Day 5 (26th March)
We were up and ready by 05:15 and while waiting for the gypsy kept hearing noises of various other gypsies roaring past. The gates open at 06:00 and everyone wants to enter as quickly as is possible. Our gypsy came on the appointed time and soon we were between Khatia and Kisli. The herd of bison we had seen last evening was still around and once again we saw the gargantuan beasts in their majesty.
There was more than a nip in the air and we wished that we had taken out our jackets from the car. Indeed, it was pretty chilly within the jungle and we were told that this was due to the thick forests of Sal. Sal trees soak up a lot of water and they release moisture during the nights which makes the nights and the early morning pretty chilly. The winter temperature at Kanha drops to -2 degrees Celsius.
Paper work etc was over soon enough and we were once again within the core area eager to spot even more wild life. The driver took us on different routes today and we could smell the jungle as we drove in the early morning twilight. We did not see any great wild life; but the sheer sight and sound of the jungle, the clean air mingled with the aroma of the virgin forests was enough to rejuvenate the tired bones.
By 06:30 we were atop a hillock called “Digdola” from where we saw a beautiful sunrise through the thick foliage of trees. Our driver also showed us a huge boulder precariously balanced over another boulder and told us that it has been so balanced for countless years.
With the sun over the horizon, the jungle too slowly came to life. We were now approaching a vast meadow which used to be a village till a few years back. The guide was to educate us on how 28 villages have been relocated from the core area. The sites of the villages have now become giant meadows which are ideal grazing fields for the herbivores and equally ideal hunting grounds for the tiger and other predators. Suitably impressed by the massive effort that must have been undertaken to relocate the villages, we wished that the same sagacity and wisdom is shown by the authorities of all the national parks in the country.
Suddenly a large herd of what looked to be deer galloped across the road. We were told that these were the rare Hard Ground Barasingha (a variety of deer) which had almost become extinct in the country a few years back. They are only found in Kanha and were almost on the verge of extinction with the numbers having dwindled to less than 70. A massive exercise in preservation and rehabilitation by the forest dept has gradually pulled it back from extinction and Kanha now has almost 700 of them in the wild. This was a sight we did not want to miss and so we stopped and looked at the majestically mercurial creatures as they pranced and grazed in the meadows. Barasingha is one variety of deer which does not eat leaves and survives exclusively on grass.
We saw herds of Spotted Deer, Peacocks, Sambhar, Langurs etc as we roamed deep within the core area. It was nearing 08:00 by now and the driver asked us whether we would like to go to centre point of Kanha for some tea etc. We eagerly nodded our combined approval as we really wanted to have some tea. Centre point is a meeting ground of sorts for the drivers and the guides and a convenient place to exchange notes and pass on information regarding sighting of the tiger.
There was a debate between the driver and the guide regarding the route to be taken for going to centre point. The driver’s view prevailed and we were soon heading towards centre point. At a tri junction of roads we saw another gypsy with the guide wildly gesticulating to us. We were unable to decipher the gesticulation, but the driver and guide immediately said that there was a tiger nearby. The roads were flanked by thick bamboo thickets and the ground was carpeted with dried bamboo leaves. The driver asked us to keep quiet as he slowly inched our vehicle closer to the other gypsy. The atmosphere was electric with anticipation and suddenly we could hear the unmistakable sound of dried bamboo leaves being crunched as something heavy trod upon them. Excitement was at its peak now and suddenly Jenny saw the tiger only a few feet away, walking majestically between the bamboo thickets. It was a full grown tigress and as we were to discover a few minutes later was also pregnant. It walked parallel to the road only a few feet away from our open gypsy. Jenny, driver and guide were by now wildly whispering “Take pics … take pics”. The excitement was too much even for Rituraj and in the sheer excitement he inadvertently pressed the self timer button on the camera and as the tiger walked out of the thicket and came onto the road he (Rituraj and not the tiger) looked stupefied and dumbfounded as the camera refused to click at his command!!! The tiger walked up the road, stopped and disdainfully turned around to look at us – it was a glorious photo opportunity but Rituraj kept looking bewildered, as the camera seemed to have acquired a mind of its own!!! And as suddenly as it had emerged, the tiger vanished in the thick bamboos.
Well, we had seen a tiger at really close quarters but alas, had no photographs. Unfortunately, we did not even seem to know what had suddenly gone wrong with the camera. We cursed our luck and were preparing to leave when the driver suggested that we wait for some time as the tiger may come out once again. As we waited on the other side of the tri junction now, Rituraj finally figured that he had pressed the self timer button and set it right. By now a couple of more gypsies had joined us. We waited with bated breath … and once again heard the unmistakable crunching sound. The tiger was moving in our direction. Everybody on the gypsies was electrified … and within a few moments the tiger was once again visible. It crossed the bamboo thicket and came onto the road just behind our gypsy. It was now that we saw that it was a pregnant female and was also slightly injured. It crossed the road behind us looking irritated and entered the bamboo thickets on the other side. This time Rituraj was able to take a few pics!!!
Some more gypsies had arrived by now and gleefully Jenny told them that the tiger crossed the road right behind us. The tiger was invisible once again; so we decided to leave the latecomers there and head for centre point.
Centre point, Kanha is a cluster of small buildings and has a canteen, clean toilets, a museum and nature education centre. As we walked towards the canteen, there was a spring in our step and the heads were held high, for we were the lucky few who had seen a tiger today. The canteen serves hot samosas, aloo bondas and tea. We gorged on the samosas and aloo bondas for we were feeling quite hungry (it was 08:30 by now) and washed it down with some tea. We also took a round of the nature education centre spread across a few buildings but could not see the whole thing as the power suddenly went off.
