Seeing a tiger at its own sweet will

Kanha National Park, Mandla district, Madhya Pradesh A chital alarm called as our Maruti Gypsy rolled down Bison Road in Kanha National Park at about 8 in the morning. A few minutes ago, the Park, with a core area of 940 sq.km and a buffer zone of 1,005 sq.km, had just shed its mist cover. The chital alarm called again possibly from the far side of Shravan Tal at the end of Bison Road. We moved back and forth Bison Road when our guide, 30-year-old Kamalesh Maravi, advised us to halt the vehicle at the end of Bison Road in front of Shravan Tal.

Kishor Rithe of the Satpuda Foundation, at the wheel, switched off the engine and we waited. By about 8.20, one got the first glimpse of the radio-collared tigress as it climbed on to the embankment, strolled along before moving down towards us and away into thick, dry light brown grass. From a distance of about 80 ft. we could take some pictures as the tigress walked in and out of the skylight. Kishor refused to age the tigress while Kamalesh Maravi thought it was a full grown, six-year old female. It has three cubs and has earned a frightening reputation as some of the guides believe it had killed a human intruder into the Park some time ago. Kishor, Giri Venkatesan, this writer and his son, Ganesh, had a peaceful viewing as there was only a second Gypsy parallel to us.

Over five days, Ganesh and this writer (Kishor and Giri had to break off on work at Mandla) had five tiger sightings. Evening trips in Kanha start at 3 p.m. and end at 5.30 p.m. while the morning rides start at around 6 a.m. and end at 12 in the afternoon. There were about 30 minutes to go that evening as we were driving in second gear along Dhawajhandi fireline before touching the Indri-Chimta Road. Our guide Phagan Singh Maravi is passionate about tigers. He has a sixth sense as he told us in Hindi, “Saab, idhar tiger dekhne ko milega (Saab, we are sure to see a tiger here).” Sure enough at around 5.10 on the left side of the forest track, we sighted the powerful head of a heavy, radio-collared male. It was a profile in tiger thought as we switched off the Gypsy engine to watch. After a few minutes, it rose, looked round and walked away sedately in silent mode.

It was 5.15 p.m. Yet again, we were alone on the forest track. We moved along to spot a second male, probably mightier than the first, on the right side above a nullah. A peacock was strutting in front of it calling desperately. But the tiger did not attack. For a few moments it sat on its hind legs staring at the peacock nervously pacing in front. The tiger walked down the nullah, circled a tree to smell it and moved away as a few vehicles saw the action. The peacock also made it with its life. “Chalo aaj bach gaya (He is saved for the day),” remarked Phagan Singh Maravi. On the following evening, a male tiger sighting was ruined by many crowded Gypsies, desperate to see the animal. It lay curled up in the grass with its head tucked into its belly and did not bother to raise its head. Perhaps, from an aesthetic angle, the radio-collared tigress at the Kanha Meadow was the prettiest sight.

Driving along the edge of the Kanha meadow, we (along with our guide Kamalesh Maravi) thought we heard a high-toned roar and stood still at the spot. Two wild boars were feeding at a distance of about 80 ft. when Maravi took us back to the rim of the Kanha Meadows. At 8 a.m., in sparkling sunlight, a radio-collared tigress strode out across the grassless part of the Meadow towards a banyan tree. Two elephants tried to trap the lady (for the popular Tiger Show) as it crossed over into the forest beyond. For about a forever 10 minutes, one stood rooted at the easy grace of the lady as she made the distance. Panthera tigris is alone in the super league of Nature. Kamalesh Maravi had his own construct on the event. Possibly, the tigress was mating with a male and went off the scene for its own reasons. The elephants failed to trap the female but got the male for the Tiger Show. Three to four elephants surround a tiger or tigress for the public riding on the elephant’s back to have a sighting. Most wildlifers scorn the Tiger Show. This writer would ban it for the reason that the Tiger Show comes in the way of seeing a tiger at its own sweet will in the wild by the ordinary public.

On holidays (like the one starting ahead of Christmas and ending around the first week of January), more than 70 vehicles enter the Park when the carrying capacity is 55 vehicles per day (six to a vehicle). This information was given last year to this writer by Khageswar Nayak, Chief Conservator of Forests, Kanha National Park. With the media (including this piece) exclusively chronicling the fate of the tigers, the visiting public is exclusively tuned on the animal; the rest of the sal and bamboo forest and its citizens, which is Kanha National Park, are set aside. Using own funds liberally to reach Kanha, the public wants to see a tiger and at some places vehicles form double rows (with none yielding space) when the animal is spotted. It does not have an easy solution as disappointing too many visitors could get them forever against Nature, argues Giri. There is a scientific way to measure the carrying capacity of vehicles in a Park and that could act as the limit, says Kishor Rithe.

But one cannot understand the move of the Park management to open a third gate at Bitcha to add to the rush; currently there are two gates – Kisli and Mukki. In the bargain, the Tiger Show needs to be stopped as it is demeaning to the tigers, if not to the humans.

Public frustration can be really sharp going by the tale told us by Phagan Singh. A frustrated visitor, having spent well over Rs. 20,000, yelled at Phagan Singh Maravi and threatened to report the non-sighting of a tiger to forest managers in Bhopal and New Delhi. “Ek do tiger ko idhar bandh ke rakkho (Tie up one or two tigers in the Park),” he shouted at a scared Phagan Singh, who humbly replied, “Saab, aap kuch bhi karo. Mere ko chod do (Saab, you are welcome to do anything but leave me alone).”

Some time in the future the public may be able to see more tigers as the Satpuda range as Central India becomes one integrated piece of Tigerland. Proof: Dr. Y.V. Jhala of the Wildlife Institute of India, has radio collared a few tigers in the area and one tiger collared in Kanha National Park was found recently in Pench Tiger Reserve Maharastra, some 250 km away.

P. Devarajan