How intelligent is the tiger?

Well, we human beings think that we are the most intelligent among all the living species on earth. We take a certain amount of pride in that as well. However, do the other animals have a lower level of intellect? Some scientists refuse to acknowledge that animals possess intelligence; rather they attribute some of the actions to intuition.

However, I have a healthy regard for the intelligence level of a tiger. I have never seen them attack their prey at the first sight. I have seen the tiger virtually crawling in the ground where there is insufficient cover and deciding to move back to the shelter of the bush when it realises that the distance is not enough for it to succeed in bringing down the prey. Once I saw the Jhurjhura tigress in Bandhavgarh stalk four times to return back without its prey even noticing her. Compare this to foolhardy actions of some of the armies who have unsuccessfully tried to storm the bastion and have paid with huge number of human lives. One such example that readily comes to my mind is the Charge of the Light Brigade of the British army in the Crimean war where a hundred odd soldiers were felled at the first few minutes of the open charge. Do you still think that the tiger has lesser intellect?

I am sure your doubts regarding the tiger’s intelligence will vanish when the tiger outwits you and slips away. Many a hunter will vouch for that. And if you are a wildlife photographer or researcher tracking and studying a tiger for a long time, then you may have such an experience as well.

A few years back, I was in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve. It was raining in most of the days. In one afternoon, dark clouds were hovering over the sky. We ventured into the forest and despite signs of tiger, we didn’t see one. We saw a big herd of gaur with a huge dominant male. I think it is the biggest gaur that I have seen till date. It was ensuring that a small calf was physically shielded and after all the members of the herd crossed the road and moved into deeper jungle did the leader move.

After an hour or so we took a right turn and suddenly ahead of us at a distance we could see a tigress with cubs walking on the dirt track. It was an interesting sight. A few poodles had formed in the dirt track due to rain and leading our eye to the tiger. I clicked a couple of image and then asked the driver to move closer.

The cubs turned to their left and entered the forest where as the tigress kept on moving ahead. We reached the spot where the cubs had entered into the forest and stopped to spot them. Since we couldn’t find them and the tigress was moving on the road in front of us, the driver and the forest department appointed guide were interested in following her.

No sooner had we started the jeep, we could see that one of the cubs was just peeping from behind a bamboo bush. It was watching whether we have left the place or not. The cub then sharpened its claws on a dead tree and then moved back into the forest. We immediately, started following the tigress.

The tigress walked for a few minutes and then turned to her right and entered into the forest. Remember, that the cubs had entered the forest on our left, where as the mother enters the forest some distance ahead and to the right.

When we reached the spot, we could not locate her. We stood there for a few minutes to ponder our next course of action. The driver and guide were unanimous in their decision that the tigress had moved ahead and we should also move ahead. I was not sure that the tigress had moved ahead. If it wanted to do so, then why did it leave the dirt track and enter into the bush? I had a niggling suspicion that the tigress might have gone back towards her cubs. Nevertheless, we moved ahead for a few minutes and I was thinking all the time. I suddenly asked them to stop. The driver and guide thought that I had spotted the tigress. I told them to turn back and reach the place where we had left the cubs. The driver and guide started telling me that they know for sure where the tigress has gone; they have so much of experience etc. I was insistent because I realised that the tigress have fooled us.

I forced the driver to turn back and drive back to the place where we left the cubs. Suddenly, from the corner of my eye, I could see the tigress and cub sitting on a bund towards our left, about 15-18 feet high. This bund, due to its higher elevation, was obviously not visible to the people sitting in a vehicle. I had somehow managed to sight them. We then reversed the vehicle and came back to the spot.

The tigress was obviously smart. The cubs went into the forest on our left and she moved ahead and entered into the forest towards her right. She has then retraced her steps back to the spot, crossed the road and met her cubs. She has then taken them to the top of a bund which is about 15-18 feet high and not readily visible from the ground level. She was intelligent enough to fool us for some time. If I didn’t have an idea about the good level of intelligence a tiger possesses, then I would not have realised that it was a deliberate ploy of the tigress to lead us away from her cubs.

We photographed them for some time, and one of the cubs who were shy immediately moved into the bush and out of sight. So I photographed the tigress and one cub. Soon other tourist vehicles appeared in the sight and were unable to notice the tiger and moving away. Only after our guide pointed at the tigress and cub, the other tourist vehicles could see it and came back for a closer look. Such was the advantage of the elevation of the bund.

She was obviously not too happy at the presence of noisy tourists in four tourist vehicles that had lined up at the spot within 15 minutes. She gave vent to a snarl and soon disappeared into the bush. The light was pretty low. I clicked a few images solely for black and white purpose. We then moved back to the forest rest house, with a much better appreciation of the intelligence level of a tiger.

Post Script: Perhaps no one could have described the intelligence level of tiger vis-a-vis man much better than the late Kailash Sankhala, the founder director of Project Tiger. He had made a comment on the practice of people wearing a mask at the back of their head while entering into the Sundarban forests, in the belief that tiger will think people are looking at him and will not attack. In Kailash Sankhala‘s own words:

“My study of the tigers behaviour rules out any role for masks or dummies. The tiger never attacks at first sight. A lot of verification, re-verification, focus and refocus is practised, sometimes for hours before an attack is launched.

Too much of dependence on statistics to prove the predetermined result is dangerous. But who fools whom? Nobody is quiet sure. My guess is the joke is on us rather than the tiger“.

I can still remember that warm summer morning. It was the month of May, and as usual I was the first one to reach the forest gates much before it opened. It was an uninteresting start as for a long time we didn’t see anything. Then we came across a Eurasian thick knee. I clicked a few images and then we moved ahead. A solitary wild boar (Sus scrofa) was approaching towards us and as usual I was in no mood to click a wild boar. Suddenly it stopped in its tracks about twenty feet away from us. I could see that a cobra had raised its hood. The wild boar looked at it and then stepped aside and continued in its movement. We took a cue from the wild boar and moved ahead.

At 6.11 am in the morning I reached rajbehera grasslands. Two cheetal deer (axis axis) stags were sparring. The light was lovely. I immediately started clicking. The 1.4x converter was attached to my lens, and I removed it and started clicking. Hardly had I clicked a few images, we could hear growling of tigers. My driver started urging and partially blaming me that we missed tigers fighting just because I was busy shooting deers. Later after checking the time recorded in the images, I saw that I had spent a single minute in clicking deers. So I didn’t curse myself much.

We raced ahead to see two tigers growling and hitting at each other with their claws barred. However, the moment we reached the spot they separated and moved in different directions. It was not a full bloodied conflict. I could make out that both were tigresses. The smaller of the two was our Jhurjhura tigress. She moved ahead in the rajbehera dam direction and the other tigress moved in the opposite direction.

Soon the cheetal herd (Axis axis) saw the tiger and started marching ahead like an army towards the tiger. It was an interesting sight. Normally, one expects the deer to be scared of the tiger and run away. However, in this case it shows that the deers do have intelligence level as opposed to what we think of them to possess. The deers were keeping a close watch on the movements of the tigress and turned back when they were sure that the tigress moved away from that patch of forest. They then resumed feeding on grass.

I followed the tigress and could create images of her scent marking and defecating. She kept on checking the scent markes left on the trees and bushes and then finally crossed the dirt track infront of me and disappeared into the tall grass.

On any day, this would have been the highpoint for a wildlife photographer or tourist. However, there was much in store for us that day.

We turned back and proceeded towards climbers point to reach the waterhole, as the Jhurjhura tigress had gone in that direction. There we met one of the cubs of the Jhurjhura tigress. A couple of other tourist vehicles had reached there and the cub got disturbed as the vehicles started chasing her.

I don’t understand what fun people get by following behind a tiger walking in the road. Soon the cub moved into the grassland. It was an unfortunate incident, as this cub was separated from its mother and we didn’t even see this cub in the evening. Tourists should be careful of their impact on the tigers and other wildlife. We saw that the jhurjhura tigress and her other cub were on the other side of climbers point. I had agreed to carry a forest department officer in my vehicle and he informed the forest ranger about the tigers by wireless.