Mentally, physically and gastronomically refreshed, we left centre point feeling like the king and queen of the jungle. We had seen a tiger in the wild, had seen it walking, had seen it at really close quarters and so there was nothing else that seemed to matter. The driver and the guide concurred. “Tiger makes all other wild life pale into insignificance”, they opined. But roam in the jungle we did, and saw some more Barasingha, Sambhar, Spotted Deer, Langurs, Peacocks, Wild Boar and a beautiful and graceful hunting bird called Shikra.
The national park is open for visitors only till 10:30 and all vehicles have to be out of the gates by then. We were one of the first to get out and were gently cruising towards Khatia when once again we chanced upon the same herd of bison that we had seen earlier on. By now they were really next to the road. We could see the muscles rippling under the taut skin of the leading bull and a glimmering shine on the coats of the females. We waited and prayed that they cross the road. Slowly they ambled, munching on leaves and the angle of their movement convinced us that they would indeed cross the road in front of us. The sun was beating down mercilessly upon us, but oblivious to the discomfort we patiently waited. Our patient wait was rewarded as slowly one and then another and yet another female bison ambled across the road. The bull, however, was still busy eating. The driver wanted to leave but Rituraj was convinced that the bull would cross soon. So we waited. Thankfully, no other gypsies disturbed us and slowly the bull sauntered towards the road. It waited for a while, as if making up its mind, looked at the females of his herd on the other side of the road, seemed to shake his head and then with a determined look meandered through the bushes to emerge onto the road. Imperially it crossed the crossed the road about 15-20 feet away from our gypsy and joined his harem on the other side. The wait in the scorching sun had been worth every drop of sweat that dropped down our brows!!!
We reached the Mess around 10:45 to find there was a power cut and were told that it is a routine affair and power would resume at 12:00. It was not too hot within the room though and after a couple of cups of tea and a luxurious bath later we were feeling fresh (not as daisies though) again. Lunch was served at 12:00 and the simple yet tasty food made us feel sated and somnolent. Promptly we went off to sleep, for again we were to go to the jungle at 15:30 hrs.
We got up at 14:30 and with a cup of tea within us and a bath over us were as ready for venturing into the jungle as we could be. Rituraj in the meantime had recharged the camera battery and the camera was loaded with a fresh battery, the lenses of the binocular were gently wiped and the caps and towels vigorously shaken to remove the dust.
The queue of gypsies at Kisli gate was really long today and Jenny commented that there seemed to be more gypsies today as compared to yesterday. The afterglow of having seen a wild tiger at close quarters was still lurking within us. So we disdainfully roamed within the forest sighting myriad species of wild life. Jenny by now had started recognising some of the tracks and would feverishly whisper occasionally that this was the track we had taken in the morning or the day before.
The tiger is the supreme predator of the jungle and the prey start making alarm calls the moment they sight it walking or moving, which alerts the others regarding the presence of the tiger. In fact the Barking Deer is so called because its alarm call closely resembles the bark of a dog. Tigers are also fiercely territorial and zealously guard their territories from being poached upon by other tigers. They mark their territories by urinating and leaving deep claw marks on the barks of trees to signify that this is their territory. A keen wild life enthusiast that Rituraj is, he wanted to hear the alarm calls and see the claw marks. The driver showed us some deep claw marks made pretty high up on a tree and we wondered at the sheer strength of the claws that would have gouged such deep marks in a living tree!!
Suddenly, the driver stopped, tilted his head to one side, listened for a moment and said, “Tiger ka movement hai … spotted deer ka alarm call tha”. He drove towards the sound of the alarm calls … and now even we could hear the alarm calls of the spotted deer. As we drove closer, the intensity and the frequency of the calls increased. Suddenly, the calls stopped and there seemed to be a pin drop silence in the jungle. “The tiger has either made a kill or has sat down”, the driver said. Adrenalin was now coursing through our bodies. Despite the fact that we had seen a tiger during both our earlier excursions into the jungle, we still wanted to see yet another tiger!
From amidst the thick foliage of gigantic Sal trees, our gypsy slowly emerged and drove towards a large meadow, triangular in shape and flanked by jungle tracks on two sides. Immediately we saw a large number of gypsies standing on the other track. It was obvious that the tiger was somewhere close. And as suddenly as the alarm calls of spotted deer had subsided earlier, they started again. We were in a wrong position for the sighting though and could not see the area from where alarm calls were originating ,due to the thick grass cover in between. Dutifully, we urged the driver to drive towards the spot where other gypsies were standing. But even as he drove fast, we somehow knew that we were going to miss out on this sighting. Not to give up on hope though, we kept peering keenly for the rare stroke of luck.
Suddenly, Jenny who was looking through the binoculars, sighted the tiger across the other track. It was very far away and could only be seen through a binocular. Our luck had not deserted us yet, and though the sighting was from a distance, and the distance was too much for a photograph, and even though the sighting was only for a few seconds – a sighting of the tiger it certainly was. Had we not had the good fortune of having seen a tiger at really close quarters earlier we would have gone to town claiming to have seen a tiger in the wild!!
Our plan was to leave Kanha early the next morning and drive to Bandhavgarh. However, the lure of the tiger, coupled with some gentle coaxing by the locals made us readily alter the schedule. We now decided to once again visit the core area in the morning and leave for Bandhavgarh thereafter.
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