Quote:
The time I spent in the jungles held unalloyed happiness for me, and that happiness I would now gladly share. My happiness, I believe, resulted from the fact that all wildlife is happy in its natural surroundings. In nature there is no sorrow, and no repining.
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- Jim Corbett
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The Big Tiger Tank Male
Its been a little more than an hour since we entered Nagarhole national park. We are rattling down the muddy trail when we see a jeep waiting near a row of lantana bushes. Our driver stops and ask us to keep silent. The hush that settles around weighs down heavy on the shoulders. All I can hear is the cadenced tic-tic-tic from some mechanical part of the bus, interspersed by kir-kirrrrr-kirrrrrrr of a white throated kingfisher. Everybody is craning their necks to the right and scanning lantana, all big lenses are primed and ready to shoot.
Beautiful morning in the Forest
Bright golden sunlight is lighting up lantana bushes and words cannot describe the beauty of the moment. There is a soft breeze that is blowing and I am distracted by the mites of dust that are zigzagging around, having their fun in the sun. I am thoroughly enjoying the moment, breathing in the cold morning air, listening hard for an alarm call, but only perceiving the pregnant silence of expectation.
The collective gasp from everyone brings me back to the moment, as this big male stepped out of the bushes, right in from of our vehicle. He slowly sauntered his way across the length of the bus, sniffing, rubbing his cheeks against the tree, leaving behind his scent. To call him majestic is an understatement - his orange coat shining gold in the morning sun, his eyes looking at us with just a hint of mirth (or am I imagining things?), his huge paws stepping through the vegetation without a sound. It was a magical moment, to put it very simply.
Looking at me? Sauntering in style A different perspective
Video credits - Tejesh KS
I was hanging out the window, my jaws open and he decided to stop for a fraction of a second and look right at me (not kidding!). I lowered the camera and stared at this majestic beast who had decided to grace us with his presence on this beautiful morning. This moment, this experience is something that I will never forget, and I know that I will keep coming back for more! Little did I know that there was a lot more in store for us
5 year old son of the famous tiger tank female, this big guy walked off into the bushes once again after his relaxed 3 minute cat walk and there was rejoicing. Oh what joy, everyone had big grins plastered on their face and it was absolute mayhem for a few minutes till the driver requested everyone to calm down as the tiger could step out of the bushes, if his majesty is so inclined. It was a very jittery 10 minute wait as the mood oscillated from joy to tense anticipation to joy again. Our driver decided to turn the bus around and suddenly out of nowhere a dense fog bank rolled in and within seconds, visiblity dropped.
Release the Fog!
I was rewinding and replaying the first encounter in my head, when his majesty decides to walk out of the lantana and grace us with his presence, once again. He now seemed to have a small limp but still walked across the vehicles standing in queue, across the track and again disappeared into the bushes.
What a morning it had turned out to be.
Minding my own business
Video Credits - Tejesh KS
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The Jungle Calls
It had been a year since my last visit to any forest/tiger reserve. We did make many plans but none materialized post the 2nd wave and my wife, son and I had almost given up on a forest trip in the first half of 2022. A casual chat with another wildlife enthusiast friend over a weekend, quick plan was made and the ball was set in motion. Little did we know that this would be our best trip to the jungles till date.
2.45 am start from north Bangalore and we were at Dammankatte safari start point at 6.15 am. Heavy fog slowed me down for the last 55 odd kms and it was not a fun drive with LED fogs and headlamps. As the horizon took on orange hues of the dawning sun, off we went into the jungles of Nagarhole national park. After meandering our way through the forest trails and waterholes for the first hour, we were enraptured by the beauty of the big tiger tank male tiger.
After that, we meandered our way to old MM road and my hopes flared as this was where we had seen this beautiful feline during my last trip in 2020. We still had about 15 minutes to spare and SD, our driver, decided to quickly drive to nyanjikatte waterhole before dropping us back. As we approach the waterhole, we see another bus parked there and all our hearts are aflutter again. We are greeted by a big male tusker enjoying a mud bath. We spend 10 minutes gazing at the pachyderm and as the bus is reversing into the tracks, we hear an alarm call from chital deer standing a few fee away from the bus. Once again a blanket of silence wraps us and everyone is scanning the dense thicket of lantana, waiting for a glimpse of stripes.
Mud bath anyone? Join me OR take the last row of the Bus
The cynic in my head is laughing out loud - "you know that a tiger will not show itself when there is tusker standing near the waterhole", but I stomp him down, and we all were hope against hope hoping. After 15 minutes of waiting, we head back to the gates with the sound of the chital deer call ringing in my ears and the memory of a golden tiger playing in my head.
Golden Tiger