TIGER TIGER BURNING BRIGHT INDIA 3

If you've ever seen a BBC programme about tigers, it was probably filmed in Bandhavghar. The area used to belong to a Maharaja who, with his wealthy friends, rode elephants into the forest to hunt tigers. Now it is a conservation area and you need a permit to go in. We kept reminding ourselves that we might NOT see a tiger but we would definitely see lots of other interesting wild life.

We were up at 5.30 that first morning. It was bitterly cold as we climbed into the open jeep. Yikes! We hadn't anticipated this kind of cold in India. However, our hotel provided us with hot water bottles and blankets and off we set.

The first animal we saw was an elephant. A captured elephant. It was was being trained to work for the forest service. The forest rangers used them to check for wounded animals, paths that need repair, vegetation that threatens to take over and, of course, poachers.

We saw bevies of peacocks strutting about. They're all over the place. You get blase about them. And there's cartloads of spotted deer. The deer are Walt Disney pretty and they hang about with Hanuman monkeys. The monkeys are pretty also, especially if you see them against the light with their silver fur glowing like a saint's aura. The deer and the monkeys combine forces when a tiger is near. When the deer scent a tiger they bark an alarm. But when the wind is in another direction the monkeys can spot a tiger from high up in the trees. And not only that, the monkeys feed the deer! We saw them tearing suculent leaves from high in the trees where the deer cannot reach and throw them down on the ground for the deer to eat.

We saw plenty of tiger paw prints. We saw plenty of tiger droppings. We heard the deer bark their alarm calls . We heard low tiger growls but not even a glimpse of the tiger itself. Oh well... we went back to our hotel and had lunch.

We set out again that afternoon with Ram Milan, the same driver we'd had that morning. He did all he could to let us see tigers. He pointed out the spotted deer, the monkeys, the peacocks and identified all kinds of birds. He got us to listen to more alarm calls. He drove to places that tigers were known to frequent. All in vain.

Then suddenly, we rounded a corner and there were two elephants, ridden by Rangers, crossing the jungle path. Ahead of us there was another jeep. The driver signaled silently that there was a tiger nearby.

We pulled up and waited, and waited and then a huge male tiger ambled slowly out of the bush glanced at us and crossed the path.

WOW!

A minute later two more tigers emerged. They too glanced at the jeeps and sashayed off into the trees. I burst into tears.

"Oh Lady don't dry, don't cry." said Ram Milan.

I was crying for joy, for the privilidge of seeing these magnificent beasts in their natural setting. It does something to you and seems to expand your whole being.

Ram Milan knew where the tigers were heading. He revved up the jeep and set off like a bat out of hell through the jungle. We held on for dear life. By now there were fifteen or so jeeps racing the bumpy jungle trail. When one jeep spots a tiger, the driver raidos the location to all the jeeps in the area. You thought you were alone in the forest and suddenly you're in a jeep race. All the drivers know the where the tigers will go and they all want to grab to the best viewing spots. We pulled up by an open area of high grass beside a wadi. All the jeeps were jockeying for position but Ram Milan knew what he was doing and bagged us a prime spot.

The elephants arrived and some minutes later the tigers followed. Young tigers like following elephants, they're intrigued by the swish of the elephant's tail. They even play with them just like your pet cat at home will swat at anything dangling. The tigers we learned were brothers and just on the point of leaving their mother to find their own range.

They disappearecamuflad in the long grass and re-appeared at the water-hole. They lay about and snoozed. The got up, streatched, lapped some water and lay down again. We watched and watched and watched.

Wasn't it William Blake who wrote, " Tiger, tiger burning bright, In the forests of the night."?

Clearly he'd only ever seen one in a zoo. They sure do burn bright in the open, in sunlight, vivid orange, yellow and black. But, once they step into the trees or the long grass, they disappear. When it comes to camouflage, Nature knows what it's doing.

THIS IS THE AGENCY WE USED

The Holidays ( Unit of Indus Excursion)

Head Office: C-3, Kachnar City, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

E-MAIL: info@indus-excursion.com indusexcursion@gmail,com

THIS IS THE HOTEL WHERE WE STAYED

Aranyak Resort, Tala

Email: aranyakresort@gmail.com

WE WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOTH

D BOTH