Johanna and Micheal visited Pilibhit Tiger Reserve from 9–12 January 2025 for a short winter safari, perfectly fitting their tight travel schedule in India.
Despite cold and foggy conditions, every safari delivered tiger sightings, including multiple encounters with the famous male tiger Rocket.
Report by Mr. Sudhir Sharma
Fog, Frost and Tigers: Johanna & Micheal’s Memorable Pilibhit Safari
09 Jan 2025to 12 Jan 2025.
Johanna & Micheal wanted to enjoy safaris in Indian parks for tigers. But they had limited time. They were invited to a marriage in Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) and they were willing to visit Varanasi and the Buddhist sector i.e. Bodh Gaya.
They got late for safaris in Panna and Bandhavgarh tiger reserves, as these parks quickly get sold out due to high demand. So, we suggested Sanjay Dhubri Tiger Reserve, but the train timings did not match with our purpose.
Finally, we suggested Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (Uttar Pradesh) near Bareilly. This park is well-connected with Varanasi with an overnight train. After visiting, one can get to Delhi by train as well.
09 Jan 2025: Pilibhit Tiger Safari
We took the overnight train from Varanasi at around 23:00 . The next day, at 11:55 we reached Bareilly station. Later 02-hour drives brought us to our homestay. After it was to relax.
10 Jan 2025: Morning Safari / Zone 02
It was chillingly cold in the morning. We all dressed up in warm clothing & entered the park. We started checking the territories of different tigers. We were expecting some warning calls which could help us with spotting tigers, but the forest was quiet. Later, while checking the area, we saw a huge male coming towards us. The star tiger Rocket male of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve.
10 Jan 25: Afternoon Safari / Zone 02
In the afternoon, we luckily got to zone 02 via the roaster system. As we had an idea for the morning safari, we drove directly to the morning spot. After waiting for some time, the same tiger was seen again. It was trying to make a kill. He was targeting some spotted deer but was unsuccessful.
11 Jan 25: Morning Safari
This morning the weather was cloudy and the sun seemed to be very difficult. So, in the beginning, we assumed that it would be a blank safari . So, we decided to check zone one completely. After driving for 20 minutes, our driver saw something moving very slowly. At first instant, we thought it to be Huge Sambhar deer. But later it was a Big Huge male tiger. We decided to keep the proper distance of 50 meters from him. He was calmly marking his territory. It was a great morning, even on a foggy day.
- It was very dark & no photos were taken due to dim light.
- All safaris with Tiger sightings . What a trip to remember.
