Tracking tigers in India

A wildlife spotter from the local Baiga tribe scans the horizon in Kanha National Park.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Gray langurs have a symbiotic relationship with deer in the parks of Madhya Pradesh, warning each other of approaching tigers.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Kanha Earth Lodge, a Pugdundee Safaris property, is in the buffer zone about 20 minutes beyond the national park’s gates.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

A woman stands in front of her home in a Baiga village near Kanha National Park.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

A male tiger lounges in the brush of Bandhavgarh National Park.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

A tribal woman draws water from a well in one of the Gond villages near Bandhavgarh National Park.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Kanha National Park was one of the first wildlife reserves set up in the 1970s under the conservation program Project Tiger.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune )

The wildlife reserves of Madhya Pradesh are home to numerous types of kingfishers, including this stork-billed kingfisher.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Looking for fresh prints along the dirt roads is one of the best ways spotters can track tigers.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

The early morning mist rises with the sun in Kanha National Park.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Sambar are the largest deer in India.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

Spotted deer are top tiger prey and some of the most common animals in Madhya Pradesh.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

A male tiger awaits the arrival of a tigress, the mother of his two cubs, in Kanha National Park.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune )

A pair of noisy jungle babblers sit in a tree in Bandhavgarh National Park.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune)

A spotted owlet enjoys the camouflage of a leafy tree.   (Mark Johanson/for the Chicago Tribune )