Animals on the Edge Blog
Mid-assignment update
Day 3
Another early start and this morning we leave the vehicle behind and go in search of tigers on the back of an elephant. It’s a novel experience. We crash through the seemingly impenetrable forest but there is little that halts the momentum of an elephant. A shouted command from the mahout and a thick branch blocking our passage is snapped with a quick twist of the elephant’s trunk or crushed under heavy foot. But tiger sightings elude us. We find evidence of a male tiger but he is always one step ahead of us. After several hours, and no tigers, we leave the forest behind. In the afternoon, little changes, although we get a fleeting glimpse of a leopard as it moves stealthy through the long grass of Kanha meadows.
Day 4
Today, the expensive permissions that allow me to access areas of the park closed to tourists pay off. It won’t be the last time. We site a young tiger hiding under a clump of thicket. At one point our elephant gets too close and the tiger threatens, its roar vibrating through the forest and equalled only by the trumpet of the startled pachyderm. We back away to give the tiger space and it settles agin. It then leads us through the forest in an apparent game of hide and seek. It’s the most thrilling encounter with a tiger, yet. Back at camp, I’m still not feeling 100% after yesterday’s black out and rest comes easy. I prepare for another early start by cleaning the camera equipment, which is smothered in dust from the dry forest floor.
Day 5
An amazing morning! I marvel at the brilliance of our trackers, as they syphon every sound of the forest and manoeuvre the elephants in a seemingly random manner that turns out to be a well planned pursuit of the big cat. Today we really do hit the jackpot as we finally encounter a mother with three cubs, which we were aware was around the area but had until now eluded us. The cubs are, at first, nervous. But they soon lose their inhibitions and, with mum watching over them close by, they begin to play. Therre are times when the camera is a liability and I take moments out to simply observe these magnificent animals at close quarters. It defies me how anyone could humt this creature - a question I will seek an answer to before long, when I interview a tiger poacher for the project.
Day 6
We sit in the vehicle, engine off, listening for the tell-tale akarm calls of langurs and monkeys but especially sambar. There’s a loud bark and we’re away, following the sound in search of the elusive tiger. The skills of the trackers are impressive but the big cat stays two steps ahead of us and we’re thwarted yet again. It’s provong to be a long day that ultimately will end in disappointment. There’s always tomorrow.
Day 7
We’re back in the forest on our elephant, which is proving far more reliable when it comes to finding tigers than our vehicle. We find a lone male deep in the forest and begin to follow him. He leads us through thicket, down into dry riverbeds and up steep banks, criss crossing the forest floor. It’s a merry dance and I get the distinct impression the tiger is just playing with us, a game of hide and seek. The game lasts an hour before the big cat seemingly bores of our presence and slinks behind a bush ... and is gone. It’s victory to the tiger but I’m not disappointed; the photography has been good and I’m not the first and won’t be the last person to be outwitted by the true king of the jungle. Later, we give up on the afternoon search for tigers and concentrate on photographing a herd of upland barasingha, a deer that is more endangered than the tiger.
Posted on 01/18 at 12:22 PM
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