Within an hour the forest department ranger and the elephants arrived at the spot to conduct Tiger Show. At that time the Tiger Show had not earned its notoriety. I climbed on one elephant to go over the hill and have a look. I then realised that the jhurjhura tigress had killed a Sambar and hence she was fighting with the other tigress to protect her kill. The mahout wanted to go closer to the tigress; however, I always prefer photographing from a distance when I am on top of an elephant, giving the tiger sufficient space. The light was not good, so I just clicked a few images and then watched the tigress.

After sometime, the tigress and her cub went to the other side to climbers point and started feeding on the Sambar carcass. It was a delight watching the tigers use their rasping tongue to feed. Tiger is a fastidious in its habits. It starts feeding on a kill by first puncturing below the tail portion and pulling out the intestine. You will often find the intestine lying a few feet away from the kill. A leopard however, eats the intestine as well.

In the Sambar kill, the neck was neatly dislocated, the way an adult tiger kills. Its technique is completely unique. Other big cats kill by suffocating. At times, large leopards are reported to have killed in this manner, however I haven’t experienced it.

The climbers point was much more dense at that time, than it is today. There was a cave like ledge there and the tigress took rest after some time. The cub was busy gorging on the sambar kill with short rest inbetween.

After an hour or so, the tigress urged the cub to leave the carcass, but the cub was not willing. Soon a tug of war started. The cub had inserted its leg inside the carcass to get a better grip and was resisting the mother. Finally, the Jhurjhura tigress gave a mighty pull and the cub had to listen. They moved to the other side and into water.

By the time, around ten or eleven tourist jeeps had reached the spot. A group of excited school kids were also there and one can imagine the din created. The Jhurjhura tigress gave vent to a snarl and then entered into the water. I have seen this snarl getting stronger over the years. It was an irony that she used to resent the presence of noisy tourists and ultimately, she laid down her life under the wheels of a vehicle.

The tigress and her cubs were cooling off and the cub was swimming in the waters. Every ten minutes or so, the cub used to come near the mother and rub cheeks showing affection. It was nice watching unalloyed love and affection among species, whom we consider inferior to us. We call them beasts, animals etc, however anyone who has watched these supposedly ferocious animals, would concur that that they are more humane than us.

There were hardly anyone willing to get onto the elephants for the tiger show, as the tigers were infront of us in the open. The ranger got irritated and started driving away the tourists from the spot. A few moved away from the spot fearing the wrath of the ranger, and the ensuing din caused the tigress and her cub to get out of water and leave the spot too.

I too left the spot feeling happy having seen several facets of the Jhurjhura tigresses personality. She had defended her Sambar kill from a larger tigress, ensured that her cub is well fed and drinks water and cools off at the right time. She has resented the intrusion into her privacy by snarling and had moved her cub away from noisy crowd. The afternoon Safari brought another memorable experience with her family which I have already described here http://www.indiawilds.com/diary/when-a-tiger-cub-seeks-your-protection .

Anyone who is born is destined to die. However, one feels sad when a young soul passes away. You feel annoyed when you realise that the premature death is due to rash driving. And I am sure, you would be devastated when you realise that this rash driving has orphaned three small kids who can’t fend for themselves.

Precisely that has happened in Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve.

The Jhurjhura tigress who had three small cubs have been felled by an errant jeep. The cubs hardly five months old, are too young to fend for themselves. And no other tigress can play the role of a surrogate mother and teach them hunting skills.

And now look at the tragedy of the absurd being played out in Bandhavgarh.

Initially, the forest department denied that the jhurjhura tigress was killed. The Field director was quoted as saying that a male tiger has been killed. Then he said that the death is due to fighting with another tiger.

It was an egregious blunder from the Field Director, as fighting with another tiger would have left behind deep wounds, unlike the present case where external wounds were not found on the body of the tigress. Then it was said that the tigress died due to possible drowning or poisoning. Then they said that the tigress is not the jhurjhura tigress but its daughter from its previous litter aged 30 months.

In the meanwhile, the Forest department had identified 11 vehicles that had gone in those routes and brought the guides and drivers of those vehicles for questioning. It should be noted, that in each vehicle one guide is mandatorily given by the forest department. It was said that the forest department would seize the vehicles.

The markings in the face and the body clearly established that the tigress is indeed the Jhurjhura tigress. I have been photographing her for many years and have seen her raise successive litters to adulthood. I can easily recognize her image from front as well as sides. I used to joke that I have an annual date with her in the waters of Bandhavgarh. I can remember her careful foot steps during stalking when the hind leg exactly falls on the place vacated by the fore leg. I have been privy to watch her shower motherly love on her cubs. She is ready to admonish her cubs when required. She often used to show annoyance whenever tourists intrude into her privacy. My life has been filled with some pleasant memories of her.

Today, I feel a sense of tremendous loss. I feel a sense of shame, shame of having been born in the same race as the insensitive criminals who hit the tigress and the criminals who are helping cover up the crime.

I feel disturbed, when I see that a majority of wildlife photographers and tour agents, who routinely enjoy clicking the images of this beautiful tigress and sharing the images in photo sharing sites, are today silent. Perhaps, they have moved on in life? Ready to enjoy the moment till it lasts? Is this the trait of the human species?

Or is it because the culprits are supposed to be powerful individuals that people have chickened out? Are we so fearful of the powerful and the influential?

I feel annoyed watching this theater of the absurd. And I feel disturbed watching the studied silence of the papparazi – the wildlife photographers – who were hounding her and her cubs when she was alive.

Remembering the moments of bliss that I had experienced with her, I am sharing a few images here.

May God Bless Her!

Sabyasachi

It was a long time since I had visited Parambikulam and had been planning to visit it for some time. Finally I decided to go to Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary in the month of October to take advantage of the long weekend in the first week. I knew it would not be an easy journey due to the roadbuilding works in progress. However, I had not expected such a start.

I had a meeting in office on the first of October and had planned to leave after lunch time. The afternoon was hot with the sun beating down mercilessly. The full blast of the airconditioning had come to the rescue. Suddenly I heard something falling from the vehicle, but was not sure what it was. I was wondering what fell down and looked through the mirror. I realized that the spare wheel cover has fallen down from my Tata Safari. I had to drive a further kilometer and half before I could take a U turn. Unfortunately, by the time I reached the spot, someone had already taken away the wheel (Stepney) cover. This is the problem you face, when you drive alone. If I could have stopped immediately, then I would not have faced this problem. Cursing myself, I drove ahead.

I stopped at Krishnagiri and then next day proceeded to Parambikulam. The road building work was in progress and vehicles were moving in both the directions. It is not a pleasing experience to jostle for space with 40 feet long containers. I missed the directions and entered Tirupur. Lack of knowledge of Tamil, became a big hindrance in finding my way out of the town. Tired and enervated, I reached Polachi in the evening.

Next day morning ie on 3rd of October, I found my way to Parambikulam to discover that my booking has been allotted to someone. I introduced myself and the forest department officials allotted the DFO’s bunglow to me. I was surprised to see a number of tents and concrete buildings. This place used to be the corridor for Gaur and elephants. In the late eighties there used to several hundred guars congregating in the place. Unfortunately, one overenthusiastic forest officer lacking in foresight, created a clearing for the forest bungalow. Though the forest officer was later transferred, more and more constructions came up in the area.

In the afternoon, to my horror, I realized that photographers had to go in a canter for the Safari. What is the point in driving a 4WD vehicle to the forest, if you can’t use it inside the forest? Finally, I got permission to drive it inside the sanctuary. I took a forest department guide for directions.

