India Tiger and ‘Big Five’ Wildlife Safari

with MSU Alumna Jessica Pociask

Sponsored by the MSU Alumni Association

October 19 - November 3, 2015

$8,088 PER PERSON ( U SD, double occupancy ) , $9,889 per person ( USD, single occupancy )

Program Includes: · All accommodations · All meals · Activities mentioned in the program · All land transportation · Airport and local transfers · Entrance and local guiding fees · International tour leader · Tips, government taxes and levies · In-country flights · Bottled water in transport vehicles · Photography education and assistance

For more information and to sign up for the tour, call (231) 620-9268 or visit wantexpeditions.com.

Less than 3000 tigers remain in the wild, and many

environmental groups have declared that in as little as

20 years, tigers will be considered an extinct species. If

you have ever dreamed of seeing a tiger in the wild, now

is the time. Tigers are synonymous with India, and the

Indian government is desperately trying to protect these

majestic animals from extinction. Their "Project Tiger"

national parks provide a safe home for the largest and

most stable tiger populations in the world, and the well-

trained elephants provide a classic and exciting way for

the visitor to track and observe them in their natural ele-

ment. Additionally, this tour provides the chance to see

and photograph not only tigers, but also lions, leopards,

rhinos, buffalo, elephants, and nearly 1,000 bird species.

And as always, if this was not enough, we offer a final

experience as the crown to your Big Five safari with a

tour to the ethereal Taj Mahal. Join MSU alumna, host

and wildlife biologist Jessica Pociask, for an unforgetta-

ble tour of India’s most precious creatures with excellent

accommodations, delicious food and educational semi-

nars. Don't miss this expedition, as the parks may close

as they did in 2012, in an attempt to preserve the

remaining tiger populations!

Detailed itinerary: Oct 19 New Delhi/Kaziranga National Park Arrival at Delhi’s international airport. The India wildlife safari begins in Delhi, the capital of the country. Our airport representative will meet you upon arrival (after clearing pass-port and customs formalities). We will check in for our flight to Guwahati and then proceed for a quick Welcome Orientation, before we depart. After our arrival in Guwahati we have another five hours of driving to our accommodations, a lovely wildlife lodge on the edge of Kaziranga National Park. We quickly check in and gather for a fantastic traditional Welcome Dinner. Soon after dinner we will call it a night, in order to rejuvenate in preparation for the upcoming days of wildlife exploration. Accommodations: 4 star wildlife lodge Oct 20 Kaziranga National Park At Kaziranga, since this national park is mainly dominated by beautiful tall grass, we hope to see one of the ‘Indian Big Five’ the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros. With nearly 80% of the world's population resident, the park has been recognized as a World Heritage site. In addition to wonder-ful rhino viewing, the park is also home to large herds of elephants (sometimes up to 200 individuals) and buffalo. Tigers can also be found, however they are rarely seen in the long grass. The park also shelters other species such as Sloth Bear, Leopard, Swamp Hog and Barking Deer, Sambar Deer, Pygmy Hog, Jungle Cat, Hog Badger and the Capped Langur Monkey. The open country makes wildlife viewing at Kaziranga fairly easy with most major species seen daily. Kaziranga is also a birder's paradise with large numbers of resident species boosted considerably by visiting winter mi-grants. Regularly seen species include Oriental Honey Buz-zard, Black-Shouldered Kite and Himalayan Griffon. Game viewing here is conducted both by jeep and on elephant-back safaris, which we will alter and arrange according to the actual movement of wildlife. The schedules are set by the rangers and (as usual when dealing with nature), according to the weather conditions. Otherwise our days will be the usual safari days - we will always break our activities with a lunch followed by siesta, and will finish with a great dinner. At Kaziranga, our dinner will be enlightened by traditional Bihu dances. Accommodations: 4 star wildlife lodge Oct 21 Kaziranga National Park This morning, we hope to enjoy an elephant ride for about one hour, prior to breakfast. Once back at the lodge, we will complete the experience with a great breakfast, before we take off for the Western Range of the Park. It takes just a short time by jeep to reach the entrance of this range. The route traverses the southwest portion of the park, where the grass is shorter, providing an optimum habitat for rhinos and water buffalo. Representative perennial ox-bow lakes surrounded by marshy Hemarthria compressa stands can be seen, among many other habitat types. This southern circle is roughly 20 km long, allowing us to stop at every interest-

