Tiger: Hunting Method

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

I agree with the observations made by Shri Sabyasachi.
During my visit to Simlipal T.R in April,1980, I saw interesting pugmarks of a Male tiger on the forest road,the tiger slowly walking on the road for a distance,then retreating into the forest cover in the left only to come out again on the road and re-entering into the cover.We were very slowly moving in the jeep with utmost curiousity that we will find the tiger on the road.What we finally observed was not the tiger but an elephant calf with a broken leg(in a small herd)as the likely target of the tiger.

"S.R.Chowdhury(S.RoyChowdhury who was the Field Director when I visited)of Orissa Forest Dept.related a quite remarkable instance of the tiger's self assurance in making a kill,to which he had been an eye-witness.He was watching a line of elephants slowly going up a forested hill along a narrow ledge,from far away,when a tiger suddenly
leaped on to the ledge from bush cover,made a lightning pass at a young calf, and retreated into cover before the excited adult elephants could intervene;the attack was said to have lasted only a few seconds.The infant collapsed and later died......."-M.Krishnan

I have a feeling that a Male tiger can garner enough courage to attack an elephant calf in a herd.In the Rajaji National Park,a few years back, it was a large Male who attacked the elephant calf in the herd and killed it before the adults could react.SaktiWild