First, I found a tribal settlement near a dam. I was told that the chances of finding dholes and leopards is high in the area, especially in the mornings. Since, I didn’t find even a deer, I realized that the human disturbance is taking a toll. The guide signaled that there is a guar at a distance on my left. The calf was suckling. I pulled out my 40D with Canon 400mm f2.8 L IS USM and 2x II TC and clicked a few shots handheld. I was waiting for a better angle, as the gaur was facing away from us. In a few minutes time, the forest department bus reached the spot and started honking. So I had to move to the side of the narrow road and made space for the bus to overtake. The gaur mother got disturbed and didn’t allow the calf to feed anymore. I felt terrible. Unfortunately, the forest department officials don’t realise that they are disturbing animals.

I reached the Kanimara Teak. It is a 450 year old living teak tree. I clicked a few photographs and came back. We found a few gaurs, however, they ran and crossed the road. They were clearly nervous by the signs of people.

While driving back, the sun was going down the horizon. I parked my SUV and created a few images of the backwaters.

I had planned to get up early in the morning and drive down to Kannimara Teak. I was told that at times you can even find dholes and sloth bears on the road.

Next day morning I got up as soon at 5.30 am but was feeling uneasy due to the spicy food. I somehow motivated myself for the morning safari. Saw a gaur adolescent near the road. The light was pretty low. However, using the bean bag, I got a few sharp images. There were no other sightings.

Back in the guest house, it was time to pack, as I wanted to stay in the tree house. After lunch, the guide came and we drove down to the tree house at Thunakadu. It was near a village. I was astonished to see a large village and song and dance going on. I was told they were celebrating the Wildlife Week with blaring music and dance and drama by the villagers. The tree house had basic amenities, however, I was delighted to see a Ratufa indica (Indian giant squirrel) on a tree about 30 feet behind the tree house.

Around 4 pm, I drove down to the tunnel area. The Nilgiri langurs were restless at our presence and were hiding behind dense foliage. I couldn’t get a decent shot, however got a nice image of a ratufa indica and its kid.

The mom was calling the kid near itself and was teaching it to nibble at the leaves. It was certainly a nice sight. This tranquil setting was interrupted, when a car came behind us and honked. I was surprised, as no vehicles are supposed to be allowed inside the forest. Later, I realized that forest department officials, get tourists to drive inside on some arrangements.

We parked the vehicle and started trekking. It was tough on me to carry my 400mm f2.8 L IS USM lens weighing 4 kgs apart from the camera and tripod etc. To compound the problem, I had earlier twisted my heel and it was not in good shape. Nevertheless, I carried on for some distance before, the guide asked us to turn back.

The lunch was a simple South Indian chapatti and a little amount of fried beans. I normally, don’t complain about food in the forest, so it was ok for me. It was better to sleep, as the loud music continued till about 10 pm in the night.

The next day morning started at around 5.30 am. It was still dark. I wanted to reach the dam to catch the sunrise. I saw a herd of gaur (Bos gaurus) at a distance and stopped my vehicle. The herd, numbering about 15-16 ran and crossed the road. I was surprised at their behaviour as they do so when there is poaching pressure. Later on I came to know that the guars are killed and eaten by the locals. People in Kerala eat beef and the gaurs are poached for their meat. A male gaur can weigh up to 1100kgs. Still man can instill fear in them. Man has certainly cemented its places as terrorists among all the species residing in Earth. We terrify all species, big and small, including our own brethren.

The false dawn was breaking and there were no signs of the nilgiri langurs. I reached the dam and realized my mistake. We were certainly not facing at the east. Due to the language barrier, the guide probably could not tell us the fact, if at all he was aware. Anyway, I photographed a few cloud patterns and then returned back to the hamlet. A few wild boars were sleeping piled up, one on top of the other. I had never seen a sight before. On one pile there were five wild boars sleeping and on another there were three.

After freshing up, I went for breafast. It was a simple affair in a small thatch restaurant in the village. I just wanted to satiate my hunger given my experience with the dinner the previous day night. I slowly started nibbling at the dosa, the way a Indian giant squirrel (ratufa indica) does to leaves. However, I could not believe it. I chewed a bigger chunk of the dosa. Within seconds, realization dawned on me that it was the best dosa I had ever had in my life. I even ate one more and realized that the taste of the previous one was not an aberration. I am sure, my friends in the Taj hotels will berate me, however, I have no hesitation in saying over and over again that the dosa in that small thatch restaurant was much better than what I have tasted in India’s best five star hotels.

The guide got some information that a Nilgiri langur was sighted nearby. We drove down to the spot, but the Nilgiri langur’s hid themselves behind thick vegetation. Later on when I came to know that people poach these Nilgiri langurs and prepare pickles out of their meat, I realized that it was perhaps expected.

Anyway, with a heavy heart due to lack of any significant sightings and images, I started driving back. There was a big function at Anamalai to increase awareness and a lot of people had gathered. Tourist vehicles were blaring their horns and fouling obscenities at each other while negotiating the hair pin bends……Alas, this is what our wilderness places have been reduced to…..Am not sure, whether I am going to come back here in the near future…..

(Written on October 2008)

Couple of years back, I was in Masinagudi for the first time. I was driving on the segur road. Dusk was fast approaching and I was looking for a cup of hot tea to beat the December cold. I saw a board on the right and it appeared to be a small restaurant. Without thinking much, I drove in.

Ofcourse, I could get my cup of tea and some munches as well. But someone else was waiting me there. I noticed the outline of a huge black animal, much larger than a buffalo. I strained my eyes, and could see a gaur (Bos gaurus) come out of the bush. I couldn’t believe my eyes, but the restaurant manager calmly told me that Gaur’s regularly visit this place. After some time, I was sipping another cup of tea when I heard alarm calls from about 50 meters away. Initially, I thought that it might be a false alarm call. But the alarm calls were repeated and I realized that a carnivore, probably a leopard might be on its prowl. There was a small building in the compound and I thought it would be an outhouse for guarding the property. I hesitatingly asked, whether I could stay in that building. My joy knew no bounds, when the manager told me that it is part of a resort that they are building, and I was welcome there. I immediately confirmed that I am checking in.And thus began my experiences with the wildlife of Masinagudi and Segur area.This resort, with basic amenities had one cottage. A small stream was passing by its side. I was told that the owner stays in Ooty, and has about 200 acres of land. They had fenced off only a couple of acres and the rest lies contiguous to the Mudumalai Tiger reserve, without any boundaries. The wildife were passing through the resort and crossing the segur road. Next day, I was sitting by the stream in the afternoon. On my left was the resort. The opposite bank of the stream slopes up to a hillock full of bamboo, lantana and other bushes. There were lot of birds chirping. A groupd of langurs were jumping from branch to branch. It was a very peaceful atmosphere, and I was soaking every minute of it, until it was broken by the sound of “Elephant”. My friends have spotted a herd of elephants, grazing upstream, about 200 meters away. I had my Canon 1D Mark II and the Canon EF 300mm F4 L IS lens. I removed my shoes and started crawling on my hands and belly. The elephant herd were feeding in small groups. A group of 4 elephants saw me and immediately turned to the right, and disappeared into the bamboo and scrub forest. I had by now crossed the stream and was moving forward in my hands and knees. The sudden disappearance of the 4 elephants to the right, made me feel edgy. From experience, I knew that elephants can remain very silent. After waiting for about 10 minutes, I started my crawl forward, shooting intermittently. The elephant herd had a small calf. The antics of the calf was worth watching. It was at times suckling from the mother. I wanted to get closer and capture it. I had moved pretty close to the elephants and was about to shoot the small calf when some one screamed from behind and urged me to come back. I turned around to see that the restaurant boy and another well dressed person were running towards me. Needless to say, the elephants simply vanished.

On asking why they were screaming, I was told that elephants are dangerous and I should not be going close to them. The well dressed gentleman told me that he is the owners son and stays abroad. They were calmed when they came to know about my credentials. But alas, by that time, the elephants had vanished, and I suddenly noticed that the scars and bruishes that I had received while crawling had started hurting.

The next day morning, I got up and came out of the cottage. The sun was about to rise. I could see a gaur and calf outside the compound wall. The calf was suckling its mother. I had the Canon EOS 1D Mark II camera and the 28-135 mm attached with it. I rushed and clicked. Unfortunately, the shots were not sharp due to the low light.