ing natural phenomenon we encounter, yet make it back to the lodge just on time for lunch and siesta. A short time later, we take off again, at this time towards the Kaziranga Range. This drive covers the central region of the park and it is an ideal introduction to the park and its ecology as the route passes through the entire spectrum of habitat types prevalent in the area. There is a possibility of sighting ele-phants as well as other herbivores. It is also a favorite place of swamp deer, which is otherwise difficult to spot in this national park. Bird life is especially abundant in this central range, making our afternoon drive specifically rich in species observation. Once we have taken all the sunset images we need, we will return to the lodge for yet another delicious local dinner and off to bed. Accommodations: 4 star wildlife lodge Oct 22 Kaziranga National Park/Kanha National Park Today we will cross the entire Indian subcontinent, from east to west. Due to the lack of logically scheduled domestic flights, and the huge distances we have to cover today, we will have to depart in the wee hours of the morning. Just before arriving at Guwahati airport, we will have our packed breakfast. Once at the airport, we will quickly check in and depart for Nagpur as early as 7:50 am. Upon landing in Nag-pur, we will have just enough time for a sandwich lunch. From Nagpur, it is another 5 hours drive to our destination of the day – the world famous Kanha National Park. The drive to the park is on a paved road and we will arrive for a late lunch. After check in at our lodge, we will jump on our game drive vehicles and take off into the “jungles” of this fascinating national park (please note that this afternoon game drive depends on the unpredictable driving conditions between Nagpur and Kanha). Once this short yet exciting introductory drive is over with the setting sun, we return to our accommodations and retire early after a satisfying tradi-tional Indian dinner. Accommodations: High-end tented safari camp Oct 23 Kanha National Park We have two full days entirely dedicated to the exploration of the National Park. We will finish our breakfast by the time the first light breaks and drive out into this fascinating wilderness, cameras and binoculars in hand, hoping to cap-ture great moments of the daily lives of the many inhabi-tants. Kanha is also referred to as “Kipling country”, since the nearby forests were the setting for the "Jungle Book" by Rudyard Kipling. It is an outstanding national park of Cen-tral India, noted for its tigers and the last remaining popula-tion of the hard-ground race of the swamp deer. Spotting wild animals is always a matter of luck, but Kanha National Park is so rich in wildlife that the odds are tilted in our favor. There are a healthy number of tigers found here. There are herds of spotted deer to be seen, and with a little luck, we can also spot the timorous barking deer. There is also a very strong possibility that we will see the rare hard-ground Ba-rasingha, the Swamp Deer. Once we have had our fill of the amazing scenes and the excitement with wildlife, we return to the lodge for a great lunch and a short siesta. Mid-

afternoon we will be in our jeeps again to spot and silently study more wildlife. As darkness approaches, we return to the lodge once again and have a lovely dinner. Accommodations: High-end tented safari camp Oct 24 Kanha National Park Our day is just like the one before – after breakfast, we set off on a morning game drive and after lunch and a short siesta, and we will spend the entire afternoon in the bush. Tonight at dinner we will say goodbye to the fascinating Kanha National Park. Accommodations: High-end tented safari camp Oct 25 Kanha and Bandhavgarh National Park Our goal on this fascinating voyage to India is to maximize time spent in national parks. In order to achieve this goal, we set off early in the morning today, to yet another park, which has the highest tiger sightings probabilities in the world. Bandhavgarh National Park is a six hour drive from Kanha, and we will arrive for a early afternoon lunch. We will check in at our lodge and set off for an afternoon game drive to start experiencing our fourth and last national park on our voyage. Once we are back at the lodge and refreshed, we will gather in the dining room and summarize during dinner, what we have seen so far and what is lying ahead. Accommodations: High-end wildlife lodge Oct 26 Bandhavgarh National Park Today our entire day is dedicated to explore Bandhavgarh National Park. The park is one of the best places to see and enjoy wildlife in India. Generally the forests have less under-growth here, thus offering better sightings of wildlife, nota-bly mammals, including the daylight sightings of tigers in the grassy 'maidans'. More than 70 tigers are estimated to be in the park. Much of the park is covered in Sal forest, replaced by mixed forests in the higher elevations of the hills and ex-tensive strands of bamboo and grasslands. The Reserve is named after the highest hill Bandhavgarh (807m) in the cen-ter of the Reserve. White tigers, now a major attraction in the world's zoos, were first discovered in Rewa, not far from here. The rivers Johilla and Son flowing on the eastern side, the river Umrar passing through the western fringes and the Bandhavgarh hill, visible from as far as 30 km, are some of the landmarks of the Reserve that we are going to explore through our morning drive, before we return for our usual siesta break. And again, the afternoon will find us in the re-serve, looking for tigers, either by car or if you like, on the backs of elephants. Dinner will be served at our lodge not much after sunset. Accommodations: High-end wildlife lodge Oct 27 Bandhavgarh National Park Our day is just like the one before – after breakfast, we set off on a morning game drive and after lunch and a short siesta, we spend the entire afternoon in the bush. Tonight at dinner we will have to say goodbye to the fascinating Band-havgarh National Park. Accommodations: High-end wildlife lodge

