Eye of the tiger: Why spotting these iconic big cats in India has never been easier

With India’s tiger population steadily on the rise, James Draven earns his stripes in some of the country’s best national parks

Bengal tiger numbers are on the up in India (James Draven)

“I’ve never seen one,” says Sandeep, a 51-year-old Mumbai resident who has just clambered into the back of the open-top jeep in which I sit, parked outside the entrance of Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. He shakes his head mournfully. This is not what I wanted to hear.

Even in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, at 6am in February it’s surprisingly frosty. I’m wrapped in a blanket and clutching a hot water bottle, despite six layers of clothing. Steam clouds from my lungs as I reply, asking him if this is, then, his first tiger safari.

His eyebrows make a valiant dash for a receding hairline: “I used to come here on safari with my family all the time when I was a child, I’ve visited Tadoba 20 times or more,” he says as my hopes begin to nosedive. “It is my life’s ambition to see a wild tiger!”