In the evening, I was again waiting near the stream. I could see the Indian Giant Squirrel (Ratufa indica) jumping high in the branches. It was a nice sight to watch. There were some parakeets feeding on the opposite bank. A solitary small kingfisher was perched on a branch at a distance. It was an idyllic atmosphere, a far cry from the mad hustle and bustle of the city. I was relaxed and soaking it up and was lost in my thoughts. Suddenly the silence was broken by the sound of hoofs, as a herd of gaur (Bos Gaurus) appeared on the other bank further upstream. There were a number of small calves and they were sliding and jumping on the steep bank. It was evening, and light was fading fast. However, I could see a calf with a very light colouration. There were some reports of albino gaur and some photographs were published in Sanctuary Asia and other places. I moved closer and closer. It was difficult to approach through the thick lantana bush on the left side of the bank without making any noise. The stream bed was barren, with some boulders here and there. I crawled on my hands, knees and belly. I knew I would not go unnoticed, but nevertheless tried my best hiding behind the boulders. The calf was from a normal coloured mother. However, its colour was totally different from the others. The light levels were low, and the photographs were not sharp to my liking. After observing this calf for sometime, I retreated back.

Masinagudi area was originally a tribal hamlet. Construction of dams in Moyar and Singara hamlets, brought labourers who stayed back after the dam construction was over. With passage of time, more and more people migrated to this area. Today wildlife tourism has picked up in the area. The locals are earning a lot by renting Jeeps to tourists for use in Safari. The small hamlet is now converting into a town. It is estimated that today, the population of the original tribal inhabitants of the area is 600, but the overall population is about 15000.

As a consequence the pressure on the forest has increased. It is estimated that about one lakh (0.1 million) cattle enter into the forest everyday for grazing. When so many cattle, goats and sheep graze, the impact on the forest is easy to guess. The forest has been virtually devoid of grass, bushes, and small shrubs. Such biotic pressures force the herbivores to move into deeper forests. The trees are hacked by villagers looking for fuel wood. And ultimately, the forest is transformed into a barren land. This also makes it easier for species like lantana camara to occupy the forest land.

Wildlife tourism is having its impact on the forest as well. A number of resorts have sprung up in the area. Wildlife tourism is seen as the “in thing” these days. Accordingly, number of tourists have increased manifold. I found liquour bottles lying in the forests, as tourists are having fun all around at the expense of wildife. Polythene bags, gutka/ pan masala sachets are found all around the place. Some of those are inadvertenly swallowed by the wildlife. Their deaths would go unnoticed. I have photographed a polythene bag that had come out with the elephant dung. I could find the hand of man raping this once pristine landscape. If something is not done soon, then this area will also be lost to wildife forever.

The traffic in the Segur road has increased. Earlier only petrol driven vehicles were able to negotiate this steep ghat road. So a major portion of the traffic to Ooty used the other route. Today, with the advent of vehicles with powerful engines, Segur road is the preferred road. Even late in the night there is traffic in the road. There have been demands to restrict the hours in this road. I was told that vehicles are not allowed to ply on this road after six. This move was started not due to love of wildlife, but due to an accident that took place where a bus overturned and lot of local people including the forest ranger died. However, I could see vehicles even in the late night.

I understand that the Tamil Nadu Government is taking steps to declare this as a buffer area. Predictably, there is lot of opposition to this from vested interests. I hope that the Tamil Nadu Govt. shows will and is able to convince the people to relocate from the area and restore this landscape to its pristine state.

Right of Way

Roads have been the bane of most of our wild areas. Some of the pristine wildlife habitats have been dissected by roads. In the early part of the 21st Century, the motorable roads were much less. The dirt roads were not much of a menace, as less population and a low frequency of vehicles on these roads didn’t create much of adverse impact on the wildlife.

Today, the quality of roads has improved a lot. The dirt roads have given way to metalled four lane or at least two lane roads. Increase in vehicles and increase in disposable incomes have led to a boom in tourism. The improvement in quality of roads has led to more and more people driving to destinations, instead of taking public transport.

And along with that comes accidents, throwing of garbage, teasing animals, zooming past animals at high speeds to terrorise them etc. At times, you would be amazed at the level of immaturity and recklessness shown by the people.

This shot shows a huge adult Gaur (Bos gaurus) crossing the road. Often mistakenly called as Bison, these can weigh upto 2 tonnes and when violent can topple vehicles. This shot was taken in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve.

The road from Bandipur to Ooty passes through the Mudumalai Tiger reserve. The shorter road passes through Segur and is known as the Segur road. It is steep and several years back diesel vehicles could not negotiate the steep inclination of this ghat road. Hence most of the traffic used to pass through the other road which is about 30 kilometers longer than the Segur road.

I was coming back from an afternoon Safari in Bandipur National Park in July 2008. Dusk was fast approaching and the showers few minutes back had decresed the light. I was driving slowly when a vehicle from the opposite direction slowed down near me and the occupants excitedly told me that there is a herd of elephants ahead. After moving ahead in the winding road, about hundred meters or so, I came across a herd of elephants. The elephants numbering about forty were feeding near the road. I brought my Safari (an SUV) to the left and parked. Soon other vehicles overtook me and stopped about 15 feet away from the elephants. The elephant herd had three small calves, about a few months old, who appeared to be still in awe of their trunks.

A lady from one of the vehicles, got down and was trying to move closer to the elephant. People don’t realise the difference between pet animals and the wild ones. Soon a herd of four Gaurs appeared and tried to cross from the left to the right. One of the adolescent elephants, with the impetuousness of youth, started chasing the gaur. In the meanwhile, vehicles from both the sides had created a traffic zam. People had got down from their vehicles and were watching the drama, oblivious of the danger of being too close to these wild animals.

The Gaur was crossing about a few feet from the cars. The cars appear to be dwarfed in front of the Gaur. An annoyed Gaur, can cause significant damage to a vehicle like Maruti in the picture. Apart from the danger to the people, due to their irresponsible acts of getting two close to these animals; it also causes stress to the animals as they are not used to such close proximity with humans.

Most of the people are ignorant. A quick briefing of people entering the sanctuary should help. The briefing can be just two or three lines while opening the forest entry gates, like “Please don’t Honk”, “Please don’t litter” and “please maintain 30kmph speed limit”.

People also violate rules as they don’t feel that there is any patrolling by the forest officials. Forest department is in perennial shortage of staff. Most of them are old and on the verge of retirement. Meager salary also doesn’t help in motivating them.

Most of the vehicles given for patrolling are used by the officials. So the forest department should provide battery operated vehicles that you mostly find in Golf courses. These vehicles, apart from stopping pollution, also won’t be misused. As officials won’t be seen taking these vehicles for any other purpose.

What you can do:

You can spread the message and educate people.

You can write a letter to the forest department and the ministry highlighting the issues and ask them to sanction more posts for the forest department and urge them to fill the existing vacancies.

I look forward to your comments and your ideas on this topic. Let us know when you take any action, so that I can mention it here. It will serve as motivation for others.

 On two occasions I had been charged by a tiger. When people hear this, the immediate reaction is “Wow”. Immediately, they feel jealous. Unfortunately, that is the reaction of people.

 People don’t realise that as a rule, a tiger or for that matter any wild animal will not charge, unless and until it is forced to. There is a fight to flight distance for the wild animals. The wildlife would maintain a minimum distance from people. They are likely to runaway when this distance is breached. Mostly, they flee towards deeper forests. If you happen to startle a wild animal by somehow managing to suddenly approach very close to them, and if they perceive you to be blocking their path, then you are most likely to be attacked. Most of the times, it is a mock charge. The intention is to scare you. Last year, I bumped into a wild tusker before dawn in a narrow winding road in BR Hills. It showed its irritation by trumpeting and then came charging towards me. I had to reverse for about 15-20 meters before the elephant decided that it was enough.

