Welcome Back!

 After my spine surgery that nailed me to a bed again for 10 months in what seems like a lifetime ago, I couldn't wait to  resume work in the park (For those who dont know what I did before I met them- I worked as a Tiger Ecologist/Biologist/Field Veterinarian in Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, in Central India; Famously referred to as TATR. Tadoba National Park is a very small section of TATR). Only those who know what a tiger country is can appreciate what a heavenly treat such a job can be for a wildlifer. My job was even better; it all boiled down to one thing - tracking tigers on foot - no matter what and how long it took; and then stay with them for as long as possible without being killed (doesn't mean without being attacked though). Tigers are relatively easy to see in Bandhavgadh, Kanha, Ranthambore. Tadoba is a completely different country. Tadoba is predominantly ruled by wild bamboo. (Actually Bamboo rules here in more than one ways. But more on that later).

 I went back to resume work in Tadoba. Spent a whole day gathering and getting my house and equipment in order. In the evening went for a walk around Moharli lake which is right behind my house. Tried to sleep at night but the excitement in anticipation of the first day back on the job was too much. So took the Gypsy (a small 4x4 used mainly for offroad "work" in India) out for my usual ride outside the park at night. I used a small motor bike to get around in the park. It would be my first time in a Gypsy for work there.


I usually stop, listen, just take in the view of the 'Irai' backwaters and feel of the great Tadoba Country at 'KalaPaani' and 'Gurakhi Nala' on Chandrapur road in the dead of the night. But a different jungle comes alive in the dark. These are the places where you can hear animals calling in the night without having to go deep in the jungle... the sounds of the jungle!! I stopped at the Gurakhi Nala. So named because of a Gurakhi (cattle herder) killed by a tiger in a road side nala (creek). Got out of the Gypsy and sat on the hood, just listened, looking at the amazing starry sky. The sky that can be seen from this place at night is like no other in the world.

Kala Pani Panorama

I was mesmerized all over again by the starry sky you can see from Kala Pani. Just then,   suddenly, I heard a loud tiger call from the water's side. And all the tranquility, peace I spent a whole paragraph describing was gone in one moment. I was suddenly thrown into the Biologist /tracker mode. All alert! I held my breath and listened. The tiger was moving from the water towards the deeper jungle. To get to the deep jungle he /she would have to cross the road somewhere. I was trying my best to guess the passage by which he would cross. I listened for almost another 2 hours. The calls went from water towards the road but then went silent after some time. There was no point going in after the tiger in the dark. I would either lose the tiger and get lost in the jungle or end up dead if I tracked him too well. The calls had gone silent so there was nothing I could do. I decided to go home and return with the first light and pick up a trail if I could. I went home but couldn't sleep, just kept waiting restlessly for the morning. This could be my first wild tiger in 10 months.

Next morning, I had a hunch that the Tiger would cross at Gurakhi nala. I was there before sunrise. It is barely 3-4 Km from my home. I got down into the semi dry nala and checked for pug marks in the sand. Looked for other signs. This nala was the most logical place (I thought) for the tiger to cross the road. But, if at all, the Tiger did cross the road, he definitely didnt cross from there. I thought of other places that the tiger would use to cross the road but  could not decide on one to check out immediately. I came back to the Gypsy and decided to check one place which was close by. I drove there in a hurry and BINGO! Sure enough there were fresh tracks of a young tigress and she had crossed the road from there. But she didnt cross in the night as I had thought. She had crossed about five minutes before I reached there. My heart started racing fast. This is was real time now. I was right behind her and on the right track. I tried to push the Gypsy in the overgrown bamboo as much as possible. But it was monsoon so soon there came a point when I could not push it any further. I had to leave the Gypsy and follow on foot.


The tracks were absolutely fresh. she was probably a minute ahead of me. I could feel my heart pounding. I could see her in front any time now. Any thing could happen. I knew I was close.  But it also took me far from the safety of the vehicle as always. That's how it works. The tracks ended abruptly on a sand bed and I found myself in the middle of a very thick canopy with nothing but bamboo around. Forget the tigress, I could see nothing but green around me.

Have you ever had the feeling of being watched secretly by some one? Well, there was no doubt who was watching me here. The problem was I couldn't see her, hear her or even smell her. But I could feel her eyes on me and that was a very eerie feeling. All my senses were concentrated in my eyes and ears. Yet I couldn't see her or hear anything; total silence apart from the birds chirping. 9 out of 10 times, birds or other animals in the wild will tell of a predator's presence or movements. But nothing today. The only thing I could  hear was my own heart beat and I thought it was too loud for my own good.

Just then, suddenly, I saw something flick from the corner of my left eye. Without making any sudden movement, I only turned my head slowly and looked. It took me some time to realize what I was looking at. The thing that had flicked and got my attention was a black ear behind a tree trunk and ... attached to it was a orange-ocre colored face. And somewhere on that face there was an eye barely visible.  The face was half hidden behind the tree. But the eye was looking straight at me. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't make sense of it instantly. I saw exactly what I had expected but still it sent a chill down my spine in a flash. Seeing the look in her eye I thought to myself, that has to be the most piercing look I have ever got in my life.


I slowly raised my camera to my eyes and clicked only one picture. Slowly got the camera down and moved my eyes from her eye and looked down instinctively to look at the picture I had just shot. The very next instant realizing my mistake I quickly looked up again. But she was gone! Without making a sound the Tigress had vanished into thin air!  I looked again and again everywhere but she was gone. And just then I realized all this while I hadn't been breathing. I let out a BIG sigh of relief. Relief not necessarily from the tigress but from the excitement. I cautiously started tracing my way back to the Gypsy.  I even expected a sudden and powerful grab on my neck. Trembling with all the adrenalin rush, I thought to myself, Phew! What a way to get a welcome back to the wild!