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While India remains the last hope for wild tigers, "70% of world population in India" doesn't mean much when they are extinct almost everywhere else, sadly. It's a fragile situation when one country(itself with a fragile ecology) has to ensure a miraculous rescue for the species. https://twitter.com/WildIndia1/status/1288390989384577032
A side note: that "roar" is a friendly call to a family member. It's really really hard to capture a tiger roar. They rarely ever give out the full-powered, earth-shaking, sky-rumbling angry roar that is stuff of legend. I still don't know what can piss off a tiger that bad.
Most people's fantasy-image of a tiger is this fierce, angry beast with immense power. It is all that. But in years of safari watching, I've rarely seen a tiger angry. I've seen tons of instances of harassment by humans. But not one where the tiger was really, truly angry.
The tiger is an epitome of calm. Even the hunt is a calm affair, in a way. Adrenaline-spiked for sure, but a precise, calculated execution of carefully developed technique. A placid expression on its face even when the attempt fails. A face with 'It is what it is' etched on it.
There was once a dominant male of an entire forest range resting next to a stream where jeeps couldn't go. He knew it. He chose the spot well. But there's a thing called 'elephant safari'. Tame elephants carry tourists on the backs to such inaccessible spots for a closer look.
The elephants hate it. Tigers hate it. Tourists love it. So nothing but to grin it and bear it. I was on a jeep far away watching the elephants going in and coming out of bushes carrying batches of people. It went on for while. Someone must have wanted to get really close...
Or may be the tiger had had enough. I couldn't tell. There was a soft snarl. Soft, relatively. There was a loud hiss and a khrrrr.... that reverberated through the air. No exaggeration, the ground under our jeep trembled. And I felt my chest trembling involuntarily.
The poor elephant. The scare it must have had. All the human chatter, all the sounds, everything stopped. For a moment. Then the drone of voices began. Apparently the tiger fell back asleep. That was it. A line was crossed. A message given and received. All back to normal.
Another instance I witnessed. I was on elephant back myself. First and last ever time. This was my first 'tiger safari'. I was naive and had no idea how safaris or wildlife tourism worked. The guide had been trying for two days to get us a sighting. We hadn't seen a sign.
This morning, the guide was on a mission. He didn't want to end this without seeing a tiger. He got a message of a sighting away from the main jeep track, visible only on elephant back. We must hurry, he said. At the spot, an elephant was ferrying people back and forth.
I was hauled up on its back and a group of four swayed side to side as the elephant took us into the meadow with grass growing up to the elephant's belly. Right in the middle of a clump, was a tiger resting. The mahout was egging the elephant to get closer and closer.
The elephant was reluctant but obeyed anyway. The tiger's eyes were shut. In the moment where we thought we went too close, we were barely 2 feet away... the eyes opened for a moment, still sleepy. Teeth bared and a soft hiss. The elephant was startled. With a start, we wobbled.
The next second, the tiger's eyes shut and she was a picture of calm all over again. I went back to the jeep swearing that was the last time I would ever do an elephant safari. Didn't want to put an elephant through that ordeal ever again.
So here's what I do. In a wildlife sanctuary, I *hope* to see a tiger crossing our path. If a tiger doesn't mind being seen, it will show itself. If we don't see one, it's because the tiger intended it to be so. When I do see a tiger, I consider it a blessing.
If I don't, it's just as well. We show up in nature, hoping to be in the presence of its magic. The rest is up to nature to decide what show to put on that day.
Brute-forcing my way into the boundaries of a tiger AND an elephant doesn't seem worthwhile to me.
Brute-forcing my way into the boundaries of a tiger AND an elephant doesn't seem worthwhile to me.