Most of the times when a wild animal attacks a human being, the incident can be explained. I had been charged once by an adult male tiger and on another occasion by a tigress. And I must confess that on both the occasions I will give a clean chit to the tiger and tigress involved.

 It was a warm morning in Bandhavgarh National Park, in the summer of 2005. I was tracking the Rajbehera Male, the predominant male tiger in the Rajbehera area through pug marks and alarm calls. The tiger was aware of my presence. It was using a game trail, and I had prefocussed my camera to that point. However, the tiger emerged from the game trail and bounded into the bushes on the opposite side of the road. It happened within a fraction of a second, and I knew that perhaps there is a reason for this tiger to avoid human beings. My driver – Ram Shankar, told me that it was the Rajbehera male and it generally avoids people. We then quickly reached the Rajbehera grasslands, as the tiger had to cross the hill and pass through the Rajbehera grasslands.

 When I reached the Rajbehera grasslands, I found another jeep with two French tourists. I was waiting for about twenty minutes before the tiger appeared at a distance on my left. The other jeep was in front of my jeep. When the tiger tried to cross the road, the other jeep driver moved the jeep ahead and positioned it in front of the tiger. The tiger was about forty to fifty feet away, but sat down near a bush when it realized that the jeep is trying to block its path.

I told the other jeep driver and guide that we should not be blocking the path. My driver, Rama Shankar, infact warned them that this tiger gets very annoyed with people and attacks the jeep if some one blocks its path. So we decided to move about fifty meters ahead and leave a space between the two jeeps, so that the tiger can pass.

 When the tiger saw the gap, it got up and growled at the other jeep. However, instead of crossing the road through the gap, it tried to move ahead of us, while all the time turning its head back to growl at the people on the other jeep.  

After some time, I realised that though the tiger was trying to cross in front of my jeep, it was coming straight in our direction. I had rested my lens on the side seat of the open jeep and was shooting. Rama Shankar – my driver – was afraid of this tiger, due to its past reputation and also the manner in which it was growling. He suddenly decided to move the vehicle ahead, when the tiger was about twenty feet away from us. The moment he started the engine, the tiger charged. I lost my balance and fell on the jeep floor. I could just see that the tiger and our vehicle were running parallel to each other with the tiger’s head turned towards us and he was continually growling. And suddenly our vehicle slowed down and the tiger crossed in front of us. The charge happened at a split second and was over perhaps within a minute. The guide was shaking, and Rama Shankar was speechless. I was really annoyed with him, as he started the vehicle without my instructions. However, it was not the fault of the tiger. People try to block the path of the tiger – and tiger being a gentleman – sits down and waits for people to pass. This helps people to click a few shots. Most of the drivers do this to impress their foreign clients as they get substantial tips after such an incident.

 The second incident happened exactly after a year in 2006. It was summer again in Bandhavgarh National Park. However, this time the aggrieved party was a tigress.

 It was early in the morning. My vehicle was the first to enter as soon as the forest gates opened. At Siddha Baba, I found a jungle cat and stopped to shoot.

Couple of vehicles following me, passed comments that “Ohhh! It’s only a cat” and moved ahead. Within a few meters they found the Chakradhara female and her four cubs. The jungle cat had by that time vanished and I had reached the Chakradhara trifurcation. The tigress and the cubs were crossing over from the Siddhababa side to the chakradhara grasslands. On my right was the hillock and on the left was the grassland.

 By the time I reached the place, several jeeps had crowded the place. The tigress had crossed and was hiding behind the tall grass. The cubs about 13-14 months old were crossing over one by one but were being disturbed by the vehicles.

 I asked the driver to leave the cubs and move the vehicle back to the spot where the tigress was hiding. Since, I arrived late on the scene; I had no idea as to whether it was the tigress or one of her cubs. I was standing on the seat of the open Gypsy, and was trying to see through the tall elephant grass. The bush where the tigress was hiding was about twenty feet away from me. Within minutes, the tigress charged with a series of short roars. The moment the grass parted to make way for the tigress, I tried to focus my camera. However, within a split second the tigress stopped in front of me, growled and turned back into the tall grass. All the noise from the other vehicles had stopped. A business man was with me along with his wife and kid. They were shaken to the core. I heaved a sigh of relief and when I looked down at the bottom of my trousers, it was moist with the spit of the tigress. I touched it with my left hand and then settled down in the seat. I knew I won’t be closer than this to a tiger.

 Later on when I looked at the shots closely I could see the faint outline of the curled up upper lips indicating that the tigress was snarling before it charged. Normally, the tail of the tiger twitches rapidly when it is about to charge. In this incident, I could neither see the tail, nor see the tiger snarling. Infact, had I known that it was the mother, I would not have moved close to it. If you come between the mother and child, of any species, there are bound to be repercussions. Hence forth, I always take time to ascertain whether I have inadvertently separated a tigress and cubs or elephant from its cubs etc.

 I have seen people shaken up, drop their binocular, camera or whatever they were holding and even have found people who could not sleep for couple of days after an wildlife encounter. This year in Bandhavgarh, in the Rajbehera Grasslands, a tigress mock charged at one of the open jeeps lined up on the road to catch a glimpse of the tigress. The gentleman was cowering under the seat of the gypsy and was screaming that he has died and that the driver should inform his family etc. However, we should remember that these encounters are not only stressful for us, but it is very stressful for the animal as well.

 In such situations, the adrenalin flow increases and some species like deers are known to die. In one of the incidents, in Keoladeo-Ghana bird sanctuary in Bharatpur, the wall had broken and the deers had come out and were grazing in the surrounding fields. This bird sanctuary is small, about 26 acres and concrete walls have been erected to separate it from the surrounding fields. The forest department officials rounded up all the deers, caught them and transported them back to the sanctuary. About forty deers (Axis axis) were reported to have died due to shock.

 I am writing this to say that tiger won’t charge or growl without provocation. Most of the photographers try to incite the tiger to get a growling shot. Please remember that no shot is more important than the welfare of the subject. We should not induce stress on them. And a word of caution as well. These wildlife encounters have the potential to turn fatal very easily.

 Remember, we human beings don’t have any physical defences against a 250-350 kg tiger or a 2 tonne gaur or a 5-6 tonne elephant. A cursory glance at the powerful forearms of a tiger cub will make you realize the power they possess. In one of the incidents in Ranthambhore National Park, a National Geographic photographer though he was seated on an open jeep, had placed his tripod on the road. Two tiger cubs about 10 to 11moths old- inquisitive by nature as they are – came closer to investigate. The photographer could remove the camera and lens from the tripod, just in time to see the cubs start playing with the heavy tripod. In no time, the tripod was twisted like a plastic wire.

 We should understand the behaviour of the species we are photographing. If an animal is going to charge at you, then you can get vital clues and those precious seconds to escape. At times, it can be the difference between life and death. And please understand that you are not only risking your life, but also leading to endangering the life of the animal. If a tiger mauls a reckless person or if a tusker tramples someone, the animal is more likely to be either shot or caught and imprisoned in our zoos for life.

 In one of the incidents, an adolescent tiger in Bandhavgarh National Park had killed a cow. Normally, adolescent tiger after separation from their mother has to establish a territory of its own. To avoid conflict with the established mature tigers, these young tigers are pushed to the periphery and frequently come into conflict with the villagers. In this instant, the tiger killed the cattle and was resting close to it, when a fifteen year old boy while searching for the cattle bumped into the tiger. Obviously, the poor kid was killed. The park authorities then declared the tiger as man-eater and then caught and sent it to Bhopal Zoo. Within four days the tiger was dead.

I hope that this tale would help our fellow photographers to realise the importance of understanding animal behaviour so that they exercise enough caution to avoid wildlife encounters.

