Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Ek tha tiger... at Kanha National Park

The “ek tha tiger” tag line following the anecdotes of my childhood had never risen up being so true. The quest for tiger began at 11-2-12 with the evening safari. The safari at kanha national park plays on the grounds of “the more you quest the more you exaggerate your temptation”.   From the 1945 sq km wide spread area of the forest only the 25%, being the core area, follows the preserving project of the wild life and is exposed to tourism. The remaining 75% paves the buffer zone or the free zone, holding no security or conserving issues.  Despite just having the ride of the 940km spread jungle it seems being striving for a glimpse of tiger like since an eon.
 One tiger owns a single territory and would never accede another ruler in his arena, may it be his own kids, particularly males. A tiger nails his mark on the bark of the tree scratching against it, signifying his command over the territory. His rival tiger scratches a point above the previous mark to prove his highness over the territory. The mark fight is not just all to prove the kingship. The preceding ranger could propose fight against his rival. His favorite feast being the wild pig and yet is the toughest of all his quarries.  Monkeys are yet another taste that the monarch enjoys. The first safari was the vista to a huge fauna including the bison, deer, sambhar and most jeopardized of all hard ground barahsingha found only in the jungles of kanha across the world.
Following the Cox commands of our driver and tourist guide, being provided by the resort itself, our hunting began cutting the edges of dusk at 6am. Above all odds of the weather we came down for not the hunting of tiger but for the tiger.  Visitors had not a single line of discomfort in carrying blankets over the gypsies, yet the ebullient in them shone well even in the paucity of flash. Not just the fauna but the reserve is famous for its interesting flora which sets the perfect balance of the life cycle feeding a huge range of herbivorous and omnivorous species dependent over them and successively obey the urge of their king.
The forest life stands on the laws of jungle and visiting the tiger’s territory you have to follow the same. Remember the underline to all rules; he is the king. Do not try to overpower his kingdom. The tiger is harmless until you let him believe in the same. The moment you dominate his rules, by anyway getting in his way, he has its own way of proving his sovereign. 
Library is not just the only place where you find “maintain silence” notions, believe me, jungle is another of the same kind the only difference being  that it never gets you a chance to  haggle over the cost to pay over its relinquishment. The peculiar screeching of the monkeys on the pinnacle of the tall salam woods, the call of the peafowl or crow of the cockerels made to alarm their fellow members of the presence of the predator around them. Drivers use these key sounds to trace the mark of tiger in the jungle.
Another brilliant explanation to the presence of the grand feline is the pug marks. Our Cox heads were smart enough to drive, keep us engage with their speculating tales and at the same time spot the embedded marks formed by the claws of the tiger.
Where tigers are estimated being 89 as per the recent count and the leopards being 110 in number the later are hard to spot; its boundless agility and its bashful attitude being the reason. Yet we were opportune enough to track one of them behind the golden green bushes eventually crossing our way at a leap. The drivers acknowledged themselves to akin the same befalling as they themselves had not sighted the patched beauty in months. The alacrity of the animal could be judged by no single image being shot in any of the cameras, undeterred by their pre-set modes.
And yet no longer ill- starred were we if we couldn’t find the tiger while in the safari. The gajhni was an answer to our yearnings. A short ride on the elephant in the periphery of the tracked wild cat was what culminated our pursuit. The interesting fact that came ahead in this spree was that the only specie these cats repulsed from was the elephants. Both the species maintained sight from each other out of dismay not being cognizant of each other’s clout. More than just the clout of elephant it’s the mahawat who pulls the strings tight. At a command of the mahawat, gestured by his stick, the tiger settles down as one of the domestic feline.
The fable thus verifies that at the end of the game humans have control on even the most pungent races, indeed makes this trip worth reiterating.

 

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