Bandhavgarh's Tiger Season 2024-25: Sightings, Dynamics and Highlights

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Predictions (2024-25) – 5/5 !!

Khitauli will see some “bloody” territory battles. Too many large males, and a new guard with DM and D1 is inevitable. Pujari may still hold on to his piece of land, but do expect Chota bheem to be pushed into the buffer soon.

Sadly, a prediction I did not want to come true, but Khitauli has been in the news for the wrong reason. it started with Chota Bheem grievously injured in December 2024, and from there, he was fighting to save his territory. He was relocated for treatment, never to return and finally succumbed to his injuries. That started the disruption. A new rogue male entered the zone from the buffer. he went after the Chota Bheem – Khatiwah litter – killed 2/3 cubs, chased Pujari away to the buffer, who in turn killed Tara’s litter. The rogue male was finally caught and relocated to another forest, but not before Khitauli was disrupted. DM and D1 stayed well within their territories, with DM making ground towards Tala and Magdhi and D1 towards the buffer, more towards Marzatgarh. Pujari held on this his land in Khitauli and in Panpatta – but he lived to survive.

 
Panpatta will be a rising star, and we will see a lot of action from this zone. I am urging people to at least make one drive, if not more, to this beautiful zone. There is stress to get there and into the core zone, but well worth it if one sees a tiger.

I am glad I got this right, and for all those who took their chance at Panpatta, they were rewarded. Beautiful zone, amazing habitat, and when you see Tigers, it's brilliant. The Panihai female just lit up the forest, sightings every safari in March / April – the cubs were bold, walking in front of numerous gypsies’ and stamping their presence in the park. Pujari & Tara had their share of the zone at the waterhole adjoining Khitauli, and occasionally, the Khatiwah sub-adult female showed up in the zone. All in all, an exciting time for people visiting this zone.

Park administration, if not fixed, will lead to more challenges in tiger deaths, man-animal conflict and a rise in poaching. The core zone dynamics will play out into the buffer, and the risks to the tigers are ever-increasing now. It needs solid field execution in Bandhavgarh now, else expect bad news more than a few times this season.

Again, something I thought would happen, bad news kept coming often, as there were lapses in the early part of the season, we lost an entire elephant family to poisoning, we lost cubs due to conflict, man–animal conflicts continue across Tala, Magdhi, Khitauli, Manpur, Pataur and even Panpatta with a few human deaths. What I am most worried about is the continuous prey of cattle from the tigers, as this may lead to many challenges in the time to come. I am very hopeful that the new leadership of the park may just be the right team to navigate through these challenges. What may be required is an openness to listen to the stakeholders, and if they have a strong ear, we can see greater good in the park.

There is a shift in weather and seasons are overlapping each other, sightings in the expected seasons may not be as it used to be, and historically lower months will see more sightings, summers which used to be filled with sightings are getting lesser sightings, they are getting hotter and rains in summer are disrupting the plans. Winters are turning out to be better seasons for the year now. So, do try and make a trip in a non-regular sighting month and you will see better opportunities. Expect a lot of action from Dec-Jan, Mar-April.

5/5 is lovely, given it's just pure understanding and experience rather than any science.

Let us look at the season highlights across the Zones:

Tala Zone is back. That’s the news for all wildlife enthusiasts and the true Bandhavgarh fans. All through the year, we saw sightings, be it the iconic Bajrang or the Chakradhara sub-adults and even the occasional Siddhbaba female and her new litter or the Chorbhera female and her new litter. The area around the park entrance from Jamunia to Chakradhara was very active. A few got lucky with Dotty, and she is going to make a pronounced presence in the coming season. The Bhitri meadow got active with the Bhitri / Sita Mantap female and her cubs, and they were seen often during the season. Another male who is slowly building his presence is the Samrat male or the Bagoda male, and he is surely going to be a contender to Bajrang in the months to come. The year, however, belonged to Bajrang, wherever he went, people followed – and he did not disappoint. Be it Ghorademon, Sita Mantap, Chakradhara, Sidd Baba, he was everywhere and posed across these iconic spots. The only miss is the Rajbhera area, and I am certain we will start to see tigers establishing their presence soon.

Magdhi had its most beautiful moment in May with Mahaman female walking with her new litter a few times before the park closed, otherwise it’s been a very dull season for Magdhi for 2 years in a row. Occasional sightings of Sundari or Trishuli led to some excitement. Jhamole and the New Jobhi Male showed up around the zone. Dhabhadol female largely remained untracked as her territory was hardly visited. The elephants were sighted in Magdhi in large groups, and perhaps that was the other highlight. All in all, it was a season to forget for Magdhi.

Khitauli reminds me of a season that promised so much, and within days, it all just fizzled. Dec–Jan rocked the zone, and within days, the park lost a few tigers and cubs, disrupting the complete balance within the park. Slowly and surely, it started to recover, and occasional sightings from DM, D1, Khatiwah, Durrah and her cubs started to fill up the emptiness during summer. If one were patient for long durations, Khitauli presented many opportunities to photograph. This zone will bounce back very soon and has shown strong resilience in the past as well.

I called Panpatta zone to be a star, and what a season it had, it was a delight to watch such small cubs, walk, play in front of so many tourists day after day, one video of them coming onto the road with the Panihai female sitting will remain iconic for years to come. The only concern I have with the zone is the mindless encroachment of the non-tourism routes, and sadly, this led to the department closing very important routes in May & June, robbing people of their family.

Dhamonkar had its moments with the damonkar female with her cubs, often sighted during night safari and the lake at the entrance. Apart from that, there was little known activity.

Here goes my Top 5 predictions for the 2025-26 Season.

Every Day, every month, every Zone will be filled with activity. It will rain cubs; you will see some very strong Males and some beautiful, strong-willed females. All showing off the beautiful Bandhavgarh scenery and the iconic spots to photograph them.

Plan your trip in advance to get the desired zones. if possible, plan 2 trips into the park. It’s going to be a brilliant season. So don’t wait, pack your bags and get to Bandhavagrh for what will be the start of a glorious 2-3 years.

Cheers, Best of Luck. See you in the park.