January 2006

 I woke up abruptly, on the incessant barking of the dogs. I fumbled across the bed for my watch; it was five in the morning and about an hour before dawn. The dogs were persistent in their barking. It was not the usual barking that we city dwellers are used to; fear was evident from their voice. I tiptoed out of the bed to open the door. The dog within the forest rest house compound wall was shivering with fear. It was dark outside. We had reached late in the night – as the headlights of our vehicle was not working and we had to use the torch light to illuminate the road and reach the forest rest house – so I didn’t have much idea about the nearby village. To make matters worse, now I couldn’t find the torchlight. I thought it would have been foolhardy to venture out in dark in search of a possible leopard without a faintest idea of the layout of the place. The sound of dogs from several places made me realise that there could be a large human settlement around the forest rest house.

 On sunrise I was shocked to find myself in the midst of a large village with Dish TVs and broccoli cultivation. This was my first visit to the Sunabeda Sanctuary and before the Tiger census could start I must admit that I was pretty disappointed.

 A quick cold bath and breakfast later I was ready. But alas, it was not before eight that the forester arrived, despite assurances to the contrary made the previous night. Later on in the day after my repeated questioning, the truth came to light. I was told that nobody from the forest department wakes up in the morning. And if it is going to be a long day in the jungle, then they will eat their lunch in the morning and start their day. You will realize that they are like scores of other people who are unfortunately in the wrong job, meagerly paid and ill-at-ease with a physically challenging job. The high average age of the staff – some of them are near retirement agae – doesn’t help matters either.

 We drove down to Datunama village – a hamlet consisting of seven huts, about twelve kilometers from Sunabeda, picked up a tribal youth and started our march. This village is inhabited by paharias who are officially categorized as OBC in Orissa, but are recognized as Scheduled Tribe in the neighbouring state of Chhatisgarh. These people heavily depend on the forest produce like bamboo, fish etc. They don’t know the use of fishing nets yet. To catch fish, the paharia’s use mud and the poison extracted from some wild fruits to muddy the small pools. The fish then die due to want of oxygen and float in the surface. The paharia’s then catch these fish and dry them in the sun.

  The paharias also extract honey from honeycombs which are mostly located in the steep cliffs. The paharias climb to the top of the cliff from the other side and then lower themselves using either a vine or a ladder. They use smoke to ward off the honeybees. This results in white patches on the cliffs. A casual observer can easily mistake these signs for Vulture droppings. Unfortunately this kind of disturbance is driving away the vultures from prime nesting sites. Though law prohibits commercial extraction of bamboo products, honey and other forest produce, the paharia’s are doing it unchecked due to lack of effective patrolling, inefficiency and at most of the times by the involvement of the forest staff. There were signs of irreparable damages to the jungle and wildlife wrought upon by the paharias. 

 I had selected a route in the forests criss crossing the Orissa-Chhatisgarh border several times. We crossed several hills, locally known as dongar, scanned the valleys for possible pugmarks. I was very happy when I saw some of the natural water holes created in the hills, ideal place for a tiger to rest in the rock crevices with plenty of water flowing from the perennial streams. The route we had selected was very tough, comprising mostly of game trails. At one point I had to pack my camera in the bag and use all my hands and feet to climb down a steep precipice. We reached a place known as bhima basa by the local paharias. There was a huge waterfall about 56 meters high, which had been reduced to a trickle due to the offseason and the nullah bed was mostly dry.

Walking in the nullah bed was a learning experience as far as the hunting techniques of the paharia’s are concerned. I saw several stones raised and supported by sticks. Immediately Archimedes came to my mind. However, realizing that the paharias are not scientifically inclined I checked with our local guide. I was told that when a mouse deer enters the hole at the bottom of the raised stone, the stick falls and the poor animal is crushed to death.

After walking for several hours on the dry nullah bed, searching for signs of the apex predator, I came across a slight clearing. A small pool had formed in the nullah bed, and human footprints were clearly imprinted in the soft sand. I was really curious to findout what brought someone to this remote corner of the Sunabeda sanctuary, where the jungle is so dense that little light filters through the canopy. On following the footsteps, I found a large area under ganja cultivation (Cannabis sativa indica). The Cannabis plants had already flowered and were just a few days away from harvesting.

Carefull cross-questioning of the locals, forest staff and other people, revealed that the paharias mostly undertake these Ganja or marijuana or Cannabis sativa indica cultivation at the behest of the drug lords. A lot of drug money is now flowing into the Sanctuary. And a lot of extraneous pressure is being applied on the forest officials. There were reports of the people being incited by interested parties against any forest official who resists their evil designs. One of the rangers was manhandled by these people and a false case slapped against him. I sincerely doubt if any individual forest officer can withstand the temptation of money and the muscle power of drug lords.

Those few places, which could have been the last refuge of the Tiger, are being overtaken by the drug mafia. Money power and other evil influences of our so called civilized world have already corrupted the once innocent tribals. We found Dish TVs in most of the villages inside the sanctuary. I was told that pornographic movies are freely available and recently there have been cases of rape. These bitter truths forced me to change the image that I had in my mind of tribals as innocent people. These people who are staying in the sanctuary, having tasted the scent of narcotics money, can easily convince our well meaning tribal welfare activists into believing that people should co-exist with the tiger.

After couple of hours, we came across a hamlet known as Thalipani which is inhabited by a tribe known as Bhunjia. This hamlet is in an encroached area like many others in the sanctuary. There are many NGOs who are working with them to teach them cultivation, handicraft and other skills and unfortunately they work at crosspurposes with the forest department and wildlife. From this village, I came to know that a tiger had roared a day before in the hill “dongar” infront of the village. I was amazed to find that about 4-5 square kilometers area is cleared by this hamlet which houses about seven to eight people. This tale is repeated at every hamlet. Near all these hamlets I found the pugmarks, scats and scratch marks of leopards but not tigers. It is clearly evident that, with increased human activity the Tiger is retreating and the Leopard is taking its place.

When I was on my way to Kanwaldhara waterfall, suddenly I froze in my tracks. It was the unmistakable sound of a gunshot. At that time I was inspecting a three feet wide drag mark going downhill. There were signs of cooking nearby. My worst suspicion that poaching is a reality was confirmed. In the evening while returning to the camp, I saw two spotted deer, grazing on the left side of the road virtually vanish within a blink of an eye. I had never seen a more alarmed cheetal in my life. Upon detailed cross questioning I was told that poaching does take place in the Sanctuary.

With half of the sanctioned posts remaining vacant and the average age of the other half in the late forties, coupled with demotivation due to a variety of reasons including poor salary, I certainly can’t pin all the blame on the forest department. Neither can you absolve them of all sins when you find trees cut down and only the choicest wooden planks taken away and the rest left to rot. Your blood tends to boil when you realize that you are the only one against an entire system. With a heavy heart you lie down to sleep, hoping for a miracle to happen, to see some jungles which is not yet molested by the never ending greed of man – to find some inviolate spaces where the wildlife can roam, dreaming of seeing the early morning rays glistening on the striped coat of God’s most beautiful creation…

The search for the tiger took me to Chaura Dongar and then to Dudhpani plateau. I found scats of sloth bear, scrapping of leopard and hoof marks of herbivores. While searching for wild buffalows I was amazed to find cowdung at an altitude of 812 meteres. I moved in that direction and found a cattle pen constructued by the Gujjars. They had left the area sometime back. The Gujjar’s come from Chattisgarh and leave their cattle to graze in the meadows, benefiting from the lack of patrolling by the forest department. It is difficult for the herbivores to withstand such biotic pressures from the domestic cattle. Furthermore, there are chances of the dreaded foot and mouth disease transmitting from the domestic cattle to the wildanimals. Couple of days later, I crossed the Chattisgarh border and reached a village called Amanara in search of Vultures where about 13 cattle had died and were thrown in the fields. This had attracted the vultures. To my horror I found unmistakable signs of Foot and Mouth disease locally known as phatua.

