{"id":3718,"date":"2026-04-23T20:19:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T14:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/?p=3718"},"modified":"2026-04-24T11:41:24","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T06:11:24","slug":"tiger-sightings-report-for-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/tiger-sightings-report-for-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"How was tiger sightings from October 2025 to March 2026 &#8211; By Naren Malik"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/tiger-sightings-report-for-2025\/#When_was_Kanha_National_Park_opened_in_2025\" >When was Kanha National Park opened in 2025?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/tiger-sightings-report-for-2025\/#My_first_sighting_of_the_season\" >My first sighting of the season<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/tiger-sightings-report-for-2025\/#Death_of_Balaghat_Male_tiger_in_Kanha_National_Park\" >Death of Balaghat Male tiger in Kanha National Park<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/tiger-sightings-report-for-2025\/#How_was_tiger_sightings_in_Season_2025_%E2%80%93_2026\" >How was tiger sightings in Season 2025 &#8211; 2026?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/tiger-sightings-report-for-2025\/#How_was_the_sighting_report_in_Kanha_Kisli_Zone\" >How was the sighting report in Kanha &amp; Kisli Zone?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/tiger-sightings-report-for-2025\/#Who_is_Naren_Malik\" >Who is Naren Malik?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"When_was_Kanha_National_Park_opened_in_2025\"><\/span><b>When was Kanha National Park opened in 2025?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The park opened as usual on 1st October after the three month monsoon closure. It had been a wonderful monsoon for Kanha, which filled all the water bodies, and the streams were overflowing with full strength.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mukki is one of the four tourism zones in Kanha National Park. The others are Kisli, Kanha and Sarhi. But Mukki has earned a reputation over the years for consistent good tiger sightings due to good number of tigers in this zone. The coming season also looked very promising. <\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"My_first_sighting_of_the_season\"><\/span>My first sighting of the season<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> October it didn\u2019t take me much time to find the first tiger of the season in Mukki Zone. It was the famous tigress MV3 (T106) who showed up looking healthy and active. She had successfully raised her previous litter of two male cubs, which dispersed from their mother last season. She was sighted with a hanging belly, which meant good news was round the corner.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, the good news came in mid-December when she appeared with two tiny cubs, we rejoiced and welcomed the new family members in our home Kanha. The cubs must have been born in late monsoon. Since the Pattewala male (T125) was very active in her area and she had been seen mating with him previously, we believe the cubs were sired by him.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"MV3 marking her territory in mikki zone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MV3-marking-her-territory-in-mikki-zone.webp\" alt=\"MV3 marking her territory in mikki zone\" width=\"1024\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3723\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MV3-marking-her-territory-in-mikki-zone.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MV3-marking-her-territory-in-mikki-zone-300x176.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/MV3-marking-her-territory-in-mikki-zone-768x450.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Death_of_Balaghat_Male_tiger_in_Kanha_National_Park\"><\/span><b>Death of Balaghat Male tiger in Kanha National Park<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tiger life is highly unpredictable. The unfortunate news came of death of the Balaghat male (T88) in the first week of October. His body was found in the same area where MV3 kept the young cubs, and it was clear he had been killed by the Pattewala male, who was sighted very close to his body. Last season, the Balaghat male was regularly sighted in Mukki, and his last tourist appearance was on 30th June, the last day of the previous season. Losing a big cat is always sad news for any wildlife lover. It is like losing a family member. He was old, well past his prime and Pattewala was in his prime. None saw the dreaded combat, but must have been tough as it brought an end to the reign of Balaghat male and left Pattewala with some scars and a territory to rule.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_was_tiger_sightings_in_Season_2025_%E2%80%93_2026\"><\/span><b>How was tiger sightings in Season 2025 &#8211; 2026?<\/b><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sharmili (T172), another matriarch of Mukki, was also sighted in the second week of October with her cubs on a sambar kill. She was sighted with three cubs last season, but this season only two cubs were seen with her; she had lost one cub during the monsoon. Both cubs looked very healthy and well-fed. There was always confusion over the cubs\u2019 sex determination \u2014 whether they were male or female. It was believed by the drivers and guides that she had one male and one female cub. This got resolved by the end of February when they were photographed, and it became clear that both are female cubs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"male tiger noticed jeeps in mukki zone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/male-tiger-noticed-jeeps-in-mukki-zone.webp\" alt=\"male tiger noticed jeeps in mukki zone\" width=\"1024\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3724\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/male-tiger-noticed-jeeps-in-mukki-zone.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/male-tiger-noticed-jeeps-in-mukki-zone-300x176.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/male-tiger-noticed-jeeps-in-mukki-zone-768x450.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Algi Dadar female (T101), who covers a small area, was also sighted in October with a nursing belly, and more good news came on 24th Jan when she was sighted with three cubs. These cubs have been sired by the DB-1 male (T161), who dominates that area and was the father of her previous litter of cubs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The star female of Mukki Zone, DJ female (T27), had been pushed out of her area by her daughter, DJ9 female (T214). She has now moved to the Kisli\/Kanha Zone. She tried twice to come back to Mukki Zone to her favourite area, but both times she had to face DJ9. Unfortunately, her own daughter became her biggest enemy, and finally she decided to leave this area forever.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since DJ has moved to a different area in Kisli Zone, the DB3 male (T162) has also extended his territory and started spending more time with his old mate in Kisli Zone. His movement has been reduced in Mukki Zone since DJ left this area.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neela Nala male (T121), the old warrior of Mukki Zone, has the same pattern of covering Kanha and Mukki Zones. He spends a week in Mukki and goes back to Kanha. He is still avoiding any conflict with other males.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"tiger spotted in kanha zone with natural dusty surrounding\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tiger-spotted-in-kanha-zone-with-natural-dusty-surrounding.webp\" alt=\"tiger spotted in kanha zone with natural dusty surrounding\" width=\"1024\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3726\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tiger-spotted-in-kanha-zone-with-natural-dusty-surrounding.