The Jungle dairy.

27 May 1997, Time - 6 am to 9.30 am, Coal Range, Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, Chandrapur Went out early this morning. A Tonge forest guard and his fellow forest laborer were seen coming from the village. As soon as the forest guard came, we took the zari road to the left. The forest worker walking in front of him suddenly froze. I looked at him questioningly, while he pointed to the road. The fresh footsteps of a large leopard that had just passed by were there. It is a male and must have left within an hour of our arrival. I looked around; But I didn't see anything.Suddenly I felt a slight movement at the corner of the forest. I signaled everyone to stop with my hand. When the binoculars were put to the eyes, the movement became clear. There under a tendu tree. A panther was sitting in the bamboo; But his color was so blended with the surroundings that if his tail had not moved, I would not have seen him at all. His back was to us, so he had not yet seen us; But then the Tonge forest guard's foot fell on a small fork and the sound of 'cut' was heard. The sharp-eared panther turned around on hearing the sound and disappeared into the forest in a single leap.I regretted missing a good opportunity for leopard sightings. Tonge felt embarrassed. We immediately moved on. At a short distance, the road to Raiba turned right. He took the road and the forest seemed to grow thicker. As there are two or three streams here, the density of bushes is more noticeable. Also, there was a possibility of seeing any wild animals as there was little water in those drains. So now it is necessary to take careful steps.While chatting at the rest house yesterday evening, Tonga had told me about a tigress with four cubs in the area. Ever since then I have been going there. Because of the hot days, animals like tigers tend to move around the water, and because of the small cubs, this tigress also takes them further away from the water.But the tiger with small cubs is the most dangerous animal in the forest! This careful mother to protect the cubs. There is no way to take someone's life. Because of this, while descending into the drain, I had a single pressure on my mind.
I must have walked only ten or twelve steps. My relative is bigger than a cat in the house.Many steps of shape were seen emerging. I quickly went forward and bent down to look. These puppies had footprints. Looking at those pugmarks, I realized that they were from last night. The meaning was clear. The tigress was still roaming in the same area with her cubs. Now I was very impatient to see those chicks. I knew that there was some water in a stream about a hundred and fifty paces from here. This tigress was likely to be found there. So now it is necessary to be very careful while going there. The ground was littered with fallen leaves. It was quite an exercise to walk through it without tripping.
My heart started pounding as the water got closer. The feeling of what to see next made my throat dry, the condition of others was no different. We all looked at each other and signaled with our eyes to be careful. Now while taking each step, the pressure on the mind was increasing more and more. It seemed that the tigress, hidden in the purple bushes, behind some tree trunk, would come to life in a moment, growling angrily. Even the rustling of the leaves that was happening slowly seemed to be great. Now it seemed as if all time had stopped.Aud wha'" I was suddenly startled by this fine voice from across the stream. I got goosebumps. With one year of tiger study and experience I knew that this was the sound of a tigress. She must be calling her cubs with this sound. I looked at the water bank and was shocked. One of the cubs had jumped into the water from the purple bush on the side. The other three cubs immediately followed him and jumped into the water. The reassuring voice of the mother was a source of excitement for them.The tigress hid the cubs in the thick purple bushes of the riverside and went for hunting at night. In this area, another male tiger, panther, wild dog is the potential enemy of the cub. So it was necessary for her to take this precaution. Tiger cubs are very vulnerable to other predators. So the tigress is very careful about the safety of the cubs. Now she had wandered through the forest all night and returned to the cubs. As soon as I heard the call of the mother, I saw the tigress coming from the wide bamboo on the left side of the nest where the cubs, who were sitting on the ground, were playfully jumping towards her. She came straight to the water and turned. Exhausted by the night's march, she was resting; But the enthusiasm of the cubs was extinguished as soon as the mother saw them. One of these cubs jumped on the tigress's back; But after falling from there, it fell into the water with a thud. The tigress gave a low growl of disapproval as the water flew over her mouth; But the puppies had nothing to do with him. They started rioting around Sai.It was a five-month-old puppy, usually smaller than a dog. As children are playful at this age, I was playful. Games like chasing each other, fighting and drinking started. Meanwhile, the mother was lovingly licking the puppy. After sitting for a while, she quickly stood up. Peeking in, she slowly made a sound of interest. It was about puppies getting their way. Immediately she turned and started walking. She must have found some prey in the forest like sambar, rangava, nilgai, wildebeest, but it is not possible to bring such prey to the pup because it is heavy. So, after sitting in the water for some time, she was begging, now she took the chicks and put her foot in the bamboo ganji.This is You will see this. Two chicks followed her; But come to both.Was stunned to play. The tigress made a sound calling them back. With this mother's voice, both the cubs stopped their play and ran away. Within two minutes, the tigress disappeared into the forest with the cubs. Today I saw a different glimpse of the tiger mother. This experience added value to my tiger experience.
The tiger very dangerous in jungle.
The tiger is the king of the jungle.