Oct 28 Bandhavgarh National Park/Mumbai Today we will try to find those species we did not see yester-day, or will try to get better images of previously spotted ones. We will return to the camp in late morning to check out and drive to Jabalpur. Once there, we check in for our flights to Mumbai and have a quick packed lunch before we board. The short flight will land us in Mumbai just before 3 pm, allowing us to transfer to our hotel and gather for a lovely dinner, during which we can summarize what we have seen in the national parks and what lies ahead of us for the coming week. Accommodations: 5-star Hotel Oct 29 Mumbai/Sasangir (Gir) National Park Once at the airport, we quickly check in and depart towards Diu at 1 pm. Upon landing in Diu, we will have just enough time for lunch. From Diu, it is another 3 hours drive to our destination of the day – the world famous Sasangir (Gir) National Park, the only remaining home of the Asiatic Lions. Upon arrival, we will take advantage of the last hour of daylight and capture some sunset and wildlife images before we have a refreshing shower and gather in the dining room for a fantastic traditional dinner. Accommodations: High-end tented safari camp Oct 30 Sasangir (Gir) National Park Today we must be up before the sunrise and finish our breakfast before we drive out at first light. The park's main aim is to preserve the last healthy population of the critically endangered Asiatic Lion (a distinct subspecies of the African Lion). As well as approximately 300 lions, other smaller members of the cat family are well represented, namely the Jungle Cat, Desert Cat and the Rusty Spotted Cat, and there is also a healthy population of Leopards. Also to be found here are Sambar, Nilgai, Chinkara, Black Buck, Four-Horned Antelope, Wild Boar, Indian Flying Fox, Indian Pangolin and Indian Porcupine. Indeed, it will be hard to keep up and try to remember the names of all of these unique animals. For birders, an estimated 300 species are found in Gir, with notable species including Paradise Flycatcher, Black-Headed Cuckoo Shrike, Pied Woodpecker and Bonelli's Eagle – it is guaranteed that our bird lovers will have a fantastic day, as well. We will return to our camp for a great lunch and a short siesta, before the afternoon lights will find us out on the road again. Dinner will also be served at our camp. Accommodations: High-end tented safari camp Nov 1 Delhi/Agra This morning we will start bright and early with breakfast. Afterward we will head to Agra by vehicle. This will take approximately five hours. Along the way we'll stop for inter-esting photographic opportunities. Following check in and lunch in Agra, we drive approximately one hour to Fatehpur Sikri. The long deserted Mughal city of Fatehpur Sikri was built by Emperor Akbar in 1569 and abandoned after fifteen years. Here we will see graceful, red sandstone buildings with beautiful architectural craftsmanship, including the Jama Masjid, the Tomb of Salim Chishti, the Panch Mahal &

