If you’re a nature lover stuck at home, itching to be close to wildlife and wilderness, you know a safari is not an option for you. But while you make yourself content with the pretty animal pictures on Instagram or go through your old albums, check out this virtual safari experience by wildlife presenter and conservationist Suyash Keshari that will give you a real-time experience of being in a safari, from your home! By Anushka Goel
I’m someone who loves going on wildlife safaris whenever I get the chance or travel to destinations that bring me closer to nature. So much so, that in my three trips amid the COVID-19 pandemic, one has been for a wildlife safari at Jim Corbett and the other to Bhimtal in Uttarakhand, while the third brought me closer to India’s heritage.
If you’re anything like me, sitting at home can be tough when all you want to do is be outdoors in nature and spend time with the flora and fauna. And while working from the hillside or the various beach resorts can bring you closer to nature, going on a wildlife safari may be tougher, given the pandemic, the long distances and the general scare of the pandemic.
But what if we told you there’s a way you can enjoy the safaris from the comfort of your homes, and spot tigers, deer, and more with real-time experience? Safari with Suyash TV, an online platform, offers a virtual safari experience to those who might be unable to visit national parks or are stuck at home or in quarantine, bringing the safari experience to their home screens.
Go on a virtual safari with Safari With Suyash TV
Award-winning environment and wildlife presenter, filmmaker and conservationist Suyash Keshari launched the digital platform Safari With Suyash TV late last year, with the aim to bring the safari experience to peoples’ homes. In an interview with us back then, he had said, “We are going to bring nature and wildlife and the thrill of going for safaris into peoples’ houses. It’ll be an OTT-style platform, so people will have to subscribe and be a part of it, but it’ll become a community.”
The platform aims to offer raw, authentic safari experiences from the Bandhavgarh National Park, where Suyash has spent nearly a decade documenting tigers (especially the late Solo) and understanding the way they function while taking several people, including celebrities, on specially curated safari experiences.
The experiences are divided into 10 safaris, of which five have been aired to date. What’s more, the recordings of the virtual safaris are available to the subscribers long after they’ve happened, in case one missed a session or wishes to view them again. These pre-recorded safaris are designed in a way that you’ll feel like you’re present in Bandhavgarh yourself, minus the open jeeps and the road bumps.
Suyash and his team tell us that through these safaris, they’ve been able to make several discoveries in the Park, something the subscribers will be able to experience. “Usually, it is believed that the male tigers do not play a part in parenting the cubs in any shape or form. Surprisingly, we noticed Mahaman, a male, who had mated with Dabhadol (a female), was actually helping her raise their two cubs! We also spotted Mahaman walking with one of the cubs, and in many instances, we saw the full family feasting on a kill together. This was a rare sight as the males usually want the kills for themselves. This sighting made us realise that much like us humans, tigers have unique personalities,” Suyash tells us, adding that the virtual safari experience offers such insights and a lot more to the viewers like they would have got if they were actually present physically.
You can find out more about the virtual safaris here.
