Panna National Park
Day Five - India - 2024
A morning crossing Panna National Park in search of tigers.
1. Panna Sunrise #1
Panna National Park was declared a tiger reserve in 1994, but by 2009 almost all of its tigers were sadly gone, primarily due to poaching …
As great as our two wildlife lodges had been, I am certain both my travel companions were happy to have spent a night at a proper hotel, in this case the Radisson in Khajuraho; however, our wildlife experience wasn’t yet over, and this very morning we’d be undertaking our sixth game drive, representing our last opportunity to see a tiger. To be up-front, this morning at Panna National Park was a bonus, an after-thought, something tossed in so as to make the schedule work.
I’ve alluded to the protracted booking process in bits and pieces throughout this travelogue, but- when I first envisioned this trip to India- I had one very, very firm ground rule which I wasn’t willing to budge on: absolutely no overnight trains.
If you’re not a first-time visitor to this website, you certainly have figured out that I have incredibly low standards for traveling: I’ll camp in a tent in the savanna of Botswana, I’ll endure overnight buses, and -yes- I’ll even take an overnight train or two. Hypocrite, you say? What made this particular circumstance different than these is I had an incredibly amount of, frankly, very expensive camera equipment. This isn’t a reflection on the people of India - I wouldn’t take this equipment on an overnight train anywhere in the world. If that makes me poncy, I guess I’m guilty as charged.
For better or worse, getting between the game parks in the central part of the country (Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Pench, Sanjay, Satpura, etc.) almost always requires taking an overnight train from Agra. In order to facilitate this very specific request, we’d have to spend a full day in Khajuraho before taking a train northward to Agra in the morning. The temples of Khajuraho (as lovely as they are) are not a full day experience, so the next best option was to give us a bonus wildlife stop at the Panna National Park.
2. Panna Sunrise #2
… However, a concerted repopulation effort along with strong conservation practices have seen Panna’s tiger population rebound to now be several dozen in number.
I did very little research on Panna prior to traveling and it wasn’t really on my radar as a wildlife hot-spot before. It is a smaller park and its proximity to larger cities makes it quite busy compared to the vast and remote Kanha and Bandhavgarh. To use the gambling expression, we were playing with house money, and we’d see whatever we’d see.
3. Tiger P-141 #1
Tiger P-141 has -as of November 2024- contributed four litters to Panna’s repopulation effort.
As it turns out, we had our best tiger encounters in this park when we’d least expected them. First, a large tigress (dubbed P-141) emerged right along the road where we happened to be waiting.
4. Tiger P-141 #2
Despite giving birth to a litter just a few months before this photograph was taken, her cubs were not with her …
5. Tiger P-141 #3
… And she was kind enough to walk along the road for a few dozen meters …
6. Tiger P-141 #4
… Giving us an opportunity to photograph her up-close …
7. Tiger P-141 #5
… Before disappearing into the forest …
8. Tiger P-141 #6
… Perhaps to find her cubs …
9. Tiger P-141 #7
… Still, it was an impressive display …
10. Tiger P-141 #8
… And I am hopeful that P-141 will continue to be a star here for some time!
11. Tiger Sub-Adult of P-151 #1
One of the sub-adult male cubs of P-151 (another prominent tigress in Panna National Park) uncharacteristically eating grass in a field.
Not even five minutes later, just a short distance down the track, we came across yet another tiger, this one a sub-adult male. He was grazing on grass (our guide surmised he had an upset stomach), which gave us a great opportunity to get up-close views of his powerful and sharp teeth.
Six more photographs of this tiger follow.
12. Tiger Sub-Adult of P-151 #2
13. Tiger Sub-Adult of P-151 #3
14. Tiger Sub-Adult of P-151 #4
Xxxx.
15. Tiger Sub-Adult of P-151 #5
16. Tiger Sub-Adult of P-151 #6
17. Tiger Sub-Adult of P-151 #7
These two tiger encounters -which both occurred within 30 minutes- were undoubtedly the highlight of our India trip! Not bad for a bonus game drive, eh?
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18. Rose-Ringed Parakeets
A group of rose-ringed parakeets gather atop a tree.
The rest of our morning in Panna National Park was incredibly productive, and we saw many more varieties of animals than I anticipated. The scenery was better than I expected it to be, as well.
19. Ken River #1
Panna National Park sits along the Ken River, and visitors can opt to take a boat tour if they choose.
20. Ken River #2
Despite multiple efforts -including the establishment of the Ken Gharial Sanctuary upriver from Panna National Park- attempts to create a habitat for the long-nosed Gharial, a fish-eating crocodile, have unfortunately been largely unsuccessful.
21. Panna Spider
Another mysterious and large spider.
22. Panna Sambar #1
A large sambar deer drinks from a small pond.
23. Panna Sambar #2
24. Panna Gray Langur #1
A juvenile and an adult gray langur huddle …
25. Panna Gray Langur #2
… While this gray langur keeps watch in a tree.
26. Panna Animal Carcass
An animal carcass hangs from a tree branch, probably left by one of Panna’s illusive leopards.
27. Panna Plum-Headed Parakeet
A plum-headed parakeet sits atop a branch.
28. Panna Swamp
While mostly flat forest, there are a few pockets of standing water …
29. Panna Mugger Crocodile
… Which support animals such as the mugger crocodile.
What an exciting morning! But our day had just begun and we had an entire afternoon left to explore the temples of Khajuraho.
