13th February: Our private encounter with Shere Khan

John and I had booked a room in a cheaper hotel for the night to save a little money, since we wouldn't be staying for long anyway. At 6.30 am we were just about ready when the jeep picked us up. This time it was just the four of us. We drove straight to the entrance of the park, which we reached a bit before 7 am. This was a much earlier start than the previous day. The naturalist had been well briefed; he told us that we would first aim to see a tiger. They move around the park in their respective territories early in the morning so that time would be our best chance to see one.

The naturalist managed to secure our chosen route, number 2. We were all alert and very excited. The route was even more spectacular than those we had seen the day before. We drove on the side of the hill along a small gorge, allegedly popular with leopards. Unfortunately we did not surprise any of them (or if we did, their camouflage worked perfectly). We were admiring the changing scenery, as the lush forest gave way to a more open landscape on one side, when the driver suddenly slammed on the brakes and said the magic word: "tiger."

The temple complex within the tiger reserve

A gate subsumed by an ancient banyan tree

He slowly reversed the car, and there it was: a magnificent male tiger. He was resting in the vegetation just seven or eight metres from the path. As he had heard us arriving, he turned his head slowly to catch a glance of the intruders, but showed little interest. After staying still for a minute, he yawned a couple of times and then (as predicted by the naturalist) stood up slowly and walked away. We remained quiet and watched it amble lazily away slowly. The naturalist explained that one could tell from the size of his belly that he had enjoyed a good meal the previous evening and was now resting. We were thrilled to have seen him so close up, albeit slightly disappointed that he didn't linger. We assumed that was the last we would see of him.

First sight

Checking us out

We sat still for another minute, while the guide told us that our new friend was called Tiger 24, a five-year-old male in the prime of life. He also told us that the tiger had killed a man the previous year. One of the villagers who live in the "buffer zone" had gone out in the night for a drunken pee, and had chosen the wrong bush. Thankfully the villagers had not taken retribution by leaving a poisoned carcass for the tiger, which is apparently a common response. Since then the tiger had acquired a territory in the main park, driving out an older male, so no longer had to sleep in the buffer zone.

As we were reflecting on our close encounter with a man-killer, we saw the tiger coming back towards us. He sniffed at bush and then sauntered slowly down the slope right at us. He gave us a brief, dismissive glance and continued past the jeep, crossing the path just behind us. Seeing a tiger (with a murderous past, no less) only a metre or two away from us was an extraordinary experience and I could feel a sudden surge of adrenaline. The tiger stopped twice to mark its territory, arching its back and raising its tail, and then crossed over a small stream and strode across the open rock, heading for the long grass in the distance. He chose, deliberately we assumed, to lie down in a spot directly in front of the sun, which was just starting to peek over the hill.

Coming right for us

What are you looking at?

Crossing the stream

Marking his territory again

He was now quite far, maybe twenty metres away, but we decided to wait in case he decided to move again. After all, we were in no rush. This was a very privileged moment and we realised how lucky we had been to be completely alone with him.  After we'd been waiting for another five minutes we were joined by several other vehicles. People could not see very much and they were getting quite noisy. A few vehicles left, hurried off my impatients punters, and were replaced by others. After another 10 minutes or so those who had waited were rewarded: the tiger rose gracefully and paced through the long grass, golden in the glare of the rising sun. He was presumably trying to escape either the warmth of the sun or the noise of the excited tourists.

Almost out of sight

On the move through the long grass with the sun behind him

Crossing open ground

He walked back down to the stream, ambling along in front of the jeeps and cantors, and then crossed the road and disappeared back into the thick undergrowth.  The vehicles continued along the road as the tiger slipped in and out of view, and we were able to watch the tiger for another 10 minutes or so.  Occasionally he came close again, crossing the road between the jeeps.  Finally he headed into the thick bushes away from the road and that was it.  Our naturalist then explained that we'd witnessed unusual behaviour from the tiger. He had smelt the presence of a rival tiger on his territory and was wandering through the jungle following the scent and replacing it with his own.

Heading back towards the path

Emerging from the undergrowth

Crossing the path just in front of the jeeps

Catching the light beautifully

A wrong turn, from which he slowly reversed

Since we'd had the wonderful experience we were looking for, even more magical than we could have imagined, we hurried back to the hotel to collect our bags and head off for Jaipur.  On the way we did see plenty of other animals, including a spotted deer who seemed to be picking a fight with the ground:

The crazy stag

A sambar stag

A kingfisher

Some more sambar deer

Last view of the fort in the mid-morning sun

Happy punters

Back at the hotel we met with our friendly driver, Bharat, who told us that he would stay with us for the next eight days, the whole of our jaunt through Rajasthan to Udaipur.  The drive to Jaipur was mostly slow going on bouncy country roads but was great fun with beautiful scenery and lots of people-watching.