After crossing the Dudhpani plateau it was time for lunch and we started searching for water to wet the flattened rice “chuda”. The local bhunjia tribals guided us to a nullah and expressed their surprise and dismay when they found it dry. They told me that this ‘kakdi dudhgi’ nullah used to have water throughout the year. Some portions of the nullah bed were still wet and at places monkeys have dug holes in the nullah bed for water. We slowly trudged along the nullah bed on the soft sand for about 3 to 4 kilometers and then saw two langurs digging holes in the sand for water. In forests inhabited by elephants this job of digging holes in the sand for water is done by them. After the elephants have drank and left, other animals converge around these small holes where water have trickled and collected. However, in Sunbeda Sanctuary, since there are no elephants, this job of digging is done by the langurs. I found lots of leopard pugmarks and heribivorous signs in the nullah bed. I had a silent prayer in my lips. If a once perennial nullah can get dry near the place of its origin in the jungle, then definitely the future doesn’t appear to be rosy. With the vanishing tiger our fresh water resources are in danger of drying up.

In the dudhpani plateau, the hard surface made finding signs of animals a very tough task. At one place, I found a very slight mark in uneven hard surface. It was a portion of a hoof mark made when the animal was slightly off balance. The tribals accompanying us told me that it was the mark of a wild buffalow. In the absence of a complete set of hoof marks displaying the typical splayed feet I could not become sure. Since wild buffalows are known to come from the Chattisgarh side to the Sunabeda sanctuary, the local tribals probably are right.

In the Kholibhitar area I was informed of a Sambar kill. As I was getting nearer to the place, the absence of crows and vultures made me edgy. When we finally reached the place I could find no trace of any portions of the kill except for the blood soaked place. We found the intestine at a spot. I immediately knew that we are very close to the feeding place, because the tiger before it starts eating takes out the intestine from the animal and throws it to a distance of about eight to ten feet. There were signs of eating at the bottom of the tree. I was amazed to find out claw marks on the bole of a small tree and the signs of the kill resting on the branch. I started having doubts whether the kill was done by a leopard or a tiger. After a thorough search in the rocky bed of the nullah, I could find the marks of wild dogs etched deep in the banks. It was the sign of a wilddog jumping. I could make out that the tiger had scampered up the tree with the kill. I didn’t have sufficient time to scan the surrounding forests. But I was told by the forest guards that they had thoroughly searched the area and couldn’t find any sign of the kill. It is an open secret that the forest guards and the villagers don’t miss out on a chance to loot choicest portions from a cheetal or sambar killed by a tiger or leopard. So I was sure that they would have searched at least about a kilometer for any signs of the kill. With such kind of pressures, I have grave doubts on the future of the Indian Tiger. Unless and until we take drastic steps, tigers in the wild would soon be history. Its time to bed and to start dreaming again… dreams of people realizing that our rivers will soon die without forests, and forests and other wildlife will survive if the Tiger is protected…that soon people will realise this basic truth and leave the tiger and its habitat unmolested.

If I have to account for my earliest experience with the Tiger, I would have to go back to Similipal National Park in the state of Orissa, India. Recalling the experience, I realise how fortunate I have been to have such an experience in the midst of a carefree, fun filled trip.

It was the month of January 1997. We had finished with our MBA course in Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. Much to our collective relief, the placements were over, and we were on our way to becoming responsible adults with good jobs. Ours was deemed the best batch of graduates ever by our own professors but the placement session was chilling, to say the least. It was with a sense of relief and new-found independence that we decided to go to Similipal national Park to just chill out. And what a chilling out experience it turned out for us.

We had booked for six of us in Chahala rest house. At the last moment the number went upto seven when Sambit joined us. The forest department rules permitted one driver and one helper to accompany a group of six. So it was decided that we would hire a jeep with a driver and one of us would pose as a helper. We joked that Sambit had to pose as a helper. In the morning when we started from Baripada, Sambit turned up immaculately dressed in a formal shirt, beard carefully shaven with a liberal dose of aftershave sprinkled on his face. We couldn’t stop laughing. Satyaswarup finally volunteered to pose as a helper. He wrapped a red gamuchha (thin hand woven towel) on his head like a daily wage earner with determination writ large on his face.

And the fun had just begun….

The rear right tire of our jeep punctured just as we were entering the forest from the Jashipur side. We discovered then that the driver didn’t have a jack with him. I came forward to help with the tyre change fully expecting the others to chip in by push and tilt to the jeep till the tyre was changed. Satyaswarup, the ‘helper’, had no idea of such technicalities and conveniently hid himself behind a tree. The forest officer was screaming as to why the helper was not around to do his duty.

The fun had just about begun….

Before embarking on our journey, one of the guys had been given charge of stocking up for the duration of our stay inside the Jungle. On reaching Chahala that evening, we started preparation for dinner and for the first time took stock of the provisions that we had for the trip. One kilo of rice, half a kilo of dal (lentils), two dozen eggs, two loaves of bread, half a kilo of onions, few green chillies, six or seven small packets of biscuits and a couple of packets of Haldiram’s bhujia. This was meant to keep seven fully grown men fully fed for 3 days and 2 nights, which was to be our duration of stay at Chahala. Heated arguments followed and there was unanimous decision to leave Chahala the next morning.

And we just could not see any fun in the situation…..

The forest guard provided us with utensils for our cooking. We had to use the earthern chulha, an apparatus used in India to cook on since the great sages wrote the Mahabharata around 5000 years ago. We knew that we could cook on it…. Once we had figured out a way to light it…!!!!  We tried to burn the wood in the chulha, but realized very soon, and to our utter dismay, that thick stocky pile wood just does not burn that easily. An axe was hard to find and we tried a blunt knife to cut the wood into small pieces so that they catch fire easily. We poured rum on it, we tried to fan the non existent flames, using a newspaper. We tried to blow on the thin pencil of fire by rolling a piece of newspaper into a pipe. But Agni, the Fire God, was hard to please. We almost gave up and started joking with each other that we would have to sleep hungry. Suddenly I noticed a couple of papaya trees near by and knew that I had the solution to our problems.

As children we used to blow air bubbles using the hollow stem of the papaya leaves. Lessons learnt then proved to be the savior of the day.  I got a big stem and soon we were taking turns to blow air into the fire. Years later, one of our friends reminded me that it was perhaps one of the finest pieces of knowledge which helped us survive in the jungle. Since then, I have been making all efforts to garner as much knowledge about jungle and wildlife as possible.

At about eleven pm, after gulping down rice and watery chicken curry that was barely cooked, I planned to sit at the salt lick adjoining the forest rest house. There were loud protests on hearing my plans. Not one of the sturdy young guns was prepared to open the door to let me in when I got back from the salt lick. They were also apprehensive, and rightly so, that if the door remained open, then wild animal might enter the room. Finally, I locked them in the room and then went to the saltlick all alone.  

For me the fun was about to begin…..  

The Chahala forest rest house complex is surrounded by a deep trench. The trench however does not deter the Cheetal, Sambar, Barking deer, Jackals etc from entering the compound. I could see the bright eyes flashing on my torch beam. The salt lick was created outside the compound. A room built below ground level allows wild life enthusiasts to observe the rich wild life around the salt lick without either disturbing the game or putting themselves at any kind of risk. A wooden platform on the floor, allows one to sit or sleep. Standing on the wooden platform, one can see the salt lick through a viewing window.  

It was a moonless night. An hour or more had passed without any sign of an animal, small or large, visiting the salt lick. The bone chilling January cold pierced my jacket and sweater and made me seriously contemplate going back to the rest house and sleep, as my other sensible friends were doing at that very moment. Sudden breaking of branches and trumpeting swept any such idea from my mind. This was a sure sign of the arrival of a herd of elephants. The dark moonless night did not allow any sighting of the elephants and manual focusing was difficult with my torch light. I gave up the thought of photographing them. The wild elephants trumpeted and cavorted in the mud, giving each other mud baths. After a thorough mud cleansing, they retreated into the jungle and silence prevailed. I had not been able to take pictures of the elephants. But the very thought that I had been within touching distance of these magnificient creatures made the effort worth every moment.

And I thought, this was all the fun for this trip…..  

