You can reduce the risk by eating right and frequently hydrating. These are the world’s largest cats.But I did return with the prize of a shooter’s lifetime: scores of photos taken of these rare, elusive and exceedingly beautiful animals. Go with an operator recommended by your travel agent or tour operator rather than chance things onsite or online. Prices run about $7,000 for the seven-day tour (plus airfare and insurance, $1,375 more for single supplement). But they’re worlds apart in what’s available for viewing and how that viewing is managed.How about other times of the year? “Because of its size and the varied landscapes, there are parts of India that are closed during the monsoon (late June to late September) and a few (parks) that don’t open until November,” Sinclair said. That makes it easier to spot bird and animal life high in the tree canopy.”Most of the larger parks have caps on the number of vehicles that can enter at any one time,” he said.”PROTECTING TIGERSIndia was home to some 40,000 tigers a century ago but habitat loss, poaching and population pressure reduced that to fewer than 2,000 by 1970.”Elephants,” he said, “are the ultimate four-wheel drive vehicle. It’s not like any other place in the world,” Van Os said. It took two weeks to fully recover once home. Some national parks and wildlife sanctuaries are especially rewarding for visitors during the hot months of April to mid-June, Sinclair said.”That means tigers, which don’t live in the wild in Africa. “You can go right up to the caves where the tigers are sheltering from the heat rather than waiting for them to show up at the waterholes.

That conservation effort has seen India’s tiger population grow slightly.”There’s a trade-off, though. “You go to India to photograph tigers,” he said.But be selective about vendors.My warnings about heat come from a hard-earned lesson. It’s a popular way for photographers to access remote park corners.”This is when the water is limited to a few pools and the animals, both prey and predator, have to come to drink water at least twice a day,” he said.VIEW FROM AN ELEPHANTFive of India’s national parks (Bandhavgarh, Kanha, Kaziranga, Periyar and Corbett) offer visitors a unique option: searching for tigers from the back of an elephant. I became severely dehydrated going too long without water while walking around Old Delhi.SAFARI DESTINATION: INDIA OR AFRICA?Africa and India are both rich in wildlife. Luckily, I’d added an extra day to my trip and spent it in a hotel bed downing doctor-prescribed rehydration salts and meds. “All else is peripheral to that. The parks are smaller and the diversity is not there. Dehydration can shut you down, causing vomiting, diarrhea, fainting and muscle cramps. But numbers remain fragile: a government-estimated 2,226 tigers in 2014 representing 70 percent of the world’s total. But it also exposes you to the punishing sun, making dehydration a possibility with temperatures reaching 115 to 120 degrees F (46 to 48 C). They are stealthy, solitary, spectacular and scarce. But in India, it’s specialized. In India, wildlife photographers generally travel in open safari vehicles.Africa offers “big concentrations of wildlife. From Delhi, our group of six photographers traveled with the expedition leader by train five hours to Sawai Madhopur, where a safari truck drove us another 6 miles (10 km) to the outskirts of Ranthambore National Park and on to our hotel.But sighting one in its natural habitat is never a sure thing.Here are some things to know when considering a tiger safari. “A lot of species and in big numbers.Going on safari to India to photograph tigers in the wild is an unrivaled experience.Weather is cooler in late fall and early winter but it can be harder to see the tigers because the landscape is lush. Some have been known to crowd the cats once discovered in remote scrub.”GETTING THEREI took my tiger safari in late May Wholesale Spring machine supplier Price with Natural Habitat Adventures, a Colorado-based company. ”

It is also the time when much of the grass and undergrowth has died back so the areas of view are generally better.”You want to go there when it’s warm but it’s not too late into the summer so you don’t bake to death,” said Joseph Van Os, owner of Joseph Van Os Photo Safaris. I suffered extreme headaches, weakness and nausea. You go for one or two main species. We took two-a-day safaris for four consecutive days via open truck within the park and saw 15 tigers in various settings, most around waterholes.India must also balance tourism growth against protecting wildlife species, diversity and watersheds, Natural Habitat’s Sinclair said. To reverse the decline, India established wildlife sanctuaries that now include more than 600 protected areas along with 50 tiger reserves.WHEN TO GOYou can tilt the odds in your favor by arriving when the escalating heat of late spring drives tigers from the thick jungle scrub to more visible waterholes.