Kanha Memories - Tiger tales

Continued from The graceful and handsome barasinghas.

How can you go to Kanha, and not come away with a tiger tale - the tiger that got away, the one you missed, the one that crossed your path..... there are more stories than tigers!

We had our share of tiger encounters as well, a few of which were somewhat contrived via the "tiger show" - a Kanha special.  More on that in a little bit.

The one that walked away

Let me rewind to the morning, when we had a glimpse of a tiger as it lazily walked away from us in the early morning light.  Our guide this morning was Jai Singh.  A young, alert and skilled spotter who had an electric air about him.  Somehow, his positive attitude buzzed through our jeep and awoke the five of us from our early morning drowsiness.  Like a deer with twitchy ears, he stood in the front of the jeep, looking left and right and barking terse commands to the driver, on the route to take.

As we drove along one road, the driver of a returning jeep gave us the thumbs down and said there was nothing to see in that path.  Jai Singh nevertheless insisted we go that way, and I was quite happy to just dreamily watch the forest go by and listen to the bird calls and breathe in that crisp, nippy morning air.

Footprints! Or should I call them pawprints?

Immediately we were all alert, but look as hard as I could into the forest, I saw nothing.  Suddenly Jai Singh pointed to the left, and there in the dim light, close to the near edge of that watering hole in the picture below, I had my only tiger-in-the-wild glimpse.  He looked at us briefly, turned around and then lazily sloped away into the forest at the back.  It was all so sudden that by the time we pointed to each other and took our cameras out, all we captured was an empty watering hole!

A tracker on the elephant was keeping a watch on the tiger, tracking it actually, and Jai Singh seemed to feel if it wasn't for the tracker the tiger might have hung around a while longer.  Who knows?  The tiger may have wanted a solitary moment, and so it was not to be.

These trackers are an important part of the whole Kanha -tourist-tiger experience.  
The Kanha tiger show

At Kanha, every morning there are tiger "shows".  The location of these shows are put up on the board located in the central camp that I mentioned in my first Kanha post.  So, at around 9:30 in the morning, the jeep drivers would take you to the central camp, and if you wanted to go and see the tiger at these spots, you would be taken off the road and into the jungle on elephant back, for an additional payment - Rs 100 per head I think.  This "show" was restricted to the tourism zone.

What happens is this.  In the morning, elephant-backed trackers would set off through the jungle in search of tigers.  Once they spotted them, they would follow the tigers to their resting spot.  The reasoning is that once the sun is up around 10, the tigers will take to resting in a nullah, a ditch in the grassland or under some tree.  Once it settled in this manner, the tracker would radio back his location to the HQ, where it would be put up on the board.

When we were there, there was one radio-collared tiger we saw, plus a tigress and its two grown male cubs.  The tigress and cubs were seen even in the wild by some lucky members.  By "in the wild", I mean not through a show but by being at the right place at the right time!

Our first show, was on the first day of our visit, when we were out in our canter ride.  A male tiger was reported to be resting close to a kill.  The Canter (bus) was taken close to the point of the show, and then four at a time, we went off to see the tiger.

Certain rules are strictly followed and enforced.  While near the tiger, no loud conversations or sudden movements.  The mahouts do not disturb the tiger, but just allow you to watch.  If you are lucky, you will see it atleast sit up, like this picture below.  
Chitra's pictures.  She was in the same "batch" that I was!Most often though, this is what you will see.  These tigers in the tourism zone are probably so used to elephant loads coming and going that they couldn't care less.  This particular gentleman was probably also on a full stomach, having partaken of a heavy meal.

This was once a bisonThat evening, there were mixed reactions to the whole tiger show experience.  post-dinner there was much back and forth arguing in the verandah of the dorm, as to whether this was good for the long term health of the park, and what difference was there between a tiger in a zoo and a tiger seen this way?

For me, personally, I resolved not to go on another tiger show.  My prime problem was that first of all, I do not like to ride on an elephant.  It bothers me to use these magnificent creatures of the jungle for such a mundane activity as taking a tourist to see a tiger.  (I have this same problem with riding a horse as well, but that's a different story)

Secondly, I felt that if I did not chance to see a tiger in the normal course of the day, so be it.  I would need to come back again.  That's the whole point of a park is it not?  To see and enjoy nature, naturally.  This was all a bit too contrived.

It doesn't take away from the thrill of seeing a tiger, that I grant you. Just the sheer size of this cat, its powerful paws and the unfriendly, dont-mess-with-me countenance gave me goose bumps and sent shivers down my spine.  But I just feel that we need to give it respect and space and not go and gawk at it in this fashion.  Just think about it.  You are ready to rest for the day, or put your feet up, and then you are surrounded by people looking at you, murmuring knowingly, clicking away with their cameras... enough to drive you into a rage dont you think? (I guess it could be argued that by just visiting the park, I am taking away from the privacy of the tiger and the other forest animals.  So, if I was a conscientious and caring environmentalist, maybe I should not be visiting these parks at all?)

My son did go on one more tiger ride and saw these tigers.
A radio-collared tiger
A tigress with a wound
One of the cubs I think

Mr Ramanan beats the laws of probability

The senior member on the trip was Mr Ramanan, who saw a tiger in the wild almost every day we were there!  It was truly amazing.  As his reputation as a tiger mascot grew, people insisted on riding in his jeep!  And it did help them.  Ananth, one of the members who occasionaly rode in our jeep, decided that he did have to see the tiger before leaving Kanha, and so on the penultimate day hopped into Mr Ramanan's jeep, and presto came back with a good tiger sighting!

This series of pictures are from Mr Ramanan.
Lets see if I can recount the story well.  This was a tigress on the hunt for its two grown male cubs.  Initially, it had its eye on a herd of gaur, but two large males guarded the herd, and the tigress failed to isolate any calf.

It then walked across the road, unmindful of the tourists, and then went into this stalking crouch seen below, its eye on a group of chital in the meadows.
Mr Ramanan recalled that it had got pretty close to the chitals when a camp elephant, after a dip in the watering hole,  came in-between the chitals and the tiger, driving the tiger away.  

A close-up of the tigress, courtesy Mr Ramanan

Sheila's sighting:

On our last evening, my son had had enough of the jeep rides, so he and I did not go for that last ride into the park.  And yes, Murphy's Law did work, and yes they did see a tiger that evening!

It was dusk, the light was poor, but by the side of their jeep, this tiger walked by, and Sheila's hands shook with excitement and blurred this picture!!  I had to put it in though, since I liked the mood and tone of this picture.  

Kanha is arguably at the heart of India's tiger country, the inspiration for Kipling and a crucial cornerstone of the Project Tiger conservation efforts. Yet, in a way, I came away from Kanha mildly depressed and very concerned with the state of the tiger in India.

Just the following week, we read about the missing tigers of Ranthambore.  And then about the Chinese resorting to tiger farms.  

I wish I could sound more optimistic about the tiger and its future.  Will my grandchildren ever see a tiger in the wild?  Does it make a big difference if they don't?  These are not theoretical anymore, they are very real possibilities.

Maybe by taking our son to Kanha, we have given him some appreciation of this predator? Maybe some respect for all creatures big and small?  It certainly heightened my awareness and concern.  Maybe, just maybe then, something has been achieved through those jeep rides into the forest.  Maybe, the tiger show will help to spread this appreciation to more people?

Continued in Bahmnidadar