Is a Gaur and a Bison the same animal?

If you have been to India and done safaris in our game rich jungles, chances are you must have had an encounter or two with a large cattle like animal called the gaur (bos gaurus). In fact it is the largest bovine animal in the world. 

But you would often hear the guides or other people calling it a bison. Well by the first looks it definitely resembles a bison found in Europe or North America. But don’t go by the looks. They are two different animals. Gaur’s range extends from India all the way to South East Asia. The bison is found in North America and parts of Europe. The gaur prefers the dry or moist deciduous forests whereas the bison likes the open grasslands. So their preferred habitat also determines their preferred food. Gaurs are mixed feeder meaning they both graze and browse on a variety of flora. Bison are primarily grazers. An adult gaur is also way bigger than a bison. In case of gaurs the bulls can weigh upto 1500 kg and bisons around 900 kg. 

The bison also look way more scruffier than the gaur, don’t they? So on your next safari in India, remember, we have gaurs and not bisons. 

Curious about wildlife safaris in India? Check this out

Watch what a wildlife trip in India is all about

Important inputs for your India holiday!

Dear Guests/travelers,
Greetings from a rejuvenated, green and monsoon drenched India,
Well, it's beginning of July and its that time of the year again when we get to stay at home for 3 months. The season 2017-18 was a fantastic one. Team Overland Expeditions India along with several wonderful guests explored some beautiful parts of the sub-continent.
From the towering, the barren and parched landscape of Ladakh in search of the snow leopard to the dense steaming jungles of the North East and the misty hills of Nepal for Red Pandas, we had some rare encounters.
We lead close to 150 safaris in Central India producing superb sightings big and small that will remain etched in our memories. Several first-time guests realised their dream of seeing a Bengal tiger in the wild. It’s moment like these that drive us to keep doing what we love to do.
While it is time for us to relax a bit, we also cannot forget about the onset of the new season in October. A safari holiday in India is a sheer bliss but one has to plan and book well in advance. Well, to be accurate at-least 3 to 4 months in advance. This ensures smooth booking of flights, trains, safari tickets and everything else. And yes your host will be so much better prepared to deliver the best.
Check out our website: www.overlandingindia.com
It has a complete bouquet of trips big and small, easy and adventurous to suit your taste. Further on we are there to assist you at info@overlandingindia.com 24x7 and answer all your queries till you are satisfied and ready to confirm.
We cannot wait to talk to you…

Yes! Tadoba National Park also have a Black Panther now

Tadoba to intensify search for black panther after Tuesday’s rare first direct sighting

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/tadoba-to-intensify-search-for-black-panther-after-tuesdays-rare-first-direct-sighting/articleshow/64295039.cms

Our best wildlife experience & one for everyone!!

Experiencing nature everyone has had their moment which is just ultimate, one which is unforgettable. What has been your moment? As nature lovers we recently had one of our best experiences deep in the jungles of Indo-Nepal border high in the mountains. We successfully tracked and spotted red pandas in the wild. 

The journey began as we flew to the Indian border town of Siliguri and crossed into Nepal through the land border near kakarvita. Another 5 hours of 4X4 drive through rough mountains took us to the core of the red panda’s habitat. Dense, moss laden jungles with barely any sunlight falling on the floor is the typical habitat of the Firefox. Well to begin with upon arrival, we were very warmly welcomed by the Sherpa community that dwell in the jungles here since time immemorial. We checked into our very cozy wooden rooms with a sweet woody fragrance that hung in the cold  air. The adventure was to begin tomorrow morning early. 

The trackers in two teams of 4 each headed out in different directions to find the elusive creature and the job is in true sense finding a needle in a haystack. Working with just distant clues, they narrow it down to a small bright orange coloured animal tucked amongst similar coloured moss on high trees. We were having our first breakfast with a view when our homestay host got a phone call that one of the teams have found a red panda. With our gear already packed, off we went. Well it was an hour’s trek away on steep mountains. Tracks were a bit slippery and the slight drizzle didn’t help. After 50 minutes of trek slipping and sliding we reached the top of a mountain. One of the members from the tracker team was there waiting for us as the last bit of the trek didn’t have cell phone reception. He said the panda was on the move and we rushed downhill. This time none of us cared to count how many times we slipped. In 15 minutes we were there. Resting on top of a tree few metres from us was a wild red panda.

 It was a lot more striking than we all had thought. From the safety of the tree it kept watching us and also at the same time kept changing positions giving us best views and frames for our cameras. We stood in complete awe for at least 30 minutes. In the next 3 days of our stay there we found one more individual in the jungles there. 

Staying away from the maddening hustle of the plains, the red panda experience had completely detoxified us. The people we lived with were some of the simplest and most caring. The sumptuous meals we had were all organic grown in the backyards. The sights, the night sky and everything else were crisp devoid of even a hint of pollution. 

With heavy hearts and numerous promises to be back again we filled our eyes with the view of this paradise on earth and slowly made our way down through windy mountain roads. 

This is genuinely one wildlife experience that we think everyone in love with nature must experience! Period! After closely and carefully done multiple recce trips we now offer several Red Panda Expeditions round the year during the best months. And yes we don’t go through any other travel agent with only wiki and google information. The very people who have successfully tracked  pandas and organised trips are the ones leading the trips from front ensuring the best possible wildlife experience. 