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tiger-spotted-in-kanha-zone-with-natural-dusty-surrounding-300x176.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/tiger-spotted-in-kanha-zone-with-natural-dusty-surrounding-768x450.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Umarjhola female (T32), the oldest tiger of Kanha Tiger Reserve, is still doing very well at the age of around 14\/15, with frequent sightings. She is the female who has never littered in her lifetime. There is another female called Bijali, also sharing territory with her, who has also never been seen or reported with cubs. She has been sighted just three or four times so far. When it comes to the number of tigers in a particular zone, Mukki has a healthy population of 22 individuals sighted so far in Mukki Zone.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Algi Dadar + 3 cubs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MV3 + 2 cubs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sharmili + 2 cubs<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Umarjhola female<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DJ9 female<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">T-170 female (Kisli FL)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bijali<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pattewala 1<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pattewala 2<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neela Nala<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DB3<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Andkuan Male<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">DB1<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New male in BT area<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One more unknown sighted recently near Orai meadow, not sure if male or female.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_was_the_sighting_report_in_Kanha_Kisli_Zone\"><\/span>How was the sighting report in Kanha &amp; Kisli Zone?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kanha Zone once a prime zone in Kanha has lost a bit of its charm since Neelam left Kanha meadow with her cubs; she has been sighted almost out of the core area in Sijhora buffer. More bad news came when Mohini was found dead under a rock. It looked like she was stuck between two rocks and couldn\u2019t get out. It was a big loss for Kanha Zone, as she was the main attraction for tourists after Neelam. There was only Bajrang male sightings in this zone that kept it alive for tourists; otherwise, Lockdown female and T183 male are rarely seen in Kanha. By the end of March, more news came from Kanha Zone where the forest department found another dead tiger, and it was Sunaina, a beautiful female gone in her prime. It was announced by the forest department that she had died in a fight with another tiger.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"DJ9 spotted during the morning safari in kanha national park\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DJ9-spotted-during-the-morning-safari-in-kanha-national-park.webp\" alt=\"DJ9 spotted during the morning safari in kanha national park\" width=\"1024\" height=\"600\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3725\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DJ9-spotted-during-the-morning-safari-in-kanha-national-park.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DJ9-spotted-during-the-morning-safari-in-kanha-national-park-300x176.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/DJ9-spotted-during-the-morning-safari-in-kanha-national-park-768x450.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kisli Zone has become the main attraction for tourists since MV3\u2019s male cub from the previous litter has settled down there. He is known as Mahaveer male, and his regular sightings and bold behaviour like his mother are attracting tourists to this zone. Kisli has a good number of tigers, including DJ, DB3, Ghangar female, and Mahaveer male. There is one more bold male tiger in this zone, Digdola male, who is doing very well and giving regular sightings.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sarhi Zone is always a mystery zone for tourists, where you never know what you\u2019ll see. Amahi female with four cubs and DB2 have been frequently sighted in Sarhi Zone, while Z1 male covers both Sarhi and Kisli Zones.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the update of the tigers from October 2026 till March 2027. I will be providing closure of the season report as we head into the hot season, and we anticipate prolonged sightings close to the water holes.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_is_Naren_Malik\"><\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Who is Naren Malik?<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" title=\"naren malik head naturalist of kanha national park setting the camera\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/naren-malik-head-naturalist-of-kanha-national-park-setting-the-camera-300x300.jpeg\" alt=\"naren malik head naturalist of kanha national park setting the camera\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-3729 size-medium\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/naren-malik-head-naturalist-of-kanha-national-park-setting-the-camera-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/naren-malik-head-naturalist-of-kanha-national-park-setting-the-camera-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/naren-malik-head-naturalist-of-kanha-national-park-setting-the-camera-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/naren-malik-head-naturalist-of-kanha-national-park-setting-the-camera-768x768.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/naren-malik-head-naturalist-of-kanha-national-park-setting-the-camera.jpeg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span>He hails from North India, and first visited Kanha in 2005 after successfully completing his Hotel Management Degree. The beauty of Kanha landscape and the tigers made him stay back in Kanha. During his safaris in the past 21 years he has seen which others can only dream of. Whether it is the numerous territorial fights of dominant male tigers, the mating rituals or the tigresses with cubs he has seen all at real close quarters. Some of our guests call him the Tiger Whisperer for his understanding of the tiger behaviour. His cool demeanour, his interactions with the local community, and the love and respect he gets from all for his knowledge is quite unparalleled. Almost all the guides and naturalists of Kanha look upto him for guidance on whereabouts of the tigers during a safari. Be certain to fall in love with Kanha if he is accompanying you on a safari.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>View more about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/our-team\/\">our team<\/a> and read more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naturesafariindia.com\/blog\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">blogs about wildlife<\/a> and recent news.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When was Kanha National Park opened in 2025? The park opened as usual on 1st October after the three month monsoon closure. It had been a wonderful monsoon for Kanha, which filled all the water bodies, and the streams were overflowing with full strength. Mukki is one of the four [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safari"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3718"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3730,"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3718\/revisions\/3730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tigersafariindia.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}