Seeing your first wild tiger is a special experience. Seeing her from five metres away, from atop an elephant, was truly wonderful. Maybe it was because the tigress was so beautiful, maybe because tigers are naturally so elusive, or maybe because it was our fourth and final safari and we were starting to accept the likelihood that we would not see one; whatever the reason, it was extraordinarily exhilarating.
The morning did not start promisingly. The jungle was bathed in a thick fog, and as we drove along the path we could barely make out the spotted deer grazing ten metres from the road, let alone spot an impeccably camouflaged tiger.
Jungle mist
Despite the fog we did have some great moments in the first part of the safari. In the undergrowth we spotted several majestic peacocks, their imperial blue shining through the mist. Our arrival prompted them to head slightly further from the road, so Satyendra suggested that we drive another thirty metres down the road to wait for them, as they were doubtless headed for the open ground just beyond that point. He was absolutely right. The driver killed the engine and we watched in silence as the peacocks paraded past us, pecking peacefully at the dry grass.
Waiting for the peacocks to come to us
Not so well camouflaged
More pretty peacocks
We drove on for another half-an-hour or so, past a pair of sambhar deer, some kingfishers, vultures, and an eagle (Satyendra doubtless told us the full name). After around an hour in the park, we were starting to realise that we would likely leave without seeing a tiger. As much as I tried to persuade myself that this should not be upsetting, that seeing a tiger is a privilege, not a right, I could not help but feel disappointment looming.
Sambhar and kingfisher
Eagle
Vultures peering across the park
Through the fog we saw another jeep, pulled over to the side of the road. At first we couldn't see what they were watching, perhaps some deer or birds. Then I saw the elephant and my first thought, rather stupidly, was that it was strange to see an elephant when there was no quarry nearby. Then it clicked. By this point those with brains and eyes rather sharper than mine had spotted it. Satyendra pointed me past one tree, between two others, and up the hill, There, its orange camouflage faint amidst the morning mist, we saw our first tiger in the wild.
You can just about make out the blur of orange, slightly below the centre of the photo
For a few minutes the tiger lay still on the hill, watching the elephants trample around below. Rising smoothly, it padded languidly down the slope towards us. She (so Satyendra told us, quite rightly) ducked behind a tree, poking her head around the corner before spying an elephant and heading off in the opposite direction, disappearing from view. We waited several minutes, during which time a convoy of forest department jeeps showed up, making an awful racket. Unsurprisingly the tigress stayed hidden. Satyendra explained that she was called Jaya, a young tigress who roamed a fairly large territory after she and her sister had sent their aging mother packing.
Spot the elephant
From the other side of the hill we heard peacocks, probably those we had seen earlier, meowing their alarm call (yes, their cries sound remarkably like cats). Satyendra decided, since the elephants had clearly lost the tigress for the time being, that we were better off driving around to the other side of the hill, so off we went. We waited there for a while, but there was no sign of her so we continued our tour. We passed a pair of warthogs snuffling through the grass, and a herd of bachelor stags. Above the stags were langur monkeys, who very kindly knocked down some fresh green leaves on which one of the stags eagerly munched. We then headed to the mid-safari checkpoint, where we found something to munch on ourselves: a packet of chocolate bourbon biscuits.
Warthogs
Stag trying to look down his nose at us
While at the checkpoint, Satyendra learned that the elephants had managed to find the tigress again, so there was a good chance of an elephant ride to see her. With the anticipation building, we drove off towards the tigress' latest position. On the way, we paused very briefly to see an owl (again, we were told the proper name) perched peacefully on a branch, watching the world hurrying past.
Owl
His close-up
We were one of around ten tourist jeeps lined up behind the forestry jeep that was selling tickets to ride the elephant. Our tigress, however, was still on the move, trying to give the elephants the slip, so soon our convoy was driving off. We found ourselves directly behind the forestry jeep, and through some nifty slipstream work managed to stay there. Another couple of times we were on the move, with the full convoy behind us. At one point we heard that the elephants had lost track of the tigress; our hearts began to sink. But another forestry jeep spotted her, and was able to direct the elephants over.
The jeep convoy (and the queue for elephants, behind us)
Finally, one of the elephants lumbered into view, carrying some very excited Indian tourists. The elephant deposited them back to their jeep and came over to collect the four of us. We climbed up onto the saddle, two of us facing off to each side (Clem and Bonnie on the left, Satyendra and I on the right). Looking down on the other jeeps, we were carried off to the side of the road, lurching step by step past bamboo trees and into the brush.
Elephant on the right, man with the tickets on the left
Our elephant, dropping off the previous incumbents
At first it was tough to spot the tigress through the trees, but with Satyendra's help we could see her moving swiftly but smoothly beneath the trees, around 20 metres away. Thankfully the undergrowth was not too thick, so we had a good view. The tigress started to make her way up a small hill, where it would be hard for the elephant to follow. The elephant-driver (mahout) started to follow her, but Satyendra directed him off to the left, parallel to the tigress, so as to give her more space. This worked excellently, as the tigress came back down the hill directly towards us, In no time she was less than 10 metres away, and we had a breathtaking view of her magnificent power and beauty.
She paused, looked around, and moved off through the undergrowth; the elephant shadowed her movements with remarkably nimble feet. Evidently slightly peeved by our proximity, she gave us a slow, arrogant glare. She then darted forwards, under a tree just a few metres away from us, and as the elephant took a step back she loped off to gain a bit of breathing space. You can just about see the latter part of her manoeuvre in this video (spot the paw under the tree), and you can hear Satyendra's admiration. Our hearts were racing.
She then came back towards us, pausing again to fix us with an imperious glare and bare her teeth (perhaps indicating that she was bored and the audience was over). She then disappeared into the thick bamboo by the side of the road, on the other side of the hill from where we had started. At this point the forestry jeep came around the corner, and it was time to let someone else experience the magic of being face to face with this Empress of the Indian jungle.
Unfortunately for those who came after us, the tigress stayed where she was, peering out at us from the bamboo. We probably had a better view, having rejoined our jeep, than the tourists mounted on the elephant. I hope for their sake that they had the opportunity to see her move, after we left.
Getting down from Nelly
Yes, you really do have to get down now
Next group
Hiding in the bamboo
For her sake I rather hope that they left her in peace. That is of course hopelessly hypocritical. We had enjoyed a fantastic experience, which I would have been loathe to refuse. Clearly, however, this was not so much fun for the tigers, pursued by the elephants and disturbed by the cacophany of noisy jeeps, shrieking tourists, and trampled bamboo. It's a difficult balance, but one that the park could greatly improve with tighter controls on noise and disturbance.
We drove back to the Tala gate and then to "camp" with the adrenaline still pumping. We filled in Kay on what we had seen, and downloaded our photos onto Bonnie's computer, since there had been a problem with her camera. We then had another very filling brunch of cornflakes and parathas (on some of which I sacrilegiously smeared peanut butter and marmite). We packed up our bags, sad to be leaving but delighted that we'd been lucky enough to see a tiger so close up. We bade farewell to Satyendra, Kay, Bonnie, and the staff, and hopped into the car for the long drive to Khajuraho.
The drive lasted around six hours. Thankfully the driver was excellent, and made the journey as smooth as possible, although the quality of the road varied from decent highway to rutted dirt track. We drove through picturesque scenery of sandstone hills, sodden rice fields, and isolated little villages. We arrived in Khajuraho at around 8 and were dropped off outside Hotel Surya. The room looked good, especially for the minimal cost. We popped next door for a quick bite to eat and went to bed soon after.
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