more. One of the main attractions in Fatehpur Sikri is Jama Masjid, a beautiful building containing elements of Persian and Hindu design. The main entrance is through a 54-meter high Buland Darwaza, the Gate of Victory, constructed to commemorate Akbar’s victory in Gujarat. The Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) is a projecting room with walls made entirely of stone latticework. On the grounds we will also search for Hiran Minar, a Deer Minaret that is said to have been erected over the grave of Akbar’s favorite elephant. As the afternoon presses on, we will collect everyone, and then head back to Agra in order to witness and photograph the Taj Mahal in all of its sunset glory. The Taj Mahal truly is one of the wonders of the world and you will see it at its best when the light is playing on the marble tomb and the reflections in the stillness of the waters presents this incredi-ble building in all its beauty, majesty and splendor. The Taj Mahal is a monument of love built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in 1630 for his Queen Mumtaz Mahal to enshrine her mortal remains. For twenty-two years, 20,000 men labored day and night to build this masterpiece which has held the world awestruck ever since. Accommodations: High-end hotel Nov 2 Agra/Delhi This morning we will wake early, enjoy a quick coffee, then rush out to visit the Taj Mahal in its second best moment, at sunrise. Once the crowds begin to gather, we will regroup and head back to the hotel for breakfast. Following break-fast we enjoy a city sightseeing tour that includes Agra Fort and Itmad-Ud-Daulah. Agra Fort was built principally as military establishments by Akbar in 1565. Though Akbar built the original structure, his grandsons made many more additions. This powerful fortress encompasses the imperial city of the Mughal rulers within its 2.5km long enclosure walls. As an exciting contrast to the Taj, the tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daulah, referred to as the 'jewel box', is often regarded as a "draft" of the Taj Mahal itself. Along with the main building, the structure consists of numerous outbuildings and gardens. The tomb, built between 1622 and 1628, repre-sents the transition between the first phases of monumental Mughal architecture primarily built from red sandstone with marble decorations. From Itmad-Ud-Daulah, we return to the hotel for lunch, pack up our belongings, and then drive back to Delhi. We arrive to our hotel in the evening, check into our now familiar lodging, and enjoy a Farewell Dinner before retiring to bed. Accommodations: High-end hotel Nov 3 Departure This morning we have two different choices. If you are not interested in seeing some of the finest sites in Delhi, you can catch any flight during the day, to which you will be trans-ported. If you do want to see Delhi, we will be more than happy to take you on a one-day additional excursion into the city, for a small additional fee. You can then choose a late evening homebound flight for this day, to which you will also be transferred.

Owner & Expedition Leader Jessica Pociask is a wildlife expert, travel writer, nature pho-tographer and owner of WANT Expeditions, a conservation-oriented adventure company. Inspired by the most notable explorers and conservationists, Jessica pioneers through the most remote and uncharted destinations with her guests. Jessica has led more than 100 expeditions in almost 80 coun-tries and still loves finding new corners of the world to ex-plore. She has guided trips for several conservation organiza-tions, including the Wildlife Conservation Society, and holds a research position in the Entomology department in the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Wash-ington D.C. She received a B.S. in Natural Resource Manage-ment from Michigan State University, and is currently work-ing to complete a Masters of Science from Johns Hopkins University. In the winter of 2006, she completed a study in Antarctica on climate change and shortly thereafter, she was one of fifty women chosen from the US and Mex-ico by the National Wildlife Federation to participate in the 'Women's Leader-ship and International Sustainable De-velopment' conference in Washington D.C. In October 2013, Jessica was one of 50 women chosen by the National Wildlife Federation for Women's Lead-ership and International Sustainable Development. In Sep-tember 2014, she will present a seminar on the history and culture of Petra at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with MSU in Mexico and Antarctica.

The Michigan State Alumni Association and Michigan State University, their respective employees, officers, agents, servants and representa-tives (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Michigan State") are acting only as agents for the tour participants with respect to travel services and shall not be responsible or liable for changes of flight times, fare changes, dishonor of airline, hotel or other reservations, damage, injury (including death), loss of baggage, accidents, delays, inconveniences, cessation of operations, airline or tour operator bankruptcies or insol-vency’s, acts of God, acts or omissions of any person or entity engaged in conveying participants or carrying out any other arrangements in connection with the tour, or any other event or occurrence beyond Michigan State's control. Further, Michigan State shall not be responsi-ble or liable for losses or additional expenses incurred by any partici-pant due to sickness, disease, weather, strike, civil unrest, acts of ter-rorism, quarantine, acts of God or any other cause or occurrence be-yond its control. Michigan State shall not be responsible or liable for alterations or changes in the itinerary deemed necessary for carrying out the tour. Michigan State reserves the right to cancel any tour prior to departure. In such an event, participant's entire payment may be refunded without further obligation or liability of any kind on the part of Michigan State. Michigan State also reserves the right to decline to accept or retain any person as a member of the tour should the per-son's health, actions or general deportment impede the operation of the tour or the rights or welfare of any tour participant. In such an event, no refund will be made for any unused portion of the tour. Applicants for participation in this tour accept all of the terms and conditions set forth above.