Tiger Tales

... strange encounters with the king of the jungle

The majestic royal Bengal tigers are usually rather elusive to binocular-toting, Nikon laced tourists who come searching for them in the thick sal forests of Jim Corbett National Park day after day on the backs of elephants or jeeps.

Not so last week.

Tourists visiting Jim Corbett Park, in western Uttar Pradesh, came closer to a tiger than they would have cared to. An Australian tourist lodged a complaint with the wildlife authorities against a mahout who had taken tourists very close to a tiger. The enraged tiger charged the elephant and inflicted a gash on its trunk.

The Australian tourist narrated his "blood chilling" experience to fellow tourists and said the mahout should have not gone so close to the tiger, popularly known as tamur.

According to tourists at the Dhikala resort, situated deep in the forest, trouble started when a swami from a nearby area, during his elephant ride, spotted the tiger near Bichchu Bhauji water hole. He insisted that he be photographed by the mahout of another elephant, on which the Australian couple were sitting, along with a few others. This holiday snap would show the swami on the back of an elephant with a roaring tiger in front!

The tiger, surrounded by two elephants and a passing wild elephant, feared an attack and charged. Unnerved by the roaring beast, one of the two elephants, Mauli, stood up on its hind legs, leaving the tourists panic stricken.

The mahout's version of the incident was slightly different. According to him the tourists had insisted on a second round through the forest even though the ride was over and everyone was satisfied with having witnessed the rare spectacle of a tiger, as well several other animals. He stated that incident occurred during the second round on May 29 at 1800 hours. But for the mahout, last week's incident was not out of the ordinary as such incidents occur, he explains, as big cats are quite unpredictable.

Field director, R C Gautam, when contacted, confirmed the incident. But he made it clear that such encounters in forests inhabited by tigers are not unusual and too-close-for-comfort encounters with a tiger cannot be ruled out when one sets out on a tiger spotting jaunt. Wild elephants too charge if vehicles or elephants loaded with people get too close.

Joseph S Berkley of the United States, who had also gone to see the tiger that day, was thrilled with the rare spectacle. He said, ''We got close to the tiger. We were just two metres away. It was great until the animal decided to give chase. We were very scared.''

Navin Raheja of New Delhi, who was at Jim Corbett just two days before the park closed for the monsoons last year, also had a harrowing experience.

A huge tiger charged the Tata Sumo jeep he was in. The occupants started crying in panic. But the animal after scaring off the tourists retired deep into the forest. Says Raheja, "Animals generally keep away. But on that day all my wildlife experiences came to a nought."

Sighting a tiger is considered great luck, but sometimes encounters with the king of the jungle can be a bit too thrilling. Recently a woman tourist trembled so vigorously with fear on actually being able to view a tiger and fell off the elephant. The alert mahout however, quickly swung into action and lifted the woman back onto elephant.

Jim Corbett National Park is one of the few parks in the world to possess a sizable tiger population. Hence its popularity with tourists. Incidentally from May 5 to May 12, this year a fresh tiger count is on, to see exactly how large a population of tigers inhabit this 520 square kilometre park. Data for the tiger census is compiled on the basis of tiger pug marks. Each pug mark is being analysed for an exact head count of the royal beast. According to Gautam, the tiger census figures would be made public after census of other animals in the park is completed.

Wildlife authorities, concerned about conservation of tigers spend much of their time collecting intelligence on poaching and taking necessary follow up action. Their work, they complain, is often hindered by the parallel activities of non-government organisations. They claim that the NGOs offer lucrative rewards to villagers to come up with the body remains of tigers to prove that tigers were killed in the park area. The authorities further claim that the villagers take handsome advances and risk their lives to oblige their ''masters''.

Tigers are not the only draw at the park. Visitors who spend, on an average, two hours riding elephants through the jungles, trying to glimpse one of the magnificent creatures, are quite satisfied to go home having merely spotted a leopard. Or one of the many cheetals, antelopes or any of the rare birds. An encounter with a wild elephant is also uncommon and makes a tourist's day. With flapping ears, and twitching tails, the wild elephants are a rare sight. They often charge visitors' vehicles if they come too close.

The scenery at the park is quite spectacular too. Located in the Patlidun Valley in the foothills of the Himalayas, the forests of sals with their leaves of burnished copper are a splendid contrast to green, grey and brown foliage of other trees.

UNI