Baghvan
Wildlife at Baghvan
With its rusty red coat, white markings and black stripes, the tiger is perhaps the most glamorous jungle animal. A rare species, tigers are highly territorial and solitary. The dense jungle they favour and their exceptional camouflage makes them notoriously difficult to spot. However, a glimpse of this beautiful animal in the wild is a truly rewarding sight. Tigers will only inhabit territory where plenty of prey is found, and prefer to hunt at night, rarely being spotted stalking their prey. During the heat of the Indian day, they may be seen cooling off in pools or rivers and are excellent swimmers.
Giants of the grasslands, Indian gaur are the largest wild bovines in the world. The handsome, muscular males of this wild ox, with their jet black coats, can weigh up to 1 000 kg (2 205 lb). The females are smaller, with coffee coloured coats, and both sexes sport white markings below the knees that resemble stockings. Despite their size, they are shy animals and are normally found in herds of 10 to 15. After the monsoon season gaur are frequently spotted grazing on the fresh green grass in the valleys of Pench, moving to higher elevations in the early summers.
Under cover of darkness, the Indian jungle resounds with the eerie, chattering calls of the striped hyena. Striped hyena have a brownish-grey coat covered in stripes, a massive head and coarse fur running down the spine, ending in a bushy tail. Unlike their spotted African cousins, Indian hyena are solitary and are almost entirely nocturnal. They make their living mainly by scavenging and have been known to confront the big cats, even tiger, at their kills. However, when the need arises they are also adept hunters, taking down small to medium-sized prey.
Recent Sightings from Wildwatch.com
INDIA'S SMALLEST & BIGGEST WILD FELINES IN A SPAN OF 3 HOURS - 08 January 2012
Driving by a rocky terrain in the park we heard the warning calls of a squirrel. This could have been for anything - a snake, mongoose, bird of prey. We were scanning the area whilst the vehicle was moving & I spotted something unusual, almost like a...
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RUSTY THE CAT - 23 December 2011
I was driving my guests (Rose family) who came with Hashim Tayabji a well know naturalist and wild-lifer.We were taken by surprise recently when my guest Adam Spotted the cat family's smallest member "The Rusty Spotted cat". It seems like a small...
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LEOPARD WITH A KILL ON A TREE - 03 December 2011
To watch a leopard on a kill, as well as in a tree is always exciting. Recently I got a chance to witness that. I was driving back to the lodge and came to the spot where one of the vehicles had already spotted the leopard in a tree with a kill. It was...
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