Discovering Tipeshwar: 30 Tiger Sightings in 5 Safaris at Maharashtra's Hidden Wildlife Sanctuary

4 Mark with her cub

Keeping our mission in mind, we embarked on a journey to explore the lesser-known jungles of Tipeshwar Wildlife Sanctuary in March 2024. We drove down from Mumbai at about 5 am through the newly constructed Samruddhi Mahamarg and reached our destination by 3 pm.

About Tipeshwar:

Tipeshwar is one of the smallest jungles of India -  merely 148 sq km It is surrounded by the beautiful Melghat mountain ranges and shares corridors with Kawal Tiger Reserve, Painganga & Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve. Tigers were first sighted here in 2010 and this helped in achieving the status of a Wildlife Sanctuary -  a protected area designated for the preservation of animals in their natural habitat. Once Tipeshwar got its status of a sanctuary, the local forest department then relocated the local tribal communities from inside the jungle’s tiger territories to the outskirts and safer areas.

Another interesting anecdote is that Tipeshwar gets its name from Goddess Tipai whose temple resides in the heat of the jungle. Even today, key leaders from the relocated local communities pay their respects on special occasions. 

Fauna and Flora of Tipeshwar:

To understand why we recommend Tipeshwar and what led to the increase in tiger population, it's important to understand the jungle’s fauna and flora. 

The flora of Tipeshwar is quite similar to Pench with about 60% of the jungle comprising Teak, Mahua, lendia trees and the most expensive type of sandalwood - the red sandalwood comprising 15% of the jungle. Additionally, more than 250 varieties of bamboo are also found here along with other medicinal and useful plants. These trees provide shade and food for the jungle’s herbivore population including an abundant population of bluebull or nilgai, a few spotted and sambar deers, wild boar, sloth bear, langur and rhesus macaque, leopards and tigers.

Tigers of Tipeshwar:

Currently, Tipeshwar is home to 15 tigers including 9 cubs, 3 tigresses and 3 adult shy male tigers. During our trip which included 5 safaris, we were fortunate to get a total of 30 tiger sightings. The highlight was the sighting of 4 Mark tigress with her cub who is just about 6 months old. 4 Mark has been given her name because of the prominent numerical 4 mark on the right side of her face. She is also one of the most beautiful tigresses that we’ve seen in a while and is fiercely protective and a doting mother.

Other than 4 Mark, Tipeshwar is home to another tigress named Archi who has 4 cubs that are extremely bold considering their age of merely 4-5 months old. While Archi was away,  one curious cub came quite close to the gypsies. 

And then we have T2 Tigress who is currently raising her second litter of cubs with the help of her daughter from the first litter! Yes, you read it right!! T2’s first daughter, fondly called Daisy by the local teams, takes care of the 12-month-old cubs while T2 goes hunting for food. When we heard this, we found it hard to believe but then we saw this with our eyes and had to believe it. Such unique and rare tiger behaviour has been seen in yet another male tiger of Tipeshwar.  According to local guides, the one who fathered Archi’s present litter of cubs has been sighted walking boldly with the entire family. 

Why visit Tipeshwar?

If all of the above has not pushed you to start planning a trip to Tipeshwar, then here’s more. The tigers of Tipeshwar prefer hunting Bluebulls more than spotted deer and the tiger cubs are super bold at a young age of 4-6 months. For the next 2 years,  Tipeshwar will be buzzing with fantastic tiger sightings so take your time and plan a trip with us. Or join us on an upcoming trip this winter.