and me, my father and the guide in the last seat. We reached the end of the zone and “Hey! A Tigress!”, shouted my mother. There she was sitting in the bamboo trees camouflaging so well in the dim light. We saw her distinctly. We were the only ones there in the whole area. Just one safari and a gorgeous tigress. Suddenly, we noticed she was looking straight into the eyes of our neighbours, and had taken the position to pounce any minute.

Our neighbour noticed that and was terrified, the guide too noticed that we were in danger, so he told the driver to start the safari that very second, after listening to the engine starting, the tigress sat down, our neighbour was so scared, that we decided to return back to our lodge. Now that was the moment, I realised how little I had actually experienced in my life.

After that my love for wildlife, nature and animals just kept growing. I started birding with my father, and trips to Tadoba became a pilgrimage for us.

Now, after almost 10 years, I have been to the following parks:

1. Gir National Park :- 2012

2. Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve :- 2014, 2018, 2019, 2020

3. Ranthambore National Park :- 2014

4. Bandhavgarh national Park :- 2016

5. Jim Corbett National Park :- 2017

6. Kanha National Park :- 2019

7. Daroji Bear Sanctuary :- 2019

8. Tippeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary :- 2020

9. Pench Tiger Reserve :- 2022

10. Umred Jungle :- 2022

11. Kabini Tiger Reserve:- 2023

After many years of being in the wild, I don’t exactly like it here in the chaotic city. Don’t take me wrong Mumbai has shaped me in so many ways, however I have realised that if I truly want to be “happy” or find pleasure in life, I can achieve it only by actually doing what I love and where I love to be. In the forests, or at least in places where I can breathe freely. This whole pandemic has made me realise it even more. The need to live life in harmony with nature.

There are many people who don’t exactly understand my love for wildlife. For all those, just try going to a place where there is no network or internet, just for a day, try and observe the animals and insects or the different textures of tree barks. You will realise that you had been neglecting so much for so long. It’s not something that will happen in just one day, but slowly you will enjoy it.

All that I am trying to say is that being outside in the forests has helped me understand so many things, for which I am eternally grateful. Wildlife will always be close to my heart, forever.

Thank you,

Love,

Tanisha.