I had been standing and watching through the viewing window for about three hours. My legs felt leaden and the biting cold forced me to sit down on the wooden platform and listen to the sounds of the jungle. Minutes dragged into hours. I felt sleepy and before long I was in deep slumber. I woke up all of a sudden without really knowing what woke me up. I looked at my watch, it was 3 am. Suddenly a small pebble came rolling down and fell near the saltlick. It happened all of a sudden and I was afraid, as I knew there was something big in very close proximity. My mouth was dry and I tried to take slow soft breaths and swallow the saliva to moisten my throat, and to stop my heart from thumping loud. The jungle was ominously silent. The crickets had stopped chirping, and all other night sounds of the Jungle had stopped.  Suddenly the oppressive silence was broken by the sound of urination. It was from very close quarters and the distinct smell of the tiger told me that the King of the jungle is on the prowl and is very close to where I was at the moment. I had been squatting on the wooden platform and tried to stand from my squatting position softly, without making any sound or creak. I tried to lift my frame inch by inch, making every effort not to rustle the jacket or make any sound. It seemed ages before my eyes were leveled to the viewing slot. At this moment my knuckles creaked bringing all my effort to naught. The tiger jumped away dislodging a few pebbles. I flashed my torch in the general direction but it was a wasted effort. The Tiger had vanished into the dense Jungle and the crickets started chirping again. The oppressive stillness of the jungle had vanished… The tiger had beaten a retreat. The pugmarks were silent proof of God’s most magnificient creation having visited the place.

And I knew nothing could possibly be more fun ever………

At around five thirty in the morning, I got back to the rest house, tired but happy, to get some well deserved sleep. I must have slept for barely half an hour, when I was shaken from my sleep by Satyadarshi. One of our friends had realised our precarious food position and had crept up to the kitchen and was helping himself to the boiled eggs. A lot of shouting and cursing followed and finally all of us were awake and helping ourselves to the remaining eggs and bread.

Who cares to brush the teeth when food is at such a premium? In any case, who ever heard of a Tiger brushing his teeth before a meal…….!!!!!

Spotting wildlife

IT MUST HAVE BEEN LUCK !!??

 I have often come across people, who after viewing my photographs or listening to my experiences of seeing the tiger in its true habitat, exclaim that I have been lucky. I believe that if you come across a tiger in a jungle, then you are lucky, but more often than not, you create your own luck i.e., learn to respect the jungle and its inhabitants, and most of all understand Mother Nature.  

Spotting wildlife is becoming increasingly difficult these days, due to the indiscriminate destruction of habitat and poaching of wild animals. In the days of the Raj, when herbivorous animals were in abundance, small patches of forests used to hold large number of carnivores, like the tiger and leopard. Today, even in National Parks, sighting carnivores is difficult and watching a tiger is becoming rare. In such circumstances, your patience and perseverance is tested to the core. I have heard tourists, roaming around in open jeeps in the jungle, complain that they didn’t get to see a single tiger, and the forest doesn’t seem to have tigers etc. The tourists invariably blame their own luck when they hear that some one else had seen a tiger somewhere in the jungle.  

Do we need to attribute our successes and blame our failures in spotting a tiger to lady luck? Or is there something else, beyond luck?  

In India, the forests are mostly dense, unlike Africa where you find vast tracts of grass lands. It is difficult to spot a tiger in such a scenario. Nature has given tiger such a beautiful camouflage, the black stripes help in breaking the outline of the body, and it merges with the fallen leaves and dense foliage very easily.  

Wild animals by nature remain very still when required. With evolution, the human sense of sight, smell and hearing have become very feeble, when compared to wild animals. Tiger has evolved so that it makes very little noise. The tiger has soft pads in its feet, which helps it in walking virtually noiselessly in the jungle. There may be an occasional twig that will crack under the weight of the tiger or a gentle rustle of the leaves when the tiger moves through the bush, but these are very few and too feeble to pick up when you are moving in a jeep. Added to it is the fact that the vehicles often creak and groan in the bumpy jungle roads. To make matters worse, most of us city dwellers have a tendency to engage in incessant chatter inside the jungle.  

I have often been amused, and irritated by the proclivity of people to talk loudly when they are in a jungle. I wonder whether the cause is their irrational fear of the animals, which stems from the stories of the so called ‘blood-curdling beasts’ of the jungle, or some other reason. The bright attire with liberal dose of perfumes, deodorants etc ensures that animals sense human presence much before the tourists senses the presence of the animal, and as a consequence either completely disappear or maintain respectable distance from us.  

In some of the National Parks like Ranthambhore National Park, tourists are allowed entry in a bus called ‘Canter’. These Canters, with tourists, who most often don’t understand that there is a difference between Zoo and a National Park, often disregard the requests of the driver and guide to maintain silence. It is futile to expect such a group of people to remain silent for a long time. No wonder, that these tourists most of the times fail to sight the tiger.  

In the jungle, the best way to track the tiger or other carnivores is to understand the language of denizens of the jungle and read the tell-tale signs that are there. A few basic rules, if followed precisely, could go a long way in sighting the animals:  

1) The footprints of animals can be found imprinted in the soft sand, mud etc. A sure sign that the animal has crossed this area. A keen eye, a little bit of knowledge about the jungle, and above all, real love for nature can help in predicting the time of the imprint. One can also gauge the relative speed at which the animal had been walking during that time. Knowledgeable jungle folk can predict the next movements of the animal based on experience.  

2) A number of animals and birds give an alarm call when they see or smell a carnivore. Following the alarm calls of deer, sambar, muntjac, monkeys and birds like drongo and Indian Cuckoo, one can tell the position of the tiger. If you are able to interpret these calls, then you would understand what the tiger is doing and then plan your move accordingly.  

Once, early in the morning, in Corbett National Park, several summers ago, I saw a solitary red-headed vulture, sitting on a tree near a stream. I asked my driver to park the vehicle and wait. The driver doubted whether there was a tiger near by. The presence of a vulture, which was looking down intently, made me sure that it was an indication of the presence of a kill and the possible presence of a carnivore. 

We were in an open jeep, the summer sun beating down on us, the intensity of the heat increasing every moment, sweat slowly trickling down our collars and flies bothering us, making the wait unbearable, and to the uninitiated, probably quite futile.  I knew for sure, that if there was a tiger hiding in the foliage, it would, sooner or later, come out or at least make a movement betraying its presence. Normally flies bother the tiger and it moves or shifts its position to ward of the nuisance of the flies. Suddenly, I could see the tip of the tail of the tiger as it shifted its position. My assessment proved to be correct, that the tiger had killed some animal and was resting there guarding its kill after a heavy meal.  

The tiger drinks water at regular intervals after a heavy meal. In the summer, the tiger also loves to cool off in water. So I knew sooner or later the tiger will definitely come out. We were on the banks of the Ramganga River and the April heat had dried the river considerable, leaving small ponds as watering holes scattered all over the place. Several tourist vehicles passed us, each enquiring about the reason behind our stoppage – some of them waited for a brief moment before deciding to move ahead. A couple of these tourist vehicles when they discovered that we have been waiting for a long time, cynically commented whether they would order lunch to be sent for us.  

The minutes dragged by, stretching into hours, till finally, after more than three hours the tiger decided to get up. The intense heat made the wait seem far longer, except for the fact that I had checked my watch.  The tiger got up from the bush behind the nullah and walked about fifty yards to enter a pool of water. The bulging stomach of the tiger and blood on the face and leisurely walk to the pool suggested a heavy meal.

Had I not read the tell-tale signs of the tigers presence -the  king vulture, the  two crows on branches of a tree, an approaching peacock suddenly getting alarmed and taking to flight near the tree – I would not have spent three hours waiting for the tiger and definitely would have missed him when he came out and entered the pool. 

Watching wildlife has more to do with reading the signs of the jungle and perseverance and to a lesser degree on luck. You must remember that though you are in the jungle to watch the tiger, actually you are the one who is watched. The elusive king of the jungle will only make an appearance at its own sweet will. So watching a tiger in the Jungle is an extremely fortunate occasion. However, you can increase your chances of sighting the majestic tiger if you make an effort to interpret the signs and language of nature and persevere in your efforts.