To learn more about what we offer check out RED PANDA EXPEDITION

There is a MUST WATCH video from our experience as well IN SEARCH OF THE FIREFOX

We are always ready to bend our rules to accommodate any of your wishes or changes. Just drop us a mail anytime. If there is any lacking information, just pick it out and we will be very happy to give you all the details. 

We eagerly hope to hear back from you about our red panda experience!

What is the best time for tiger safari in India?

What is the best time of the year to see a tiger?

We get this question a lot! Well the peak of the summer season is here and temperature is soaring in the sweltering 40's. The heat is intense, and if you are out in the middle of the day, you may feel all of the polar ice caps are gonna melt today itself. Talking in travel terms, one may feel it is not a good time to travel to India. Yes & No! If you are amongst the rare group of people who are looking to experience the wildlife safari of your lifetime, you are at the right place at the right time. 

Indian summers (March - June) is definitely the best time of the year for big cat sightings! Not just big cats but whole array of wildlife. 

Wondering what may be the best wildlife trip for you this season? Well what can be better that 3 of the top big cats in one overland trip? KNOW MORE!

Have a look at some of the best sightings that we have had this season so far! 

Roadblock in Kanha by a big male tiger

Tigress from Kanha on a morning drive

Tigress from Ranthambore checking out a marking post

Tiger in Bandhavgarh sulking in the grass

One of the rarest cats! The rusty spotted cat from Satpura

A male leopard from Pench National Park

Manas & Kaziranga - the two jewels of North East India

On the recently concluded Trans Himalayan Expedition, we had some amazing wildlife experiences. Right from lifer birds, mammals, reptiles to some of the most elusive creatures or our jungles, we had an unforgettable experience. But out of all the wilderness that we explore, Manas and Kaziranga in the North Eastern States of Assam turned out to be very rewarding.
Both the parks are well known for their One horned rhinoceros, elephants and water buffalo sightings and we were not let down. In Manas we had scores of elephant encounters. Our guides and travellers had some real good encounters. Manas has some very well placed viewing platforms around salt licks offering close view of the big mammals like elephants, rhinos and gaur.
The area around Manas river is quite open and offers exquisite landscape views. We also saw herds of water buffaloes grazing on the banks of the river. Capped langur was another new mammal fro our guests.
Manas is also famous for extremely rare mammals like the clouded leopard, black panther, golden cat etc. Although our Lady Luck was not good enough to see one of them, we did come across another rare creature called the yellow throated Martin. It was a brief sighting and before we could get over our excitement and pick our cameras, it jumped across the road and disappeared in the thickets.

Kaziranga is a UNESCO world heritage site and it is indeed rightly so. In total we saw 132 one horned rhinoceros. They were just about everywhere. We got some incredible behaviour and pictures.
Icing on the cake in Kaziranga was the second tiger sighting of the trip. On our first morning in Kaziranga we got a tip off about a tiger sitting near a water body. We rushed to the spot, but by the time we reached there, a big water buffalo had chased the tiger inside the bushes and we missed it by literally 2 seconds. It was unbelievable. But determined to take another chance, in the afternoon we returned back to the same zone. The plan was to head straight to the morning location. We were rushing to the spot. But what luck! The tiger had moved in the afternoon and was heading back to the same spot. It walked for about 5 minutes in front of our jeep.
On day 2 morning, a pack of smooth coated otters kept us busy. It was extremely entertaining to see them hunt as a pack.
Below are some of the glimpses of the amazing sightings that we had:

A female elephant blocking our path

A huge tusker leading the herd across the river

One afternoon from a watch tower in Manas

One afternoon from a watch tower in Manas

An impressive tusker from Manas

Capped langur from Manas 

Kalij Pheasant from Manas

One of the best moments with the giants of Kaziranga

Great Indian Hornbill's massive wingspan

The very elusive Kaziranga Tiger

Hog deer - most common animal in Kaziranga

Asiatic water buffalo from Eastern zone of Kaziranga

Small pack of smooth coated otters in Kaziranga

If you want to be a part of our next Trans Himalayan Expedition, just drop us an email at: info@overlandingindia.com

For more information on the trip click here

The Trans Himalayan Expedition - Trip recce

Glimpses...

The 82 Days Trans Himalayan Expedition, our most awaited trip is just a couple of months away and we have concluded our recce trip. Its a very long trip and goes through some of the most beautiful but also difficult terrain. We have introduced this trip earlier as well.      With our recce trip concluded, we can now offer you glimpses of whats coming up ahead. What's more exciting? We have processed a new video from the trip as well. Have a look at them below, have fun and just in case if you are interested in JOINING THE TRIP, we have also posted our new trip poster with an incredible offer!

Accommodation options in Chitvan

              

Mall street in Manali

Rohtang pass

Fuel stations are not easy to find

Suraj Taal

Chandra Taal

Baralacha pass

Shepherds in the Morey plains of Ladakh 

Tanglangla pass - The 2nd highest in the world

Shey monastery in Leh

          
The video is available at: Watch video here 


For more information on the trip click here